Building digital trust in the pacific

A patrol boat shadows an unflagged vessel near a cable landing station in the Pacific. There’s no nearby base. No time to escalate. But a single secure message, sent from a handheld device, alerts regional partners. They’ve seen this vessel before. Within minutes, a coordinated response is underway. No shots fired. Cable intact.

That kind of rapid cooperation depends on trust. Australia can help deliver it by supporting the tools that enable secure, inclusive coordination at speed.

In the Indo-Pacific, formal military arrangements often fall short of operational needs. Many regional governments have limited defence capacity and strong preferences for independent capability. But threats still travel quickly. Shared awareness cannot wait for clearances or deep integration. It needs simple, reliable tools that work across borders, even in low-connectivity environments.

Existing secure communication platforms—such as ATAK, goTenna and Signal—have proven useful in humanitarian operations and mobile field teams. They support encrypted messaging, offline operation and precise control over who receives information. These systems were built for tactical flexibility, which makes them ideal for use by maritime patrols, port authorities, law enforcement and civilian responders across the region.

In Sri Lanka, a basic fisheries monitoring system allows civilian operators to report suspicious activity in real time, with minimal infrastructure. That system has improved detection of smuggling and unregistered vessels. Australia and its partners could help scale similar approaches with stronger encryption and better training. What matters most is that the tools are easy to use, interoperable and respectful of local autonomy.

Human relationships matter just as much as the software. Training deployments, exercises and exchanges help build trust that can be relied on during periods of uncertainty. The Olgeta Warrior mobile training team in Papua New Guinea is a strong example. It builds trust alongside technical skill. But once deployments end, those relationships often fade.

That gap can be closed. A secure mobile app or encrypted channel can help teams stay in contact. They can share updated tactics, flag emerging threats and ask for support without relying on formal systems. These persistent, low-friction connections help build continuity over time, even in places where institutions are fragile and bandwidth is limited.

Digital trust also matters in the information domain. Foreign actors are using coordinated campaigns to undermine institutions and destabilise public narratives. Timely and credible responses can blunt those efforts. The strongest responses are delivered locally, not broadcast from Canberra or Washington.

NATO’s Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence has helped small teams in the Baltics develop this kind of capacity. Its teams produce fast, accurate and locally trusted counter-messaging. A similar model could work in the Indo-Pacific. Australia could help establish combined information cells that operate close to the source. They would not be responsible for controlling the message. Their value would come from verification, speed and cultural fit.

Digital tools can help here as well. Jigsaw’s disinformation games, developed in Europe to support public awareness, could be adapted for mobile-first environments in the Pacific. Translated and localised, they would give communities more confidence to resist manipulation and respond on their own terms.

These tools and techniques are often overlooked. They are small, cheap and hard to count. But they work. They reduce dependency. They allow local responders to make decisions and act when it matters. They also build habits of coordination that carry across sectors, including maritime safety, disaster recovery and public health.

Australia’s regional contributions are usually measured in aid dollars, infrastructure projects or training deployments. All of these are important, but the digital layer now carries just as much weight. Software, networks and protocols underpin coordination and response. These systems do not require allegiance. They offer access, and that access builds alignment over time.

Given their function, we should consider this digital layer as critical infrastructure. These tools enable decision-making, give partners more control and support cooperation without demanding compliance.

If Australia wants to be a trusted technology partner in the region, it should help deliver systems that others can use with confidence. That means prioritising tools that operate in low-trust, low-infrastructure environments. It means designing for flexibility, not control. And it means building systems that are lightweight, resilient and ready to use before they are urgently needed.

These may not be the biggest investments Australia makes. But they might be the most strategic.

This article was published by The Strategist.