India expands influence in Indo-Pacific with new defence pact with Fiji.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on August 25, 2025, conjointly with the Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, that India and Fidji concluded a landmark meeting in New Delhi that placed defence and security cooperation at the forefront of bilateral ties. The new framework marks a significant shift in India’s Indo-Pacific outreach, positioning Fiji as a central partner in maritime security, cyber resilience, and regional stability at a time of growing strategic competition in the South Pacific.
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Indian Navy frigate INS Satpura docked in Suva in 2022, symbolizing India’s expanding defence partnership with Fiji and growing Indo Pacific presence (Picture source: Fiji Navy).

A key announcement was the establishment of a Defence Attaché post at India’s High Commission in Suva, creating a permanent channel for military-to-military coordination. This step will not only deepen bilateral defence ties but also extend India’s strategic reach to other Pacific Island nations through Fiji’s central role in regional security networks.

Maritime cooperation was identified as an immediate priority. India will provide two sea ambulances and other coastal security equipment tailored to Fiji’s island geography and extensive Exclusive Economic Zone. Training programs will be expanded to strengthen Fijian maritime forces, while an upcoming Indian naval ship visit will demonstrate interoperability and enhance India’s operational presence in Pacific waters.

Cybersecurity has been elevated as a new dimension of defence cooperation. India will establish a Cyber Security Training Cell in Fiji to help counter digital threats and hybrid warfare tactics that increasingly target small island states. The initiative will develop skilled Fijian defence personnel and improve the resilience of national institutions, making Fiji a regional hub for cyber capacity-building.

Both leaders underscored the strategic importance of ensuring an open, free, and rules-based Indo-Pacific. Prime Minister Modi endorsed Fiji’s Oceans of Peace vision, while Rabuka welcomed India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative, reflecting a convergence of maritime doctrines that emphasize stability, deterrence, and the protection of critical sea lanes.

Looking ahead, this framework opens the door to more concrete forms of cooperation. India could offer defence industry support to Fiji through the supply of coastal surveillance radars, light patrol boats, and communication systems produced by Indian shipyards and defence firms. Regular joint naval exercises, possibly under the framework of India’s Indo-Pacific maritime engagements, would allow Fijian forces to gain practical experience in search-and-rescue, disaster relief, and anti-smuggling operations. Training exchanges at Indian military academies could enhance officer-level expertise, while the sharing of drone and satellite technology would strengthen Fiji’s maritime domain awareness. These measures would move the partnership from policy declarations to operational capability-building.

India’s entry into Fiji’s defence landscape also reshapes the broader balance of power in the Pacific. For over a decade, China has cultivated Suva with patrol boats, military vehicles, and officer training in its academies, alongside infrastructure loans tied to ports that carry potential dual-use applications. Australia has maintained its primacy through the Pacific Maritime Security Program, gifting Guardian-class patrol boats, conducting aerial surveillance, and running frequent joint naval drills with Fijian forces. Against this backdrop, India is carving out a niche by combining tangible hardware deliveries with cyber defence initiatives and training opportunities grounded in its expanding domestic defence industry.

Unlike Beijing’s finance-heavy approach, New Delhi emphasizes capacity-building, skills transfer, and operational interoperability. Compared to Canberra, India brings the additional weight of a rising Indo-Pacific power with global naval reach, giving Fiji access to a partner capable of balancing both regional and extra-regional security interests. For Fiji, this diversification of defence partnerships strengthens strategic autonomy, reduces dependency on a single external actor, and provides tools to address both conventional maritime threats and emerging challenges in the cyber domain.

By combining maritime assistance, cybersecurity capacity, and permanent defence representation, the India-Fiji partnership moves beyond symbolic engagement into operational security cooperation. This positions Fiji as a frontline partner for India’s Indo-Pacific strategy and enhances its ability to safeguard sovereignty in contested waters. For New Delhi, the pact demonstrates its ambition to counterbalance Chinese influence, complement Australian initiatives, and assert itself as a security guarantor in the Pacific. Together, the agreements mark a turning point in Indo-Pacific defence cooperation, with potential to evolve into broader trilateral or multilateral frameworks involving like-minded regional powers.