Soundings Papers: The Fiji Navy and UNCLOS: The challenge of climate change

HMAS Adelaide sails past Tamarama as she returns to her homeport of Fleet Base East, Sydney, NSW. Photographer: LSIS Tara Byrne.

This paper reflects on the formation of the Republic of Fiji Navy (RFN), and explains the relevance of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to Fiji and the RFN. While there are many threats possible to maritime security, the paper will focus primarily on climate change, which is a conspicuous threat to the maritime limits and resources upon which Fiji depends for wealth and prosperity.