Kiribati

Most Pacific island women don’t work. The World Bank wants to change that

17 Jun 2025 - 12:03PM

Another tiny Pacific nation courts China for deep-sea mining riches

18 Mar 2025 - 2:41PM

‘Not welcome’: China ally Kiribati criticises Chinese ICBM test

China conducted a rare launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile with a dummy warhead that landed in the Pacific Ocean late last month.

8 Oct 2024 - 11:13AM

Kiribati’s President Taneti Maamau (left) walks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a welcome ceremony in Beijing in 2020. Photo: AP

As No 2 US envoy ends Pacific tour, Beijing scores a diplomatic win on Taiwan

After Beijing envoy demands ‘correction’, Pacific Islands Forum scraps Taiwan reference from its annual summit’s final communique.

1 Sep 2024 - 12:39AMvideocam

Japan

Japan talks with Pacific islands focus on climate, security issues take back seat

Among the areas of concern highlighted by Pacific island nations was Japan’s release of treated radioactive water.

20 Jul 2024 - 1:45PMvideocam

US must avoid ‘devastating’ budget cuts to vie with China in Indo-Pacific: envoy

But Republican lawmakers question whether funds are being spent effectively to counter Beijing’s ‘malign influence’.

28 Jun 2024 - 6:36AMvideocam

Daniel Kritenbrink has served as US assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs since 2021. Photo: AP

‘Calling for change’: will Solomon Islands lean closer to China after its polls?

Geopolitics looms large over the polls in Solomon Islands, where Beijing and Washington have been vying for influence for years. But for voters just struggling to make ends meet, Wednesday’s election may be decided by issues much closer to home.

17 Apr 2024 - 10:49AMvideocam

US rejects Chinese envoy’s claim it illegally boarded fishing boats in Pacific

China’s ambassador to New Zealand had called the use of ‘shiprider’ pacts between the US and Vanuatu, Kiribati and Papua New Guinea to ‘carry out law enforcement activities against China’s fishing vessels’ a violation of international law.

10 Apr 2024 - 2:59PM

Warily eyeing China’s influence, US talks up US$7.1 billion in Pacific aid

Leaders in the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau had warned that delays could have forced their governments to cut services, and swayed public opinion towards offers of investment from China.

20 Mar 2024 - 3:53PMvideocam

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets (from left) Marshall Islands Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Jack Ading, Palau’s President Surangel Whipps Jnr and Micronesia’s President Wesley Simina (right) in September last year. Photo: AP

US knew Nauru might cut ties to Taiwan before it did, official says

Daniel Kritenbrink, an assistant secretary of state, tells Senate hearing ‘we had known for some time [of Nauru’s concerns] … in this instance, they decided to flip’.

15 Mar 2024 - 7:59AM

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (right) and his Nauru counterpart Lionel Aingimea shake hands after signing the joint communique on the resumption of diplomatic relations between China and Nauru in Beijing on January 24. Photo: AP

‘No role’ for China in policing Pacific islands, Australian minister says

The comments from Australia’s Pacific Minister Pat Conroy come after a news report said that Chinese police will begin working on the island nation of Kiribati.

29 Feb 2024 - 4:22PMvideocam

Diplomacy

China ahead of US in global diplomatic presence – but does it mean influence?

Beijing has 274 diplomatic missions around the world, compared with 271 for Washington, a new study has found.

27 Feb 2024 - 10:00AMvideocam

Tuvalu’s Taiwan ties in the balance as Pacific nation gets new PM

The issue of diplomatic recognition is up for debate in the island nation, one of only three remaining Pacific allies of Taiwan. The new prime minister’s position on the subject has not been made public.

26 Feb 2024 - 3:31PMvideocam

Funafuti, capital island of Tuvalu, is seen from a plane. The Pacific nation is one of just 12 states that still formally recognise Taiwan. Photo: AP

Belt and Road Initiative

How China merges funding and diplomacy in push to lead the Global South

Beijing will be the backdrop this year for gatherings of Latin American and African leaders, part of a long-standing relationship with developing countries.

25 Feb 2024 - 8:09PMvideocam

China is now Africa’s biggest trading partner. Photo: Shutterstock

Chinese police work in Kiribati as Beijing widens Pacific ties to counter US

Kiribati’s acting police commissioner said Chinese officers were assisting their local counterparts on community policing and a crime database programme.

23 Feb 2024 - 2:25PMvideocam

US’ funding deadlock may pave the way for more Chinese influence in the Pacific

The lack of urgency is causing alarm inside the United States among those hyper-aware of the speed at which China may step in while Congress dawdles over a small sum of money by aid standards.

21 Feb 2024 - 7:38PM

History

Blurry sonar image sparks excitement, doubt over Earhart’s mystery disappearance

A blurry sonar image has sparked frenzied speculation that a deep-sea exploration company has located the plane flown by Amelia Earhart that disappeared in 1937.

4 Feb 2024 - 4:00PM

A photo of Amelia Earhart dated 1937, along with goggles she was wearing during her first plane crash. A fuzzy sonar image has ignited hopes of finding her missing plane almost nine decades after it disappeared. Photo: AP/File

Taiwan election 2024

‘What’s next’ as China’s Pacific island diplomatic wins mount?

After Nauru’s diplomatic switch from Taipei, experts are watching for shifts in regional security, balance of power.

4 Feb 2024 - 4:01PMvideocam

No need to be ‘anxious’ over China’s Pacific presence, envoy tells Australia

Ambassador Xiao Qian said Pacific island nations want to have political and trade dealings with Beijing, which is not seeking a military strategy.

17 Jan 2024 - 2:50PMvideocam

Facing oblivion, Pacific nations condemn ‘catastrophic’ Cop28 deal

Pacific nations, especially Kiribati, Marshall Islands and Tuvalu, are among the most vulnerable nations to be nearly entirely inundated by rising sea levels.

18 Dec 2023 - 7:10PMvideocam

Activists protest on the sidelines of the Cop28 in Dubai. Photo: EPA-EFE

Solomon Islands hosts China-funded Pacific Games amid big-power rivalry

Solomon Islands’ PM Manasseh Sogavare has alarmed the West with his pro-Beijing engagement and increasingly authoritarian reflexes. He told This Week in Asia that Honiara’s ties with China ‘were never better’.

21 Nov 2023 - 12:14PM

Fans at the China-built 10,000-seater stadium for the Pacific Games in Honiara, Solomon Islands. Photo: Christopher Cottrell

Tuvalu gets climate win in new Australia pact, but it comes with a ‘trade-off’

Security and defence conditions in the two countries’ upgraded partnership mean Tuvalu may have to ‘surrender some sovereignty’ as Australia keeps an eye on China’s activities in the region.

13 Nov 2023 - 7:00PM

Landmark climate refuge deal allows Tuvaluans to live and work in Australia

The treaty would also commit Australia to defend the Pacific island in the case of foreign invasion or natural disaster.

10 Nov 2023 - 2:56PMvideocam

China’s Pacific aid mostly goes to its allies, Australian think tank says

China’s declining aid to the South Pacific is increasingly targeted towards its political allies as the region’s appetite for Chinese credit declines and competition grows with the US for influence, the Lowy Institute reported on Tuesday.

31 Oct 2023 - 4:20PM

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Kiribati’s President Taneti Maamau shake hands during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in January 2020. Photo: Reuters

US and Australia announce agreement to work with Japan on defence technology

At a joint briefing with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, US President Joe Biden is ‘confident’ Congress will pass funding for Aukus subs and that the alliance is an ‘anchor’ to peace and prosperity in the region.

26 Oct 2023 - 6:07AMvideocam

US President Joe Biden (right) speaking at his joint news conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday at the White House. Photo: Bloomberg

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