In Fiji, defense diplomacy and rain-soaked rugby

BLACK ROCK CAMP, Fiji—Fijian and U.S. officials cemented one defense agreement and opened talks on another—but first, there was roast pig and rugby in the rain.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived on this South Pacific island on Friday, the final stop on a nine-day journey that has taken him to Australia, the Philippines, and Laos.

“The goal really here is to not just regularize, but to make more frequent our engagement” with Fiji and the Pacific island region, a senior defense official said ahead of Austin’s arrival. 

Austin’s visit here is the first by a U.S. defense secretary, but among a handful in recent years by various cabinet-level officials. Fiji is a leader in the region and one of three Pacific-island countries that maintains a standing professional military. It also controls a wide swath of waters and resources in its exclusive economic zone.

“People call them ‘small island nations,’ but really should call them ‘large oceanic states,’” one U.S. official said. 

On Austin’s to-do list: wrap up 10 years of U.S. work on an acquisition and cross-servicing agreement, or ACSA, a bilateral pact intended to smooth the way for joint U.S-Fijian military logistics. 

“From fuel to medical supplies to the use of maintenance facilities,” the senior defense official said. “When things happen, they happen fast. So to be able to say that we're able to do that, to offer that kind of logistical support, it's critical.”

More than 120 countries have ACSA agreements with the United States. Some, such as Japan and South Korea, have copied the idea and signed their own ACSA-type deals with others. Such agreements do not commit signatories to military action in any way.

Austin also came to launch talks on a status-of-forces agreement, another document that deepens a bilateral defense relationship. SOFAs lay out the legal status of U.S. troops and dependents in a foreign country, including civil and criminal jurisdiction. Basing arrangements, if any, are typically negotiated separately.

“The SOFA will enable us to deploy and redeploy forces in support of Fiji and help us train with the Fijians on a very routine basis,” Austin said Saturday at a press conference at a nearby hotel and conference center. “I look for routine rotations, training rotations, where possible, to be conducted,” plus continued work with the Nevada National Guard. 

Austin said “there is no notion” of permanently basing U.S. troops in Fiji. “We did not have any discussions like that.”

If SOFA negotiations are concluded as expected next year, Fiji will join several dozen nations that already have such agreements with the United States.

Austin also said the U.S. would soon deliver several rigid-hull inflatable boats and a boat ramp to help Fiji patrol its waters, and announced plans for $4.9 million in foreign military financing, pending congressional approval.

The senior defense official said Fiji would put the new funds toward small arms.

“Again, building military capacity, right? Professionalization of the military. This will go really straight to what they're asking for, what the needs are,” they said. 

At the press conference, a local reporter asked Austin what to expect from the incoming administration of Donald Trump.

“Fiji has always considered climate change a national-security threat,” the reporter said. “And we have President-elect Trump who considers climate change a hoax and who has also in the past pulled out of the Paris Accord.” What, he asked, should the Pacific expect in the way of U.S. leadership?

“I can't tell you what the next administration will do in terms of policy adjustments or things of that nature,” Austin responded. “What I can tell you is that I'm absolutely proud of the work that we've done. We've advanced things in a number of areas and we've strengthened our relationship.

“And I truly believe that the strength of those relationships will endure far beyond the transition of administrations. I think the United States enjoys the strongest network of allies and partners in the world. We have the largest network of allies and partners in the world. And our relationship with allies and partners around the globe has enabled us to sustain our efforts and to endure a number of challenges globally. And I'm confident that our strong relationship that we have now will continue to blossom.” 

Austin’s visit began with an elaborate welcoming ceremony at Black Rock Camp that included drums, dancing, and the presentation of a roast pig so large it took six grass-skirted Fijian troops to lay it before the visiting secretary. The rain-dampened proceedings continued with a 15-minute rugby game between the base’s team and a local village club. 

At the Saturday press conference, Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka recalled that Austin had played rugby at West Point.

“If he’d come when he was younger, we’d have tried to recruit him for our rugby team,” Rabuka said.

“You have some pretty good players,” Austin replied.