Solomon Islands National University (SINU) Vice Chancellor Dr Transform Aqorau has challenged Pacific leaders and regional institutions to assess whether decades of regional declarations and strategies are delivering real benefits to Pacific people, warning that regionalism risks losing relevance if it fails to produce measurable outcomes.
In a statement titled If We Declare but Do Not Deliver: Reflections on Pacific Regionalism and the Search for a More Effective Regional Architecture”, Dr Aqorau said the Pacific has produced numerous declarations and frameworks on major regional issues but must now confront a critical question.
“The Pacific is not short of declarations.
“Over the decades, our leaders have adopted visionary communiqués, regional frameworks, strategies, and declarations that have articulated a compelling vision for our Blue Pacific Continent. We have spoken powerfully on climate change, ocean governance, sustainable development, regional solidarity, decolonisation, and nuclear justice.
But an uncomfortable question remains: what happens if we declare, but do not deliver?” he said.
Dr Aqorau said the question was particularly relevant when evaluating whether the region’s institutions and regional architecture were genuinely improving people’s lives.
He highlighted fisheries as one of the strongest examples of successful Pacific regional cooperation.
“Through the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), Pacific Island countries built one of the world’s most successful examples of collective resource governance. By working together, sharing information, coordinating surveillance, and negotiating as a bloc, Pacific states transformed their bargaining power in the world’s largest tuna fishery,” he said
He said the development of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) and the Vessel Day Scheme (VDS) strengthened that success.
“The emergence of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) and the Vessel Day Scheme (VDS) further strengthened this success. Rather than competing against one another, countries collectively managed fishing effort and created scarcity in access rights. The result was a dramatic increase in fisheries revenues, greater national ownership of resources, and enhanced negotiating leverage with distant water fishing nations,” said Dr Aqorau.
Aqorau also cited the Pacific’s united stand against nuclear testing as another example of regionalism producing tangible results.
“For decades, Pacific leaders stood united against nuclear testing and its devastating impacts. Through regional diplomacy, moral leadership, and persistence, Pacific countries elevated the issue onto the global stage and helped shape international norms around nuclear justice and disarmament.
While the legacy of testing remains unresolved in many communities, the Pacific’s collective voice demonstrated the power of regional solidarity,” he said.
Dr Aqorau said these examples showed that regional cooperation worked when countries shared common interests, demonstrated strong political commitment and established institutions capable of delivering practical benefits.
“These examples show that regionalism can work when there is a clear common interest, strong political commitment, effective institutions, and mechanisms that generate tangible benefits for member countries.”
However, Dr Aqorau said progress had been less impressive in other areas, particularly trade integration.
“Trade integration has progressed slowly.
Despite decades of discussion, intra-Pacific trade remains limited. Transportation costs are high, markets are fragmented, regulatory systems differ, and production capacities vary considerably across countries. Regional trade agreements have often struggled to generate the transformative economic integration that many had hoped for.”
He noted that labour mobility programmes in Australia and New Zealand had generated positive outcomes, but said they remained driven largely by external demand rather than a coordinated Pacific strategy.
“Labour mobility has been more successful in recent years, particularly through schemes in Australia and New Zealand, but these initiatives remain largely driven by external demand rather than a coherent regional labour market strategy. While remittances have become increasingly important for many Pacific economies, labour mobility remains uneven, fragmented, and often disconnected from broader regional development objectives.”
Dr Aqorau said the mixed record raised important questions about why some regional initiatives succeed while others struggle.
“One lesson from the fisheries sector is that successful regionalism is often built around practical incentives rather than aspirational declarations.
The PNA and VDS worked because they aligned national interests with regional interests. Countries could see direct economic returns from cooperation. Compliance generated benefits. Institutions were designed around delivery rather than dialogue.”
He suggested that future regional architecture should focus more on implementation and outcomes.
“Perhaps this is where future regional architecture should focus its attention.”
Dr Aqorau also highlighted other regional organisations as examples of approaches that could offer useful lessons.
“ASEAN, despite its imperfections, has steadily advanced economic integration through trade facilitation, investment frameworks, connectivity initiatives, and practical cooperation mechanisms. CARICOM in the Caribbean has pursued deeper regional integration through common institutions, coordinated policies, and efforts to create a single market and economy.”
While acknowledging the Pacific’s unique circumstances, he questioned whether the region should pursue deeper forms of economic integration.
“However, the underlying question remains relevant: should the Pacific pursue deeper forms of economic integration that move beyond cooperation towards genuine regional economic space?
“Could there be greater harmonisation of regulations, qualifications, labour mobility arrangements, digital systems, transportation networks, and investment frameworks?
“Could regional institutions focus more deliberately on delivery and implementation rather than consultation and coordination?
“Most importantly, what model would best improve the everyday lives of Pacific people?” he asked.
Dr Aqorau said ordinary Pacific citizens would judge regionalism not by the number of meetings held or declarations issued but by whether it improved their daily lives.
“For many citizens, the measure of regionalism is not the number of declarations adopted or meetings convened. It is whether regional cooperation improves access to healthcare, creates jobs, strengthens livelihoods, lowers the cost of living, enhances food security, builds resilience to climate change, and expands opportunities for future generations.”
He said growing regional challenges, particularly climate change, may require deeper cooperation than ever before.
“The impacts of climate change alone may require a much deeper form of regional cooperation than anything we have attempted previously. Issues such as climate finance, renewable energy, disaster response, migration, health security, food systems, and digital connectivity increasingly transcend national boundaries.”
Dr Aqorau said the next stage of Pacific regionalism should be judged on outcomes rather than rhetoric.
“Perhaps the next phase of Pacific regionalism must be judged less by what we declare and more by what we deliver.
The Blue Pacific narrative has provided a powerful vision. The challenge now is to build institutions, incentives, and mechanisms capable of turning that vision into measurable outcomes.”
He said that the future credibility of regionalism would depend on whether it produced tangible benefits for Pacific people.
“Because ultimately, regionalism is not an end in itself.
Its legitimacy rests on a simple question:
“Are the people of the Pacific better off because of it?
“If the answer is yes, then regionalism remains one of our most powerful tools for collective advancement.
“If the answer is uncertain, then perhaps it is time to rethink not our aspirations, but the architecture through which we seek to achieve them,” he said.
