2026年6月、ニウエの警察・防災担当相が、太平洋の安全保障会議で「我が国最大の安全保障上の脅威は野良犬の問題だ」と述べた。June 2026 — Niue's minister for police and disaster management told a Pacific security forum that the country's biggest security threat is its roaming dogs.

Niue's Minister for Police and National Disaster Management, Richie Mautama, told a room of defence strategists at the Pacific Peace and Security Dialogue in Suva, Fiji, that an unmanaged roaming dog population was the security threat keeping him awake at night.

Niue is a small island nation of about 1,600 people in the South Pacific, in free association with New Zealand. Its isolation and small population mean everyday community safety weighs more heavily than military or geopolitical threats.

The remark came as the three-day dialogue closed, during discussions calling for a broader definition of Pacific security reflecting the lived realities of island communities. It drew smiles from delegates while capturing what participants described as the forum's central message: security frameworks should address what people actually face.