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Vanuatu

The United States and Vanuatu established diplomatic relations in 1986, six years after Vanuatu's independence from France and the United Kingdom. The US Ambassador to Papua New Guinea is also accredited to Vanuatu. US representation is handled by the US Embassy in Papua New Guinea. Peace Corps maintains a country office in Port Vila, Vanuatu. The United States and Vanuatu share a commitment to strengthening democracy, enhancing security, and promoting development.

Capital

Port Vila

Head of State

President Nikenike Vurobaravu

Head of Government

Prime Minister Bob Loughman

A screen showing stock prices at the end of the trading day on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on April 4, 2025. World financial markets are continuing to react to reciprocal tariffs that US President Donald Trump implemented. Photo: EPA-EFE

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

Australia

Is Australia taking myopic approach in wooing Pacific nations to counter China?

30 Dec 2024 - 6:23PM

Vanuatu

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.

Is Australia taking myopic approach in wooing Pacific nations to counter China?

Opinion | Why Vanuatu should expect more aftershocks – and maybe another earthquake

Death toll from Vanuatu earthquake rises to 14, including 2 Chinese

An embassy official said the two Chinese victims were from Fujian province. More than 200 people were injured in the quake.

Buildings ‘pancaked’ in Vanuatu as 7.4 magnitude earthquake rocks Pacific nation

Footage posted on social media showed buckled windows and collapsed concrete pillars on a building hosting foreign missions in the capital.

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.

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.

Australia urged to cut fossil fuels as Pacific backs landmark policing plan

Activists say better leadership must come from Australia, accused of ‘climate fraud’ over its continued expansion of gas and coal projects.

China, Australia donate buildings, airstrips in Pacific influence race

China donated a presidential building complex in Vanuatu, while Australia and New Zealand inaugurated an airstrip in neighbouring Solomon Islands, amid competition for influence in the Pacific.

Hong Kong’s new cash for residency scheme receives 251 applications by end of May

Government says if all cash for residency applicants approved, Hong Kong stands to get cash injection of more than HK$7.5 billion.

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.

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.

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.

Build now, pay later? Debt-ridden Fiji turns to China for port upgrades

Fiji is ‘strategically important’ for Pacific maritime routes, and its deep water port access appeals to Beijing amid stronger competition in the Pacific.

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.

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.

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.

Singapore’s US$1.3 billion probe exposes Chinese criminals’ paid-for passports

Seven of the 10 Chinese suspects arrested in Singapore’s massive money-laundering probe held foreign passports from the likes of Cambodia and Vanuatu, where citizenship can be bought for as little as US$130,000.

Shark attack: Australia rescues 3 sailors from badly damaged boat in Coral Sea

Three sailors who were trying to travel from Vanuatu to Australia were rescued in the Coral Sea after sharks attacked their inflatable boat

Vanuatu replaces pro-West PM, with Sato Kilman who seeks closer China ties

Sato Kilman has held the PM post before and has clashed with neighbouring Australia. In 2015, he met Xi Jinping and pledged for closer ties with China.

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.

Chinese coastguard ships on fisheries patrol mission to the northern Pacific

The Qushan and the Haimen head to distant waters with the power to board and inspect vessels.

Blinken in Tonga calls out ‘predatory’ China’s ‘problematic behaviour’

The US secretary of state delivered a barbed warning about aid and investment from Beijing as he became the first American foreign minister to visit the Pacific island nation.

Macron to push French ‘alternative’ on Pacific trip amid US-China tensions

Macron relaunched his country’s Indo-Pacific approach last year after a row over a cancelled submarine contract with Australia, casting France as the balancing power in a region dominated by China-US tussle.

Pacific nations dismayed at Australia’s continued backing for fossil fuels

Ministers from Vanuatu and Tevalua condemn Australia’s long and continuing enthusiasm for coal and gas projects.

Video | Young law students earn win for climate justice

Opinion | If we can’t have cooperation in fighting climate change, let’s compete

Rising US-China tension makes climate cooperation between the world’s two largest emitters unlikely. But strategic climate rivalry, with the promise of global influence, more competitive industries and greater national wealth, may prove effective.

No longer ‘hole of Asia-Pacific doughnut’, South Pacific eyes China trade deal

Talks are being explored as the South Pacific is no longer regarded as the ‘hole of the Asia-Pacific doughnut’, and China is looking to cement an economic foothold in the region.