When Pacific leaders met in Honiara in September for the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting, the message was clear: climate change remains the “single greatest existential threat” to Pacific societies, economies and sovereignty. In this spirit, the Forum adopted the Fiji-proposed Blue Pacific Ocean of Peace Declaration, a collective statement placing climate security, ocean stewardship and peaceful cooperation at the heart of regional resilience.
The Declaration offers an assertive Pacific worldview. It calls for the protection of the region’s ocean continent, for partnerships that respect sovereignty and self-determination, and for the rejection of coercion or militarisation that undermines Pacific priorities. It invites friends and partners to align with Pacific leadership rather than define it.
Together, India and the Pacific can advance a stable, inclusive, and climate-secure Indo-Pacific.
For India, which has consistently framed the Indo-Pacific as a free, open, inclusive, peaceful and prosperous region anchored in the well-being of littoral states, the Declaration offers a timely and strategic opportunity to advance its Act East ideology and Pacific outlook. India’s approach and credibility has stemmed from its non-coercive actions in the region with strong leadership in climate action and disaster management and resilience projects, albeit on a small scale.
India as a net security provider
India’s renewed maritime focus through Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) and the Indo Pacific Oceans’ Initiative (IPOI) aligns closely with Pacific concerns. India sees climate change and ocean degradation as critical non-traditional security threats, articulated in the evolution of its Indian Ocean Strategy. These initiatives focus on the need to tackle climate change as a first-order security issue, including the challenges of marine pollution, food security, biodiversity loss and sea-level rise.
Pacific partners need to build a shared framework for responsible fisheries, marine biodiversity conservation, and anti-pollution measures (Johnny Africa/Unsplash)
Partnerships such as the International Solar Alliance and Quad grouping, coupled with bilateral relationships with Australia and several Pacific states on energy, gender and development, food security and maritime governance, form part of India’s evolving identity as a responsible regional actor.
Shared opportunities
Together, India and the Pacific can advance a stable, inclusive, and climate-secure Indo-Pacific across three areas. Firstly, on climate and disaster resilience, both India and Pacific Island countries recognise that environmental degradation is a security threat. India’s expertise in early-warning systems and humanitarian response can complement Pacific-led mechanisms for disaster preparedness. Linking India’s meteorological and disaster-management agencies (INCOIS and NDMA) with Pacific networks would improve real-time data sharing, strengthen response logistics and support climate-proof infrastructure such as solar micro-grids, coastal defences and resilient health facilities.
Secondly, on sustainable ocean governance and the blue economy, India and the Pacific can jointly advance a people-centred model that balances livelihoods with conservation. The Declaration asserts the Pacific’s stewardship of the ocean and demands transparent, rights-based management of marine resources. India, through its “Green MAHASAGAR” vision and Indo-Pacific Oceans’ Initiative, can work with Pacific partners to build a shared framework for responsible fisheries, marine biodiversity conservation, and anti-pollution measures.
To play a meaningful role, India needs to embed climate and human security as core principles of its foreign and security policy.
The cooperation could focus on supporting small-scale fisheries, aquaculture, seaweed cultivation and eco-tourism sectors especially in far islands where women and youth can become critical actors. India’s experience with cooperative coastal models can be adapted for Pacific contexts, including training in solar-powered cold storage, fish processing and digital catch monitoring. This can help transform the blue economy into a community-owned framework for prosperity, dignity, and environmental security.
Lastly, on climate diplomacy and human security, the Pacific has led global efforts to hold the world accountable for climate action. The Declaration’s call for limiting warming to 1.5°C and operationalising the loss-and-damage fund finds legal and moral weight in the forthcoming International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion on states’ obligations for climate change to align national commitments with climate justice and intergenerational equity.
India’s bid for COP33, with pre-COP 31 summit meetings to be held in the Pacific, and Australia’s Climate Minister who will be COP31 President, presents a platform for a triangular Pacific-India-Australia caucus that can champion the priorities of island countries and amplify the needs and abilities of the developing and under-developed global community. This coalition can drive continuity in thought and leadership to produce tangible progress on equitable access to climate funds, and accountability mechanisms that reflect the disproportionate vulnerabilities of developing nations and communities therein.
Towards future-ready climate security
The Ocean of Peace Declaration marks a decisive step in how Pacific nations intend to define and defend their security in a climate stressed world. It asserts partnership, not patronage, and articulates peace through non-militarisation, resilience, environmental stewardship and human dignity. India must seize this opportunity to respond. To play a meaningful role, India needs to embed climate and human security as core principles of its foreign and security policy, backed by dedicated funding and leadership, stronger inter-ministerial coordination, and a Pacific-specific engagement framework within its external, defence and other relevant ministries. It must also leverage Indian innovation and peer-to-peer lessons in the blue economy and ocean governance as shared investments in security. India has both the credibility and capacity to support the vision for the Pacific region and should decisively answer the region’s call for equitable partnership that empowers, and implementation that delivers. If not, we risk playing catch-up to countries that have neither the Pacific nor the wider region’s interest at its core.