Fiji, April 7 -- China is expanding its policing footprint across the Pacific, moving from basic training support to more operational involvement in several island countries, raising the stakes in an increasingly contested security space.

A new report on Policing Partnership in the Pacific finds that Beijing's law enforcement engagement in the region has grown steadily over the past two decades, with Pacific Island countries now forming part of a broader overseas policing strategy.

"China has expanded its foreign law enforcement assistance over the past two decades, and the Pacific Islands have increasingly become part of its policing interventions."

The report says the nature of that engagement has shifted significantly, with China no...