Security and the Pacific Islands: Insights from Young Pacific Leaders Report Launch

Pacific security requires a shift from state-centric, strategic competition toward long-term partnerships that prioritize locally defined needs and community resilience. Engagement in the region must respect sovereignty and existing regional frameworks, moving beyond transactional aid to address structural inequities. In Guam, the U.S. military’s presence necessitates greater transparency, civilian infrastructure investment, and a resolution to the territory’s political status to ensure local security. Humanitarian efforts across the Pacific must integrate cultural protocols and long-term resilience, while responses to transnational organized crime and illicit drug trafficking require strengthening social foundations and community-led rehabilitation. Ultimately, effective engagement hinges on consistent presence and two-way dialogue that recognizes Pacific Island nations as active, sovereign partners rather than mere strategic assets in great power competition.