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Marshall Islands

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Marshall Islands. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Majuro

Head of State

President Hilda C. Heine

Head of Government

President Hilda C. Heine

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown speaks at a Pacific Islands Forum meeting in 2024. Photo: AP

Pacific nations

Cook Islands PM re-elected despite row with New Zealand over China ties

The result shows that local voters are not as concerned about geopolitical issues as claimed in earlier reports, analysts say.

18 Aug 2026 - 5:32PMvideocam

US-China relations

US sanctions mainland China, Hong Kong firms over Iranian oil shipments

6 Aug 2026 - 4:29AMvideocam

Middle East

Chemical tanker seized off Yemen coast in suspected Somali pirate hijack

17 Jul 2026 - 6:58PM

Space

Nasa turns to robotic spacecraft to save telescope from falling back to Earth

A salvage operation is set to launch as early as Tuesday to boost the Swift Observatory to a higher orbit.

29 Jun 2026 - 4:45PM

An artist concept of Katalyst’s spacecraft approaching Nasa’s Swift telescope. Photo: Nasa

China-Japan relations

Rising seas: Japan makes pitch to Pacific nations caught in US-China rivalry

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi tells summit that Tokyo is committed to helping regional partners strengthen ‘autonomy and resilience’.

3 Jun 2026 - 3:00PM

Pacific nations

Pacific Islanders skip food, medicine amid global fuel shortage from Iran war

Pacific nations are the most reliant on diesel for power generation worldwide. They imported about 2.2 million tonnes of fuel in 2025.

22 Apr 2026 - 9:37AM

Japan

Japan to start release of state oil reserve on Thursday to ease Iran impact

Japan sources nearly all crude oil from overseas and relies on the Middle East for over 90 per cent of its crude oil imports.

24 Mar 2026 - 8:10PMvideocam

An oil refinery in the Keihin Industrial Zone in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo. Photo: Reuters

Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong firm sanctioned by US in Venezuela crackdown found to use bogus address

Post finds vacant offices, shared secretaries in US-hit Hong Kong firms tied to Venezuelan oil exports, as namesake local company fears backlash.

3 Jan 2026 - 10:52PM

US-China relations

US denies Indo-Pacific retreat, says aid is being recalibrated to counter China

Washington argues that targeted assistance and partnerships will deepen regional ties and deliver longer-term economic and security gains.

16 Dec 2025 - 6:24AM

United States

US sanctions shipping network for smuggling Iran oil

The organisation is accused of covertly blending Iranian oil with Iraqi oil, then intentionally marketing it as solely of Iraqi origin.

3 Sep 2025 - 2:10AMvideocam

An Iranian oil facility is seeon on Khark Island in the Persian Gulf in March 2017. Photo: TNS

South China Sea

South China Sea: Beijing asserts ‘control measures’ against Philippine ships

Philippine military says there is an increase in Chinese vessels, including coastguard and militia ships, near shoal.

22 Aug 2025 - 4:34PMvideocam

China says it has taken “control measures” against two Philippine vessels near the Sierra Madre, a warship that has been grounded on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, although it did not say when. Photo: X/Armed Forces of the Philippines

Climate change

Opinion | World Court’s ruling opens the door wider for climate justice

The court’s decision could result in legal action against countries that fail to honour their climate commitments.

29 Jul 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

US-China trade war

My Take | The United States, not China, turns out to be the real bogeyman

The significance of Trump’s tariffs is that they have destroyed the credibility of America on which its global alliances have long depended.

6 Apr 2025 - 9:00PM

United States

My Take | Donald Trump’s tariff madness targets not only allies but animals

Penguins, seals and seabirds have not been spared in America’s global trade war, likewise territories with significant US or allied military assets.

4 Apr 2025 - 9:00PM

US President Donald Trump announces reciprocal tariffs at White House’s Rose Garden in Washington on April 2. Photo: TNS

Taiwan

Why the ‘Out of Taiwan’ language theory is a cross-strait battleground

Mainland Chinese academics are countering the hypothesis that the island was the ancestral homeland of the Austronesian peoples.

12 Feb 2025 - 7:08PMvideocam

The Austronesians are a group of ethnic communities spread across a vast region of the world – including Taiwan. Photo: Shutterstock

US-China relations

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

Middle East

US and UK strike Houthi rebel targets in Yemen after ship attacks

The United States and Britain have carried out air strikes on several sites in Yemen in what they said was a bid to degrade Houthi rebels’ ability to conduct attacks on maritime shipping.

31 May 2024 - 2:54PM

A fighter jet being launched from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in February. File photo: US Navy via Reuters

Australia

My Take | Playing defence Mini-Me for the US will cost Australia dearly

The complaint by Canberra about the latest Chinese military flare-up close to China’s coast is not only hypocritical but highly escalatory.

10 May 2024 - 9:00PM

US-China relations

Asian nations take steps to cope with geopolitical concern amid US-China rivalry

In this week’s issue of the Global Impact newsletter, we look at how Asian nations have been making moves with an eye on the ever evolving relationship between China and the United States.

6 May 2024 - 2:00PMvideocam

Pacific nations

Solomon Islands ‘locks in’ China ties with another pro-Beijing prime minister

New prime minister Jeremiah Manele is expected to apply a “lighter touch” to ties with Beijing given the demand for greater transparency.

3 May 2024 - 11:12PMvideocam

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi shakes hands with Solomon Islands then Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele at an event in Beijing in 2019. Manele has been chosen as the Solomons’ new prime minister. Photo: Reuters

Japan

To counter growing Chinese presence, Japan coastguard to train Pacific nations

The Mobile Cooperation Team initiative was first set up in 2017 as part of Tokyo’s efforts to train and equip the coastguards of Southeast Asian nations that felt threatened by China’s presence.

23 Apr 2024 - 1:16PMvideocam

A Japan Coast Guard patrol ship and helicopter take part in a search and rescue mission in November. Photo: Kyodo

Pacific nations

‘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-China relations

A US governor in the Pacific plans ‘lonely’ pivot away from China

Long tied to Beijing for tourism and gambling income, Northern Mariana Islands needs more aid from Washington, says governor.

28 Mar 2024 - 10:41AMvideocam

Defence

US ‘may be sending strong message’ to China with hypersonic missile test

US and China likely to continue developing hypersonic weapons while also improving their defensive capabilities to neutralise these systems: analyst.

22 Mar 2024 - 5:54PMvideocam

A B-52H Stratofortress strategic bomber based in Guam took part in the hypersonic missile test on Sunday, firing off the ARRW at the Reagan Test Site in the Marshall Islands. Photo: US Air Force

Pacific nations

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-China relations

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

Japan

Japan may be making its biggest security move in the Pacific Islands since WWII

Talks on March 19 are expected to involve Japan’s Self-Defence Forces and police taking part in local and regional responses as well as training.

13 Mar 2024 - 2:22PM

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Marshall Islands

Cook Islands PM re-elected despite row with New Zealand over China ties

The result shows that local voters are not as concerned about geopolitical issues as claimed in earlier reports, analysts say.

US sanctions mainland China, Hong Kong firms over Iranian oil shipments

Chemical tanker seized off Yemen coast in suspected Somali pirate hijack

Nasa turns to robotic spacecraft to save telescope from falling back to Earth

A salvage operation is set to launch as early as Tuesday to boost the Swift Observatory to a higher orbit.

Rising seas: Japan makes pitch to Pacific nations caught in US-China rivalry

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi tells summit that Tokyo is committed to helping regional partners strengthen ‘autonomy and resilience’.

Pacific Islanders skip food, medicine amid global fuel shortage from Iran war

Pacific nations are the most reliant on diesel for power generation worldwide. They imported about 2.2 million tonnes of fuel in 2025.

Japan to start release of state oil reserve on Thursday to ease Iran impact

Japan sources nearly all crude oil from overseas and relies on the Middle East for over 90 per cent of its crude oil imports.

Hong Kong firm sanctioned by US in Venezuela crackdown found to use bogus address

Post finds vacant offices, shared secretaries in US-hit Hong Kong firms tied to Venezuelan oil exports, as namesake local company fears backlash.

US denies Indo-Pacific retreat, says aid is being recalibrated to counter China

Washington argues that targeted assistance and partnerships will deepen regional ties and deliver longer-term economic and security gains.

US sanctions shipping network for smuggling Iran oil

The organisation is accused of covertly blending Iranian oil with Iraqi oil, then intentionally marketing it as solely of Iraqi origin.

South China Sea: Beijing asserts ‘control measures’ against Philippine ships

Philippine military says there is an increase in Chinese vessels, including coastguard and militia ships, near shoal.

.css-1pcrwvc{color:#2aa191;}Opinion | World Court’s ruling opens the door wider for climate justice

The court’s decision could result in legal action against countries that fail to honour their climate commitments.

My Take | The United States, not China, turns out to be the real bogeyman

The significance of Trump’s tariffs is that they have destroyed the credibility of America on which its global alliances have long depended.

My Take | Donald Trump’s tariff madness targets not only allies but animals

Penguins, seals and seabirds have not been spared in America’s global trade war, likewise territories with significant US or allied military assets.

Why the ‘Out of Taiwan’ language theory is a cross-strait battleground

Mainland Chinese academics are countering the hypothesis that the island was the ancestral homeland of the Austronesian peoples.

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.

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.

US and UK strike Houthi rebel targets in Yemen after ship attacks

The United States and Britain have carried out air strikes on several sites in Yemen in what they said was a bid to degrade Houthi rebels’ ability to conduct attacks on maritime shipping.

My Take | Playing defence Mini-Me for the US will cost Australia dearly

The complaint by Canberra about the latest Chinese military flare-up close to China’s coast is not only hypocritical but highly escalatory.

Asian nations take steps to cope with geopolitical concern amid US-China rivalry

In this week’s issue of the Global Impact newsletter, we look at how Asian nations have been making moves with an eye on the ever evolving relationship between China and the United States.

Solomon Islands ‘locks in’ China ties with another pro-Beijing prime minister

New prime minister Jeremiah Manele is expected to apply a “lighter touch” to ties with Beijing given the demand for greater transparency.

To counter growing Chinese presence, Japan coastguard to train Pacific nations

The Mobile Cooperation Team initiative was first set up in 2017 as part of Tokyo’s efforts to train and equip the coastguards of Southeast Asian nations that felt threatened by China’s presence.

‘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.

A US governor in the Pacific plans ‘lonely’ pivot away from China

Long tied to Beijing for tourism and gambling income, Northern Mariana Islands needs more aid from Washington, says governor.

US ‘may be sending strong message’ to China with hypersonic missile test

US and China likely to continue developing hypersonic weapons while also improving their defensive capabilities to neutralise these systems: analyst.

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.

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’.

Japan may be making its biggest security move in the Pacific Islands since WWII

Talks on March 19 are expected to involve Japan’s Self-Defence Forces and police taking part in local and regional responses as well as training.

Opinion | World Court’s ruling opens the door wider for climate justice