New Zealand’s domestic spy agency has confirmed it is working on a review of Fiji’s intelligence service, after Fiji’s Cabinet approved a six-month partnership with the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) in a statement issued on Wednesday, 14 October. Wellington is funding the work, which will assess Fiji’s existing intelligence structure and, in the Cabinet’s words, develop “evidence-based options for reform”, Reuters reported.
The decision comes days after the US Embassy in Suva alerted Fiji and a Suva-based regional organisation to a suspected network compromise it attributed to hackers linked to China.
Key facts
- Six months: the term of the Cabinet-approved NZSIS partnership.
- New Zealand’s government is paying for it.
- The NZSIS will recommend reforms, not implement them.
- July to August 2026: the window of the suspected compromise, per the US Embassy.
- The hackers held access for several days, the embassy said.
- Policing and communications minister Ioane Naivalurua said on 13 October he was reviewing the allegation (AFP, via The Straits Times).
Why it matters
Stolen data could expose sensitive communications among Pacific island countries and territories, the US Embassy warned. It added that Washington had continued to observe China-linked state-sponsored cyber actors targeting foreign governments, multilateral organisations and telecommunications networks across the Pacific.
The economic stakes
Fiji is emerging as a major telecommunications hub in the Pacific Islands as Google expands a network of subsea cables linking the US military outpost of Guam, Australia, French Polynesia and the mainland United States, AFP reports. That makes network trust an economic question as well as a security one for Fiji: cable landings, transit traffic and the regional bodies headquartered in Suva all rest on confidence in Fijian systems — and the review itself is donor-funded, underlining how much of the country’s security capacity depends on partners’ budgets rather than its own.
Per Reuters, the review lands amid growing pressure on Pacific governments to protect official networks and critical communications while navigating sharpening competition for influence between China, the United States and its regional partners.
What the review will cover
In the statement carried by AFP, Fiji’s Cabinet said the reforms should strengthen capabilities through improved collaboration among agencies, more effective intelligence assessments and a coordinated approach to emerging security threats. Reuters describes Fiji’s security sector as fragmented, with the partnership aimed at better coordination and information-sharing and at a more sustainable framework with clearer roles.
An NZSIS spokesperson told Reuters the agency’s mission was “keeping New Zealand safe” and contributing to “an open, stable and resilient Pacific region”, which meant working with Pacific partners on shared security challenges and supporting them to build resilience.
The cyber allegations and Beijing’s response
The US Embassy said it had also provided technical recommendations to help Fiji and the affected entity protect their systems. Fiji News has reported on the suspected breach of a Suva-based regional body and on statements that the Prime Minister had not been briefed on the incident.
Two denials, two addresses
China’s embassy in Suva rejected the allegations on Tuesday. “China firmly opposes and combats hacking activities in accordance with law,” it said in a statement carried by Reuters, which added that the embassy accused Washington of making allegations without evidence and called for dialogue to manage cyber risks. The wire reports place Beijing’s answer in different capitals: AFP had China’s foreign ministry saying it was not aware of the case and opposing the use of cybersecurity issues to smear China, while Reuters carried the Suva embassy’s rebuttal.
Separately, the United States alleged last week that a Chinese state agency employee living in Fiji had paid bribes on behalf of Beijing, AFP reports. Suva has asked Washington for evidence in that matter.
Background: policing, drugs and the coming election
Graeme Smith, a Pacific expert at the Australian National University, told AFP the review of Fiji’s intelligence service was overdue and that a combination of intelligence and policing was needed to tackle the threats the country faces. He expects the coming election to turn in part on transnational crime and its knock-on effects.
Fiji has seen a surge in drug smuggling by international cartels, and intravenous methamphetamine use has fuelled HIV rates recently declared a national emergency, AFP reports.
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, elected in 2022, removed Chinese police officers from Fiji’s police force, which now works more closely with Australian law enforcement. His predecessor, in power for 16 years, had allowed Chinese police to be seconded to the force and took on infrastructure loans from Beijing, according to AFP.
In May the Quad grouping of the United States, Australia, India and Japan pledged to jointly fund a “model port” in Fiji, AFP notes, as US allies seek to pare back China’s influence in the region.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which organisation in Suva was targeted?
It has not been publicly named. The US Embassy described the victim only as a Suva-based regional organisation, and neither the Reuters nor the AFP account identifies it. Fiji’s own assessment of the allegation was still under way when the Cabinet signed off on the NZSIS partnership.
When is the review due to report back?
The Cabinet set a six-month term running from its 14 October decision, which points to findings around April 2027. No publication date has been announced, and the NZSIS role ends at recommendations — any decision to act on them sits with Fiji’s Cabinet.
Has anyone been charged over the alleged hacking?
No charges or sanctions have been reported over the suspected network compromise itself. The US sanctions announced last week relate to a separate bribery allegation against a Chinese state agency employee living in Fiji, which Suva has asked Washington to substantiate.
Is New Zealand running similar reviews elsewhere in the Pacific?
The NZSIS casts Pacific resilience work as part of its standing mission, but the Fiji partnership is the only engagement of this kind identified in the Reuters and AFP reporting on the Cabinet decision.
