Most significant threats to security in the Pacific Islands region today are internal rather than external. One has only to look at the extraordinary situation today in Nauru, the governance issues in Papua New Guinea, the constitutional concerns in Vanuatu, and the dominance of the military in Fiji. And in considering them, we need to remember that the Biketawa Declaration, agreed 16 years ago now, provides a mechanism that can be used to combat threats to security in the region, including internal problems.