Advertisement
Advertisement
TOPIC

Pacific Islands Forum

Pacific Islands Forum
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Pacific Islands Forum. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
The volcanic islands of Matthew (pictured) and Hunter lie several hundred kilometres east of the French overseas territory of New Caledonia but are also claimed by Vanuatu. Photo: Google Maps
United Nations

France digs in on Pacific islands claim as Vanuatu turns to World Court

Vanuatu says it will seek UN General Assembly opinion if Paris does not accept the ICJ’s jurisdiction on the disputed outcrops.

Defence

Letters | Missile test shows major-power rivalry is spilling into the Pacific

US-China relations

‘Textbook misinformation’: China rejects New Zealand security accusations

videocam
20
Pacific nations

Controversy as Solomon Islands freezes out all Pacific Islands Forum partners

Observers say the ‘pragmatic compromise’ aims to create space for Pacific-only dialogue and stop geopolitics from tearing the PIF apart.

videocam
6
Flags from Pacific nations are seen on the last day of a Pacific Islands Forum in 2018. Photo: AFP
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.

videocam
Mainland China

China pledges deeper law enforcement ties with Pacific Island nations

In high-level talks in Beijing with 11 states, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi offers closer collaboration on trade, climate, security.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Pacific nations

Opinion | Why we must follow Pacific Islands’ lead on climate change

Pacific Islands nations show how cooperation can transcend national boundaries to address common challenges effectively. They need support.

videocam
High tides crash ashore in Funafuti, Tuvalu, on February 11. Tuvalu and other low-lying Pacific Island nations face a growing threat of inundation as climate change drives rising sea levels and more intense natural disasters. Photo: Tuvalu Meteorological Service / Reuters
US-China relations

US, Britain stress unity towards China as new strategic dialogue opens in London

Top diplomats tout allies’ strengthening ties and ‘indispensable’ partnership as Washington vies to blunt Beijing’s Indo-Pacific influence.

videocam
14
Taiwan

No 2 Taiwan official visiting US for 2 weeks seeks ‘better understanding’

Speculation about how much Washington trusts island’s new leader looms over tour by Democratic Progressive Party’s secretary general.

videocam
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.

videocam
US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell (left) attends a ceremony in Port Vila, Vanuatu, on Thursday to repatriate sacred human relics seized in New York by the FBI in 2016. Campbell also attended the opening of America’s new embassy in the Pacific nation. Photo: Reuters
Diplomacy

China vows to help Fiji tackle climate change in push for greater Pacific role

President Xi Jinping made the pledge along with promises of economic support in a meeting with Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka

videocam
Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka arrives at the Great Hall of the People for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo: AP
Pacific nations

French response in New Caledonia risks helping China: analysts

French President Emmanuel Macron’s ambitions to deepen French influence in the Pacific, where China is expanding its security ties, could be put at risk by the heavy-handed response to civil unrest in New Caledonia

videocam
Pacific nations

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.

4
Pacific nations

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.

videocam
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
Japan

What can Japan offer Pacific nations amid growing Chinese influence?

Japan’s renewed focus on Pacific nations comes amid regional concern about Fukushima waste water discharge and as Chinese influence grows.

videocam
19
Protesters on the streets of Fiji’s capital city Suva rally against Japan’s release of wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in August last year. Photo: AFP
Pacific nations

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.

videocam
US-China relations

‘Plan for punishment’: will Beijing dial up deterrence after Taiwan election?

Following Nauru’s diplomatic switch, mainland China is expected to further restrict the island’s international space.

videocam
20
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Pacific nations

Australia-Tuvalu treaty sparks fears of population drain, threat to sovereignty

Australia’s agreement with Tuvalu may provide younger locals with a migration pathway but is seen by older islanders as an encroachment of sovereignty.

High tide floods a “borrow pit” dug by US forces during World War II in order to build the airstrip in Funafuti Atoll. File photo: AFP
Pacific nations

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’.

7
Pacific nations

Cracks emerge in Pacific island unity as leaders skip meet amid US-China rivalry

The leaders of Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands will not attend this week’s annual Pacific Islands Forum, which also counts Australia and New Zealand among its members.

videocam
US-China relations

China and US diplomats overseeing Asian affairs meet to discuss region

China’s Vice-Foreign Minister for Asia Sun Weidong meets Daniel Kritenbrink, US Assistant Secretary of State, for ‘candid, in-depth and constructive consultation’ on regional issues, including Taiwan and maritime issues.

videocam
10
Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink meets Vice-Foreign Minister for Asia Sun Weidong in Washington. The meeting is the latest exchange in a string of bilateral high-level engagements. Photo: X @USAsiaPacific
US-China relations

Biden unveils Pacific nations aid, embassies as Solomons PM sits out

American leader extols ‘security, prosperity and dignity’ for Oceanic allies and partners in latest response to China’s decades-long inroads in region.

5
US President Joe Biden walks to join a photo opportunity with Pacific Islands Forum leaders at the White House on Monday. Photo: Photo: ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
US-China relations

Biden to meet Pacific Island nations as US-China attention stays high

Summit between American president and region’s leaders will be second in a year as Washington seeks to counter Beijing’s push for clout.

Asean

Opinion | No Biden, no problem: Asean just has to forge its own path

Joe Biden’s no-show at next month’s Asean Summit is a calculated decision taken in US interests. Instead of feeling slighted, the bloc should redouble its efforts to strengthen intraregional integration and seize emerging opportunities for strategic cooperation.

videocam
6
Science

China and Russia accuse Japan of dumping Fukushima water for cost reasons

A joint submission to the IAEA by Moscow and Beijing said heating and then evaporating the water would be safer, but this option would be more expensive.

videocam
30
The decision to release waste water from the Fukushima plant has angered neighbouring countries, including China. Photo: Kyodo
Pacific nations

Pacific Islands leaders meet amid political crisis

Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji and New Caledonia’s ruling FLNKS party are meeting to consider declaring a ‘region of peace and neutrality’, as the nations are at the centre of a geopolitical contest.

videocam
4
At the White House in Washington, in September last year, President Joe Biden poses with leaders from the US- Pacific Island Country Summit. Photo: Reuters
Japan

Opinion | Japan should heed fishing industry fears about Fukushima discharge plan

The Pacific fishing industry, stressed from climate change and overfishing, does not need additional challenges. Amid concerns about marine life and food safety, Tokyo should apply the precautionary principle.

videocam
37
Japan

Opinion | Fragile oceans should not be dumping ground for Fukushima waste water

Doubts remain over whether Japan’s treatment system for the radioactive waste water and its subsequent dilution in our oceans will make it safe. Importantly, we cannot afford to upset our fragile marine ecosystem.

videocam
11
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement