Fiji, Sept. 24 -- Palau President and Forum Chair, Surangel Whipps Jr has warned that the Pacific must not be treated as a theatre for geopolitical competition, calling for respect for Pacific sovereignty, international law and the region's right to determine its own future.

Delivering Palau's High-Level Statement at the 81st United Nations General Assembly(UNGA), Whipps said the Pacific was home to people, communities, cultures, fisheries and ecosystems and should remain an Ocean of Peace.

"The Pacific is our home, not a theatre for geopolitical competition.

"It must remain an ocean of peace where nations meet in cooperation, international law is respected, and the security of the Pacific peoples is never compromised," Whipps said.

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