KE AUPUNI UPDATE - DECEMBER 2024
An Ocean of Peace – An Ocean of Aloha
In November 2023, at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Retreat in Aitutaki, Rarotonga, the Prime Minister of Fiji, Sitiveni Rabuka proposed the PIF nations declare a ‘Zone of Peace’ or ‘Ocean of Peace,’ representing a collective commitment to maintaining peace in the region.
In his visionary statement, Prime Minister Rabuka emphasized, “This moment is an opportunity for us islanders of the Pacific to shape a common destiny built around peace.”
This concept was well received by the PIF Leaders and the PIF Secretariat has been tasked to further develop the concept and to align it with the PIF’s 2050 Strategy and its implementation plan for consideration at the next Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in the Solomon Islands
The PIF envisions the Ocean of Peace concept to achieve a more peaceful and stable future for the Pacific region and to set a positive example of a way to peacefully settle disputes around the world.
The strategic importance of the Blue Pacific region is significant. The nations, united through the Pacific Islands Forum, have sovereign rights to over 32 million square kilometers of the Blue Pacific. That is about the combined land areas of Russia, China, and the United States. The collective Exclusive Economic Zones surrounding the islands exceed the combined landmass of North America and Europe, reaffirming the geopolitical significance of the Blue Pacific in the competition between the U.S. and China.
Ironically, the Pacific Islands Forum does not include the Archipelago of the Hawaiian Islands, even though the Hawaiian Islands has historically played a pivotal role in Pacific and global affairs. And yet, Hawaii has a key role to play in this Ocean of Peace.
Is the Pacific finally living up to it’s name? Our ancestors called our ocean domain Moananuiakea. Our Maori cousins to the south called it Moananuiakiwa… In 1520 the Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan upon entering Moananuiakea – called it the Pacific Ocean – the Ocean of Peace.
What is peace? Is it the absence of dispute? Is it the absence of turmoil? Is it the absence of conflict? Is it the absence of war? No. True peace is the presence of Aloha. It is Aloha embodied in our relationships and our dealings with one another.
I am reminded of the words uttered in 1962 by our kupuna, Aunty Pilahi Paki. She famously said:
“The World will turn to Hawaii as they search for world peace because Hawaii has the key… and that key is aloha.”
And then she spelled it out for us…
Akahai: kindness; express it with tenderness.
Lokahi: unity; express it with harmony.
Oluolu: agreeable; express it with pleasantness.
Haʻahaʻa: humility; express it with modesty.
Ahonui: patience; apply it with perseverance.
An ‘Ocean of Peace’ means an ‘Ocean of Aloha’
“Love of country is deep-seated in the breast of every Hawaiian, whatever his station.” — Queen Liliʻuokalani
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Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono. The sovereignty of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.
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For the latest news and developments about our progress at the United Nations in both New York and Geneva, tune in to Free Hawaii News at 7 PM the first Friday of each month on ʻŌlelo Television, Channel 53.
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Malama Pono,
Leon Siu
Hawaiian National
