Tikoduadua to travel alone to visit Fijian peacekeepers, says leadership must match their sacrifice

Minister for Defence and Veteran Affairs Pio Tikoduadua says he will be travelling alone on his upcoming multi-country mission to visit Fijian soldiers serving in peacekeeping operations abroad, and this means a lot to the troops who deserve to be remembered and seen.

While responding to criticism about the tour, Tikoduadua says this trip spans multiple countries because our troops are spread across multiple missions including UNDOF in the Golan Heights, UNTSO in Jerusalem and Tiberias, and the MFO in Sinai.

He says he will not pick and choose which deployments are ‘worth the airfare' as they all are.

He says he is not travelling abroad for a vacation but he is going to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our men and women in uniform—Fijians who serve in some of the harshest, most dangerous corners of the world, far away from home and family, under the blue flag of the United Nations and the red, white and blue of our own.

The Minister says he wore the uniform of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces and served in Lebanon as a UN peacekeeper.

Tikoduadua says he marched under the same sun, carried the same weight, and endured the same silence of being away from home during moments that mattered most.

He says no one needed to tell him what it meant to be remembered—to be seen and that memory lives in him every day, and it is what compels him to make this journey now.

Tikoduadua stresses this is not about photo opportunities.

He says it is about fulfilling his duty of care—to hear their concerns directly, to inspect their conditions, and to carry their voices to the very tables where decisions about their lives and safety are made.

The Minister says to suggest that a Zoom call can replace that responsibility is not just naïve — it is offensive.

He says they are not dealing with virtual soldiers.

The Minister stresses these are real people, real Fijians, who put themselves in harm’s way every day.

He says if we demand their sacrifice, we must match it with leadership and anything less is cowardice masquerading as frugality.

He also stresses that the costs of the mission have been tightly managed.

Tikoduadua says some travel and accommodation are covered by the hosts.

He confirms all arrangements comply with Government travel policy and says unlike past governments, where multiple senior leaders would travel together on such missions—including Ministers, Prime Ministers, and even Presidents—under this Coalition Government, only the Minister responsible is travelling.

He says this is the difference; that is restraint.

Tikoduadua says he is aware of the challenges Fiji faces.

He says we face serious challenges at home—crime, drugs, and insecurity, and he has never denied this.

Tikoduadua says in fact, he has led the charge in confronting it.

He says the Police Reset, the National Security and Defence Review, the counter-narcotics reforms—these are not slogans but are real actions, underpinned by real work, and they will continue while he is away.

He says national security doesn’t begin or end at our borders but extends to every Fijian who wears our uniform abroad, every international partner who stands with us, and every global decision that affects our people’s safety and that is what this mission is about.

Tikoduadua says he hears those who have raised concerns in good faith but is suggesting to those who prefer outrage over facts, and politics over patriotism that they speak to the families of the soldiers he will be visiting.

He says ask them if their sons and daughters are worth the Minister’s time and presence and then tell him whether staying behind would have been the right thing to do.

Tikoduadua says he leaves with a full heart, a clear purpose, and the deepest respect for our peacekeepers.

He adds he will return with their voices, their truths, and their hopes—because they deserve to be heard.