US Coast Guard Commandant Kevin Lunday and Palau Minister of Justice Jennifer Olegeriil. (Photo source: Office of the Prime Minister, Cook Islands)
By Elilai Rengiil
The United States (US) has announced $7 million to build a regional maritime law enforcement training and coordination center in Palau, part of more than $44 million in new programs to combat drug trafficking and other cross-border crime across the Pacific.
The announcement came during the inaugural US-Pacific Islands Conference of Police Ministers, held from October 21 to 22 in Los Angeles.
Minister of Justice Jennifer Olegeriil co-chaired the meeting with US Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Kevin Lunday.
The training and coordination center, Aumoana Regional Center, will serve as headquarters for the Aumoana Regional Law Enforcement Initiative. It will train Pacific officers in vessel boarding, evidence handling, and monitoring activities at sea.
The center will also house US and regional liaison officers who will provide intelligence support across Pacific Island countries and US territories.
Additionally, Palau and the US signed a Letter of Agreement at the conference to strengthen law enforcement training and capabilities in Palau. Regional programs under the agreement may also benefit the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia.
In another initiative, two US Customs and Border Protection officers will work alongside Palau’s Bureau of Customs and Border Protection during a 60-day advisory pilot program.
That deployment is part of a broader effort providing more than $1.3 million to train investigators in Palau, Fiji, Tonga, the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia.
Training will cover drug investigations, financial investigations, and planning maritime operations.
The US Coast Guard will also expand Shiprider operations, under which Pacific officers board Coast Guard vessels and enforce their own countries’ laws within their national waters.
Conference participants committed to improving maritime surveillance, port and border security, and cooperation against drug trafficking, money laundering and scam operations.
The meeting brought together Pacific police ministers and senior officials, representatives from Australia, New Zealand, France, regional organizations, US agencies, and other international partners.