Pacific Islands leaders endorse regional policing initiative in strategic victory for Australia

Australia has notched a strategic victory in the Pacific after its peak gathering of leaders endorsed a $400 million major new initiative to reshape policing across the region. The federal government has championed the Pacific Policing Initiative, which will set up a major new police training facility in Brisbane and establish a "Pacific Police Support Group" that could be deployed to Pacific nations to help with natural disasters or other emergencies, as well as major events. Australia moves to create training centre for Pacific police, as China looks to strike security deals Photo shows A police officer wearing a helmet and protective equipment, and carrying a large plastic shield, receives training Australia is moving to establish a 200-strong cohort of highly trained Pacific police officers which could be deployed to regional hotspots. Tonga's prime minister, Siaosi Sovaleni, said it was "really important to have a Pacific-owned and Pacific-led initiative" to tackle the increasingly serious criminal challenges and stressed that Pacific nations would have the "discretion" to choose exactly how they would engage with it.