Fiji enlists New Zealand intelligence service for six-month security review

Fiji announced on Wednesday, 14 October, a six-month partnership with New Zealand’s Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) to review its intelligence system. The New Zealand-funded work will examine how Fiji’s agencies operate and recommend reforms aimed at improving coordination and oversight, according to Reuters and RNZ.

Fiji’s Cabinet approved the partnership, Reuters reported. The government wants an assessment of its current intelligence structure and evidence-based options for reform, with particular attention to fragmentation among agencies and the way they share information.

What the Fiji intelligence review will examine

The review will cover intelligence functions, governance, staffing and operations, RNZ reported. It will also consider the risks, benefits and practical requirements of proposed changes. Fiji’s government said any reforms should include appropriate oversight and accountability as part of a sustainable national intelligence system.

The announcement starts an assessment and recommendation process; it does not set out a final structure for Fiji’s intelligence agencies. Fiji did not identify a specific threat as the reason for commissioning the review, Reuters reported.

Separate security claims in the Pacific

The partnership comes amid separate claims about security threats in the region. RNZ reported that an NZSIS threat assessment released in August identified people carrying out espionage and foreign-interference activities in the Pacific on behalf of a foreign intelligence service. That assessment provides regional context, but Fiji has not linked it to the decision to commission this review.

Reuters also reported that the US Embassy in Suva said it had alerted Fiji and a regional organisation to a suspected network compromise between July and August 2026. The embassy said hackers linked to China had retained access for several days and that Washington had supplied technical recommendations to help protect the affected systems. China’s embassy in Suva rejected the US allegations, said China opposed hacking and the politicisation of cybersecurity, and called for dialogue. Those competing statements have not been established as the trigger for Fiji’s review.