Fiji’s former Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the National Federation Party (NFP), Prof. Biman Prasad, has urged the international community to end what he calls “predatory multilateralism” and warned that small island states in the Pacific are on the frontline of a harsh new global reality.
Speaking at the 4th Global Council for Political Renewal Conference in South Africa this week, Prof. Prasad represented Fiji’s Parliament and highlighted the growing geopolitical tensions shaping the modern world.
Prof. Prasad cited Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney, who recently described at Davos a “rupture in the world order… where geopolitics is subject to no limits – to no constraints.”
“Nowhere are the consequences of the failure of the international system felt more intensely than across the Blue Pacific.”
Prof. Prasad warned that societal insecurity, fiscal instability, and the impacts of runaway climate change are posing unprecedented challenges to the region.
Describing a shift from “cooperative multilateralism” to “predatory multilateralism,” Prof. Prasad said Pacific nations face an “ultra-transactional” geopolitical contest alongside relentless climate threats. He emphasised that the region’s strength will not come from naval power alone, but from unity grounded in open and democratic institutions.
“When we are fragmented, we will be picked off one by one. If our institutions crumble under stress, our communities will simply be crushed by the weight of a predatory international system,” he warned.
“The Blue Pacific unites us through our shared stewardship… We refuse to become a chain of fragile and insecure states. That will not be our future.”
Prof. Prasad called for global support to strengthen resilience across the region, including backing for the Pacific Resilience Facility, broader access to climate finance, and urgent investment in infrastructure such as ports, roads, and coastal protection. He also stressed the importance of respecting international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction treaty.
“The Blue Pacific is our home. A peaceful and stable Blue Pacific is our future,” he said, urging the world to work together to build a “networked and open multilateral system capable of withstanding large power interests.”
He concluded with a call for solidarity, stressing that small Pacific states stand ready to shoulder their share of the costs in a reimagined multilateral order.
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