Australia will pledge Au$600 million ($429 million) on Wednesday to help small Pacific Islands track and interdict “narco subs” at sea, as they seek to combat a surge in South Pacific drug trafficking.
Illicit drug seizures in the South Pacific have more than tripled this year, with 17 tonnes of cocaine and methamphetamine seized, compared to 5.5 tonnes seized in 2025, Australian authorities said.
Fiji, a major transport hub for the Pacific, is experiencing the world’s fastest HIV outbreak, driven by what health authorities say is the risky injecting of methamphetamine.
Drug seizures and trafficking arrests in Fiji, the discovery of “narco subs” — crude submarines for transporting drugs — in the Solomon Islands and Marshall Islands and drug packages washing to shore have reinforced fears of international drug cartels forging a South Pacific trafficking highway.
“Drug trafficking is having a devastating impact on Pacific communities,” Australia’s Pacific Minister Pat Conroy said on Tuesday.
The annual Pacific islands leaders summit will address on Wednesday how to crack down on the transnational drug trade, particularly by pinpointing drug boats and “narco subs” across the vast ocean.
Australia has offered to fund a boost in satellite surveillance and assist the flow of intelligence.
Under the proposal, a transnational crime centre in Samoa will analyse information and share it with a Fiji maritime centre to issue interdiction requests across the Pacific.
Pacific island countries will send patrol boats to search suspect vessels.
Australian police will also boost cooperation with South American and Central American counterparts, seeking to stop the drug flow at its source.
Much of the narcotics trafficked through the South Pacific is targeting Australia, authorities said.
“For the good of every country in the region, including our own, we need to work together to stamp out the illicit drug trade,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
