Militarisation is the greatest environmental threat facing the Pacific region, according to regional peace advocates.
“We see how much of our ocean is being militarised from within,” said Maureen Penjueli former Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) Coordinator and the regional feminist alliance DAWN.
“From deep seabeds to surface waters, 2025 has shown how critical minerals are linked to military end uses.”
Penjueli cited the growing number of nuclear-powered submarines operating under the AUKUS defence pact between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
“Since August, there have been at least six nuclear submarine visits to the Pacific,” she said. “Australia’s position on whether these vessels carry nuclear weapons remains unclear.”
She added that the Trump administration’s recent decision to resume nuclear weapons testing after a 30-year moratorium has deepened regional anxiety.
“We are now in a context where rearmament and nuclear war are becoming the clearest trends,” she said. “The Pacific is once again at the frontline.”
Penjueli also described how disaster response and climate initiatives are increasingly being folded into defence strategies.
“We’re seeing the militarisation of humanitarian aid,” she said. “Disaster assistance missions are starting to include military components without legal frameworks or regional consent.”
The militarisation trend mirrors a parallel race for seabed resources. Penjueli and researcher Ma’ia’i Tau both linked the demand for critical minerals to expanding deep-sea mining interests across the Pacific.
Tau called deep-sea mining another “false promise.” The International Seabed Authority held its 30th session this year in Kingston, Jamaica, to finalize a long-delayed mining code.
“There’s still a lot of clauses yet to be agreed,” Tau said. “You have state parties like China really pushing to continue progress, but many sections remain bracketed, including those on underwater cultural heritage, environmental regulations and benefit sharing.”
While industrial powers press ahead, Pacific nations remain divided.
“We had the region’s first Deep-Sea Talanoa this year,” Tau said, referring to a regional political dialogue. “Some Pacific countries sponsor exploration. Others call for a moratorium. It’s important that these spaces open up for wider consultation.”
Forty countries, including eight from the Pacific, now support a global moratorium on seabed mining until scientists can prove extraction will not damage fragile ecosystems. Tau said the Pacific’s split stance reflects uncertainty in the global legal framework.
“Science is still developing around this. There’s some caution there,” he said.
Tau also criticised the United States’ growing involvement in seabed resource extraction. On 21 April, President Donald Trump signed an executive order expanding U.S offshore mining for “critical minerals.”
“This threatens multilateralism within the ISA,” Tau said. “The executive order gives industry a green light to pursue bilateral deals that ignore international law.”
He warned that U.S partnerships with private companies could trigger a “race to the bottom” in ocean governance.
“You could see how this sets a precedent,” Tau said. “It puts profit ahead of the protection and preservation of marine ecosystems.”
Pacific activists described 2025 as a turning point for the region’s identity as a “zone of peace.” Militarisation, extractive industry and market-based climate measures have converged to reshape the geopolitical and moral boundaries of ocean governance.
“The Pacific isn’t just where global powers test new technologies,” Penjueli said. “It’s where our collective survival depends on whether those powers choose restraint,” she said.
