The opening of the Vuvale Maritime Essential Services Centre (MESC) in Lami is part of Australia’s contribution to building capability – providing for the national security of Fiji.
This was highlighted by Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Richard Marles during the opening of the centre in Lami last week.
The $120million centre, employed more than 1200 local workers over the past two years. It will serve as Fiji’s central hub for maritime operations, housing critical agencies such as the Fiji Navy, the Fiji Hydrographic Office and the Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre.
Mr Marles said the maritime domain for Fiji was central to Fiji’s economic prosperity and national security.
“So the contribution that this centre represents to all of that is hugely significant,” he said.
He said vuvale (family) was exactly the world which captured what the centre was about because the agencies at work there were family.
“This is the opportunity for all of those agencies to now operate as one but vuvale is also a word which is used to refer to another family, a family which encompasses both Fiji and Australia and indeed the Pacific.
“This facility is a tangible, physical expression of the significance of the bilaterial relationship between Australia and Fiji.”
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka in his remarks at the MESC’s opening, acknowledged with deep gratitude the Government and people of Australia for their continued ‘support and friendship’.
“Your investment in this facility and for the purpose to which it will serve our region are deeply appreciated,” Mr Rabuka said.
“Through the Vuvale Partnership, we have been able to take practical steps towards strengthening our collective maritime security. This includes the recent gifting of Fiji’s second Guardian-Class Patrol Boat, the RFNS Timo.”
Mr Rabuka said the centre was a tangible outcome of their partnership and a testament to what they can achieve when they work as equals, with shared values and shared vision.
“The collaborative approach represents a model for how we can build together, in partnership and as equals.”
He also thanked international partners such as New Zealand, the United States, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and others who supported the operationalisation of the facility.
“That is why the centre now also includes the Maritime Domain Fusion Centre. A fully integrated maritime intelligence fusion centre staffed by the Fiji Navy, Fiji Police Force, Fisheries, Customs and Revenue and international partners,” Mr Rabuka added.
“The Maritime Domain Centre will lead our fight against incursions into our maritime domain. Our message to the trafficker and illegal fishers that seek to exploit Fiji, is that we are watching you and we will get you.”
The centre was funded by the Australian Government.
