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French Polynesia

The latest news, analysis and opinion on French Polynesia. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Papeete

Head of State

President of France Emmanuel Macron

Head of Government

President Moetai Charles Brotherson

Canadian singer Celine Dion appears for her first concert of a series at the Plenitude Arena in Nanterre on Saturday. Photo: AFP

Music

Celine Dion makes long-awaited return to stage in Paris

The singer wept as she opened her first full concert in six years, amid her battle with the incurable Stiff Person Syndrome.

13 Sep 2026 - 6:05AM

Australia

Melbourne-US Qantas flight diverted after man bites crew member

17 May 2026 - 12:06PM

ICBMs

Past nuclear weapon tests linked to 4 million premature deaths globally: report

22 Jan 2026 - 12:46PMvideocam

Water sports

12-hour races to humpback whales: Hong Kong canoeists make Pacific history

Team of legal and finance professionals, sports coaches and a barber complete the torturous Hawaiki Nui Va’a race in French Polynesia.

27 Dec 2025 - 10:08AM

Hong Kong’s Aloha Adventure Squad is the first team from the city to complete the Hawaiki Nui Va’a race in French Polynesia. Photo: Handout

New Zealand

Japanese warships return to Wellington after 90 years, boosting Pacific ties

The last time a Japanese naval vessel visited the New Zealand capital was in 1936.

8 Aug 2025 - 1:16PM

Climate change

Opinion | Australia should leave politics out of climate collaboration with China

Seeing Beijing solely through a security lens undermines Canberra’s capacity to engage pragmatically on shared environmental interests.

3 Jul 2025 - 9:46PM

Pacific nations

A drop in the ocean? Pacific nations tap local know-how for marine conservation

Among the measures being taken are a ban on fishing and mining activities in vast marine protected areas.

27 Jun 2025 - 9:30AM

Children take a canoe to school in Solomon Islands. Pacific island nations have stepped up their marine conservation plans. Photo: Shutterstock

New Zealand

Classified New Zealand papers detail alarm over China’s Pacific missile test

Documents obtained under the Official Information Act reveal deep diplomatic unease about China’s ‘mischaracterisation’ of its ICBM launch.

18 Jun 2025 - 1:26PMvideocam

Tourism

French Polynesian cruise shows every storm cloud has a silver lining

Cruise passengers forced off course by storms get a rare glimpse of the Marquesas Islands before the weather breaks for a postcard finish.

25 Mar 2025 - 7:40AM

Tourism

A Moana holiday sailing in Tahiti offers tastes of Polynesian tradition

Inspired by Disney’s Moana? Channel the Polynesian princess in Tahiti, where traditional vessels take visitors on cultural journeys by water.

5 Dec 2024 - 5:21AM

The Vaapiti, a double-hulled canoe, in French Polynesia. Photo: Vaapiti

Malaysia

She left Malaysia to sail the world for freedom, adventure – and the ‘soft life’

Syasya Syahirah Nor Azmi gave up her life in Penang for the gentle sway of a sailing boat thousands of miles from home. Life is good, even if it can get lonely at times. And she misses the food.

28 Apr 2024 - 4:00PM

A typical day on board the sailing boat home involves a mix of maintenance, navigation, and leisure for Syasya Syahirah Nor Azmi. Photo: Instagram/whatswrongsyaa

China’s military

China, France deepen military cooperation as South China Sea tensions rise

Agreement on inter-theatre cooperation and dialogue mechanism with PLA comes as France joins US-Philippine drills in contested South China Sea waters.

27 Apr 2024 - 9:30PMvideocam

Paris 2024 Olympic Games

China has its first Olympic surfer as Yang, 14, becomes youngest Paris qualifier

Teenager ‘super-excited’ and admits she was initially unaware that her World Surfing Games results had clinched her a ticket to Tahiti, where the Paris Games’ surfing events will be held.

2 Mar 2024 - 8:15PM

Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Surfing in Tahiti, football in Marseille – how to attend Olympics outside Paris

There have been gloomy forecasts about Paris’ transport and accommodation, but football will be held all over France, while sports such as equestrian and sailing will be staged entirely outside the capital.

21 Jan 2024 - 9:00AM

The 2024 Olympic surfing events will be held in Tahiti. Photo: Shutterstock

South China Sea

‘Likely to agitate China’: European powers step up their Indo-Pacific presence

Concerns about China, trade routes and upholding international law have seen Germany and Italy join France in making their regional presence felt, but analysts say increased European involvement could do more harm than good.

7 Jan 2024 - 12:00PM

The German frigate Bayern (Bavaria). Photo: Mohssen Assanimoghaddam/dpa

Celebrity children

Does Bradley Cooper and Irina Shayk’s unique co-parenting style really work?

Six-year-old Lea De Seine holidays with Diane Von Furstenberg and doesn’t have a nanny, while her separated parents even continue to take sexy snaps of each other – so what’s going on?

18 Dec 2023 - 5:00AM

Food and Drinks

Why Hong Kong cocktail bar Kinsman features obscure Cantonese spirits

Canadian-Chinese food writer turned bartender Gavin Yeung talks about his Hong Kong bar, Kinsman, and why it serves cocktails made with rare Cantonese spirits: to revive the city’s ‘forgotten history’.

7 Dec 2023 - 12:45PM

The Philippines

Philippines, France agree to ramp up defence ties

The boost to bilateral defence cooperation includes seeking authority from leaders of both countries to negotiate a status of visiting forces agreement.

2 Dec 2023 - 7:15PM

French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu (left) shakes hands with his Philippine counterpart Secretary Gilberto Teodoro as they hold a document during a joint press conference at a hotel in Manila, Philippines on Saturday. Photo: Pool via AP

China's economic recovery

From snorkels to skiing, Chinese travellers eye the less trodden path

Chinese tourists hit 40.3 million in the first half of 2023, down from 155 million in all of 2019, but those who travel are seen to ‘prioritise personalised travel services catering to specific interests and passions’.

27 Oct 2023 - 11:30AMvideocam

United States

My Take | What independence really means for two tiny Pacific island states

Self-governing Cook Islands and Niue have exchanged their freedom in political association with New Zealand for dominated status under the United States.

29 Sep 2023 - 9:00PM

My Take

My Take | Why Beijing’s security pact with Solomons has been a huge blunder

Islands provide perfect example of ‘China threat’ for US and its allies as they then turn central and south Pacific into their sphere of influence.

27 Sep 2023 - 9:00PM

FILE : Ships are docked offshore in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands on November 24, 2018. Photo: AP

US-China relations

My Take | Claims by US over central Pacific now rival those of Beijing in South China Sea

Washington’s new pacts with three island states will establish a second island chain of attack as a complete sphere of influence in breach of international law and its own interpretation of freedom of navigation.

25 Sep 2023 - 9:00PM

This photo taken on September 20, 2023 shows a Chinese coast guard ship (back) shadowing Philippine fishing boats anchored near the Chinese-controlled Scarborough Shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea. Photo: AFP

Pacific nations

Tiny Cook Islands, Niue to get US embassies amid Biden’s powered-up Pacific push

Fewer than 2,000 people call isolated Niue home, while the Cook Islands have a permanent population well under 20,000. Biden has put a premium on improving Pacific ties amid rising US concern about China’s influence.

25 Sep 2023 - 6:53PMvideocam

Pacific nations

US ‘back in force’ in Pacific as Biden engages with regional leaders at summit

The White House is hosting Pacific island leaders on Monday as Biden promises to take US engagement in region to ‘next level’ but there are notable absences from the meeting.

25 Sep 2023 - 3:26AMvideocam

Sri Lanka

France seeks Sri Lanka ties in aim to be ‘alternative’ Indo-Pacific power

France is looking to bolster its ties with Sri Lanka and believes it can be ‘a balancing power’ in the Indo-Pacific, analysts say.

27 Aug 2023 - 11:30AM

France’s President Emmanuel Macron chats with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe during an overnight stopover in Colombo last month.Photo: President Media/Handout via Reuters

Diplomacy

Opinion | Why China should care about French interests in Africa and the Pacific

France could help China improve its EU ties under the banner of strategic autonomy – but Beijing would need to steer clear of red lines in francophone Africa and the South Pacific.

8 Aug 2023 - 1:25AMvideocam

French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech at the Place des Cocotiers in Noumea, New Caledonia, on July 26. As former French colonies eject French troops, French dependencies are also exploring ideas of independence. Photo: AFP

Australia

‘I’m alive’: Australian lost at sea with a dog opens up about his 3-month ordeal

Timothy Lyndsay Shaddock is back on dry land and looking forward to seeing his family in Australia again. But Bella the dog won’t be joining him.

20 Jul 2023 - 4:17PMvideocam

Australia

Australian ‘castaway’ and dog survived 2 months at sea on rainwater, raw fish

Tim Shaddock and his dog, Bella were found in good health by a tuna trawler off the coast of Mexico this week, after they were lost at sea for two months.

17 Jul 2023 - 3:34PM

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French Polynesia

Celine Dion makes long-awaited return to stage in Paris

The singer wept as she opened her first full concert in six years, amid her battle with the incurable Stiff Person Syndrome.

Melbourne-US Qantas flight diverted after man bites crew member

Past nuclear weapon tests linked to 4 million premature deaths globally: report

12-hour races to humpback whales: Hong Kong canoeists make Pacific history

Team of legal and finance professionals, sports coaches and a barber complete the torturous Hawaiki Nui Va’a race in French Polynesia.

Japanese warships return to Wellington after 90 years, boosting Pacific ties

The last time a Japanese naval vessel visited the New Zealand capital was in 1936.

.css-1pcrwvc{color:#2aa191;}Opinion | Australia should leave politics out of climate collaboration with China

Seeing Beijing solely through a security lens undermines Canberra’s capacity to engage pragmatically on shared environmental interests.

A drop in the ocean? Pacific nations tap local know-how for marine conservation

Among the measures being taken are a ban on fishing and mining activities in vast marine protected areas.

Classified New Zealand papers detail alarm over China’s Pacific missile test

Documents obtained under the Official Information Act reveal deep diplomatic unease about China’s ‘mischaracterisation’ of its ICBM launch.

French Polynesian cruise shows every storm cloud has a silver lining

Cruise passengers forced off course by storms get a rare glimpse of the Marquesas Islands before the weather breaks for a postcard finish.

A Moana holiday sailing in Tahiti offers tastes of Polynesian tradition

Inspired by Disney’s Moana? Channel the Polynesian princess in Tahiti, where traditional vessels take visitors on cultural journeys by water.

She left Malaysia to sail the world for freedom, adventure – and the ‘soft life’

Syasya Syahirah Nor Azmi gave up her life in Penang for the gentle sway of a sailing boat thousands of miles from home. Life is good, even if it can get lonely at times. And she misses the food.

China, France deepen military cooperation as South China Sea tensions rise

Agreement on inter-theatre cooperation and dialogue mechanism with PLA comes as France joins US-Philippine drills in contested South China Sea waters.

China has its first Olympic surfer as Yang, 14, becomes youngest Paris qualifier

Teenager ‘super-excited’ and admits she was initially unaware that her World Surfing Games results had clinched her a ticket to Tahiti, where the Paris Games’ surfing events will be held.

Surfing in Tahiti, football in Marseille – how to attend Olympics outside Paris

There have been gloomy forecasts about Paris’ transport and accommodation, but football will be held all over France, while sports such as equestrian and sailing will be staged entirely outside the capital.

‘Likely to agitate China’: European powers step up their Indo-Pacific presence

Concerns about China, trade routes and upholding international law have seen Germany and Italy join France in making their regional presence felt, but analysts say increased European involvement could do more harm than good.

Does Bradley Cooper and Irina Shayk’s unique co-parenting style really work?

Six-year-old Lea De Seine holidays with Diane Von Furstenberg and doesn’t have a nanny, while her separated parents even continue to take sexy snaps of each other – so what’s going on?

Why Hong Kong cocktail bar Kinsman features obscure Cantonese spirits

Canadian-Chinese food writer turned bartender Gavin Yeung talks about his Hong Kong bar, Kinsman, and why it serves cocktails made with rare Cantonese spirits: to revive the city’s ‘forgotten history’.

Philippines, France agree to ramp up defence ties

The boost to bilateral defence cooperation includes seeking authority from leaders of both countries to negotiate a status of visiting forces agreement.

From snorkels to skiing, Chinese travellers eye the less trodden path

Chinese tourists hit 40.3 million in the first half of 2023, down from 155 million in all of 2019, but those who travel are seen to ‘prioritise personalised travel services catering to specific interests and passions’.

My Take | What independence really means for two tiny Pacific island states

Self-governing Cook Islands and Niue have exchanged their freedom in political association with New Zealand for dominated status under the United States.

My Take | Why Beijing’s security pact with Solomons has been a huge blunder

Islands provide perfect example of ‘China threat’ for US and its allies as they then turn central and south Pacific into their sphere of influence.

My Take | Claims by US over central Pacific now rival those of Beijing in South China Sea

Washington’s new pacts with three island states will establish a second island chain of attack as a complete sphere of influence in breach of international law and its own interpretation of freedom of navigation.

Tiny Cook Islands, Niue to get US embassies amid Biden’s powered-up Pacific push

Fewer than 2,000 people call isolated Niue home, while the Cook Islands have a permanent population well under 20,000. Biden has put a premium on improving Pacific ties amid rising US concern about China’s influence.

US ‘back in force’ in Pacific as Biden engages with regional leaders at summit

The White House is hosting Pacific island leaders on Monday as Biden promises to take US engagement in region to ‘next level’ but there are notable absences from the meeting.

France seeks Sri Lanka ties in aim to be ‘alternative’ Indo-Pacific power

France is looking to bolster its ties with Sri Lanka and believes it can be ‘a balancing power’ in the Indo-Pacific, analysts say.

Opinion | Why China should care about French interests in Africa and the Pacific

France could help China improve its EU ties under the banner of strategic autonomy – but Beijing would need to steer clear of red lines in francophone Africa and the South Pacific.

‘I’m alive’: Australian lost at sea with a dog opens up about his 3-month ordeal

Timothy Lyndsay Shaddock is back on dry land and looking forward to seeing his family in Australia again. But Bella the dog won’t be joining him.

Australian ‘castaway’ and dog survived 2 months at sea on rainwater, raw fish

Tim Shaddock and his dog, Bella were found in good health by a tuna trawler off the coast of Mexico this week, after they were lost at sea for two months.

Opinion | Australia should leave politics out of climate collaboration with China