Australia sends solar marine drones to Fiji against drug trafficking

Australia will provide Fiji with autonomous, solar-powered maritime drones that can remain at sea for months. The vessels will be deployed next year to patrol the island nation’s waters and combat drug trafficking, illegal fishing and other criminal activities.

The agreement was announced on Friday, after Fiji approved a maritime security strategy on Thursday aimed at combating transnational crime. Authorities in the region are particularly concerned about the rising trafficking of methamphetamine and cocaine in the Pacific.

The Blue Bottle drones will be supplied along with training as part of a 600 million Australian dollar Australian commitment, equivalent to approximately 370 million euros. The program is intended to support Pacific island states that face difficulties monitoring millions of square kilometers of ocean.

Manufactured in Sydney by Ocius, the drones are already used by the Australian military to discreetly monitor the northern coast. They are operated from a military base in Darwin, and the company has expanded production by opening a new factory in Sydney.

Australian Defence Minister Pat Conroy said that states in the region must cooperate to eliminate illicit drug trafficking. The measure comes amid the use of “narco-submarines” originating from South America and China’s growing influence in the Pacific.