Members of Vanuatu Mobile Force during riot control training. There has been no major civil unrest in Vanuatu for several years, but in 1988 there were riots, looting and destruction of businesses in Port Vila; further riots in 1998 due to concerns with the Vanuatu National Provident Fund; and riots in Port Vila in 2007 triggered by disputes between different sets of islanders and exacerbated by a growing young and unemployed urban population. The Maritime Wing’s patrol boat RVS Tukoro, the principal asset of the Police Maritime Wing (PMW). The function of the PMW is to operate as the primary resource for the implementation of Maritime Policy, and to: detect, monitor and respond to illegal fishing activity; support the Immigration, Customs and Biosecurity Departments; assist with disaster relief and medical evacuations; conduct salvage operations; support remote area policing; carry out maritime search and rescue; participate in interoperability missions with the maritime elements of neighbouring nations; and participate in joint exercises. It currently numbers 39 personnel. 23

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