Security Quotes & Speeches
“Our connection to the Ocean is very personal. Our lives, cultures and economies are inherently shaped by the ocean as a provider and a protector. It is our home, our lifeline.”
Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr, Opening Address to Our Ocean Palau Conference (April 2022)
“With rich Ocean resources, highly dispersed and low-lying islands, just like everyone in this forum, the FSM is facing the overwhelming challenges associated with sea-level rise. Maritime security and the stability of our maritime borders are critical.”
President of FSM David Panuelo, Remarks at the Pacific Maritime Boundaries Virtual Working Session and High-Level Dialogue (19 November 2021)
“We will not stand idly by as the water rises around is. We are not just talking in Tuvalu, we are mobilising collective action at home, in our region, and on the international stage to secure our future”.
Simon Kofe, Address by Tuvalu Foreign Minister to the United Nations Climate Conference (COP 26). Glasgow. (9 November 2021)
“Pacific youth have rallied behind the cry, we are not drowning, we are fighting. This is our warrior cry to the world.”
Brianna Fruean, Pacific Climate Change Leader speech to the United Nations Climate Conference (COP 26). Glasgow. (1 November 2021)
“Our Blue Pacific remains a Nuclear Free Zone into perpetuity, under the framework of the Rarotonga Treaty and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which contribute to the rules-based international order founded on the UN Charter.”
Secretary-General Henry Puna, Statement on the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons (26 September 2021)
“Perhaps the simplest action we can do now is to engage the people of the Pacific, particularly our young people, in discussions about our future”
“After all, the momentum of the Blue Pacific reminds and inspires us all, to value the strategic potential of the region, and to act together from a position of strength”
Dame Meg Taylor, Griffith Asia Lecture 2019. Brisbane. (11 November 2019)
“The hundreds of islands in the Pacific may appear only as small dots on world maps, but they are situated in a large strategic area.”
Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, ‘Pacific Perspectives on the New Geostrategic Landscape’, speech at the Lowy Institute. Sydney. (30 August 2018)
“The bigger powers, whether traditional or non-traditional, see our Blue Pacific as a strategic space for the assertion of their strategic interests.
How do we ensure that we play a part in shaping and determining the regional security oceanscape, rather than being spectators on the sidelines?”
Dame Meg Taylor, Opening Remarks by Secretary-General, Pacific Islands Forum at the Biketawa Plus Security Declaration Workshop. Suva. (18 June 2018)
“We have at his point in time broken with our colonial past… Let us unit with the Almighty God’s guidance and help in working together for the future as a strong and free country. We now stand as an independent nation in our own right”.
Sir John Guise, Independence Speech 1975 (First Governor-General in PNG). Port Moresby. (16 September 1975)
