Three court martial proceedings are pending which include the case of the RFNS Puamau crew members which will start shortly after the completion of the pending ones.
This has been confirmed by the Minister for Defence and Veteran Affairs Pio Tikoduadua.
Tikoduadua stresses the officers should follow the law to uphold the law.
He says they have also completed the investigations for RFNS Timo which suffered slight damages while berthing at the naval base.
Tikoduadua says the maritime domain is Fiji’s future, as 90 percent of things that pose a threat to Fiji come from the sea whether it is above the sea, over the sea or below the sea and that is a clear message of where the government will build capacity and the Navy needs to build heavy and strong resources around it.
Tikoduadua says it is unfortunate the Navy has had some mishaps in the past but every institution has got its problems and flaws and the idea of possibly positioning Navy resources in areas like Lau and Vanua Levu could be a strategic move to better safeguard Fiji’s maritime interests, especially with the growing threats in the region.
He says right now the Navy has to look after the maritime areas and the officers have to be mindful of the work they execute while protecting our waters and welfare of the people.
