In this bulletin:
1. TAIWAN — Taiwan and Tuvalu are “more than good friends”: President Lai
2. PACIFIC — U.S outlines deeper Pacific engagement
3. PACIFIC — U.S welcomes Solomon Islands PM Wale’s policy shift: Murray
4. PACIFIC — Solomon Islands PM Wale unveils GREAT’s climate action plan at regional climate conference in Honiara
5. PACIFIC — Slashing fossil fuels is ‘life and death’ for Pacific
6. PACIFIC — “No warrior stands alone”: WHO Pacific chief
7. FIJI — Fiji’s HIV crisis puts babies at risk as child cases nearly double
8. PACIFIC — Tonga, SPC strengthen cooperation on national development priorities
9. PACNEWS BIZ — Fiji’s ocean resources must create greater returns for our people: Fisheries Minister Bainivalu
10. PACNEWS BIZ — Australia partnership sparks skills concern
11. PACNEWS BIZ — $3.9bn reserves, buffer strong despite 5.7 percent inflation:Reserve Bank of Fiji
12. PACNEWS IN FOCUS — From Indigenous Loss, a Potent Legal Argument on Climate
13. PACNEWS DIGEST — U.S allies in Asia alarmed as think tank calls for pullback
TAIWAN – DIPLOMACY: PACNEWS PACNEWS 2: Wed 16 Sep 2026
Taiwan and Tuvalu are “more than good friends”: President Lai
TAIPEI, 16 SEPTEMBER 2026 (PACNEWS)— Taiwan President Lai Ching-te has described Taiwan and Tuvalu as “more than good friends” as he welcomed Tuvalu’s Foreign Minister Paulson Panapa to Taiwan for his first official visit since taking office.
Lai said the visit reflected the strength of the two countries’ diplomatic ties, with Taiwan and Tuvalu preparing to mark 47 years of diplomatic relations this Saturday.
“Taiwan and Tuvalu are more than good friends; we are like brothers,” Lai said.
Lai thanked Tuvalu for its continued support for Taiwan’s international participation, including at this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) and the Pacific Islands Forum.
He said Taiwan valued Tuvalu’s consistent support at international forums and looked forward to working more closely with Tuvalu on global issues.
“The United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP31) will be held one after the other in the near future.
“We look forward to Tuvalu’s continued staunch support for Taiwan’s international participation,” Lai said.
Lai also called for greater cooperation under the Kaitasi Treaty, particularly in addressing climate change and what he described as authoritarian expansion.
He said Taiwan and Tuvalu had worked together on digital transformation, power grid resilience and climate adaptation, with new initiatives underway in Tuvalu’s outer islands.
These include milkfish aquaculture, increased fruit and vegetable production and improved nutrition on Vaitupu.
Lai said the projects were aimed at supporting balanced development across Tuvalu’s outer islands and improving living conditions for future generations.
Panapa thanked Taiwan for its support to Tuvalu over the past 46 years and said his first official visit as Foreign Minister was an opportunity to reaffirm the strength of the bilateral relationship.
He said his relationship with Taiwan began 25 years ago when he visited as a young Tuvaluan official to attend a national development course at Fu Hsing Kang College.
Panapa said the visit shaped his understanding of Taiwan and the foundations of a strong and lasting partnership.
He said Tuvalu and Taiwan shared common values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, reinforced by the spirit of Kaitasi — the understanding that the two countries are a family standing together in solidarity.
“In a world where democratic voices are increasingly tested, the partnership between Tuvalu and Taiwan stands as a reminder that small nations can lead with principle and courage,” Panapa said.
He said Taiwan’s support was making a practical difference to Tuvaluan families through assistance in climate resilience, health, education and digital connectivity.
Panapa also highlighted agreements signed this year covering the milkfish project and clean energy initiatives, saying they represented practical expressions of friendship and trust.
He said Tuvalu wanted to deepen cooperation with Taiwan in renewable energy, climate-resilient infrastructure, education, labour mobility and sustainable development.
Panapa said Taiwan’s expertise in health, digital innovation and disaster response had a contribution to make globally and reaffirmed Tuvalu’s support for Taiwan’s international participation.
“Tuvalu will continue to speak with a clear voice in support of Taiwan’s rightful place in the international community,” Panapa said.
He said the two countries’ partnership, built on trust, respect and family, could contribute to peace and resilience in the Blue Pacific and beyond…. PACNEWS
PACIFIC – DIPLOMACY: PACNEWS PACNEWS 2: Wed 16 Sep 2026
U.S outlines deeper Pacific engagement
SUVA/WASHINGTON, 16 SEPTEMBER 2026 (PACNEWS) —- The United States says it will deepen its economic, energy and security engagement with Pacific island countries, with a focus on private sector investment, maritime security and reducing the region’s vulnerability to energy shocks.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matt Murray said the commitment was demonstrated during Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau’s recent visit to Palau for the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting, where the United States announced more than US$150 million in support for the Pacific.
Murray said the funding would support energy security, critical infrastructure, commercial diplomacy, trusted digital technology, law enforcement cooperation, maritime security and scientific and technical cooperation.
“The Pacific Islands are a priority for the United States, and we are backing up our commitment to the region with sustained senior-level engagement,” Murray said during a virtual press briefing.
Landau held 11 bilateral meetings with Pacific counterparts during the Forum and led a senior U.S delegation that included the Coast Guard Commandant, Admiral Kevin Lunday, PACOM Deputy Commander Lieutenant General Rowell and senior officials from several U.S. agencies.
Murray said Washington was shifting its approach to the Pacific towards private sector-led growth.
“As we do so, we will promote trade over aid,” he said.
He highlighted U.S cooperation with Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Taiwan to connect every Pacific Islands Forum country to a trusted undersea cable network.
The United States has also reaffirmed its commitment to the South Pacific Tuna Treaty, which Murray said has supported jobs and livelihoods in the United States and Pacific for nearly four decades.
Murray said a second U.S-Pacific Investment Summit would be held in early 2027 after the inaugural summit in Honolulu brought more than 80 American companies together with Pacific government leaders.
He said negotiations had since advanced with U.S geothermal companies in Vanuatu and Tonga, while satellite internet connectivity and undersea cable investments had also progressed.
Energy security was another major focus of the U.S engagement at the Forum.
Murray said Pacific countries had identified the impact of the global energy crisis, including rising fuel costs, as a priority.
“The region has not experienced a supply shortage to date, though we continue to monitor this closely along with our partners, Australia, Japan, and New Zealand,” he said.
He said high energy costs were placing pressure on Pacific government budgets, while limited fuel storage and grid stability were increasing the risk of blackouts.
Landau announced that, working with Congress, the State Department intends to provide US$60 million to help Pacific countries deal with short-term budget pressures caused by the global energy crisis and longer-term needs, including fuel storage and grid stability.
In Tonga, the U.S Trade and Development Agency, with State Department funding, plans to support a feasibility study covering port facilities, fuel storage, pipeline infrastructure and regulatory practices to strengthen fuel supply reliability.
Washington is also expanding cooperation with Pacific countries on law enforcement and maritime security, including efforts to combat illicit drugs and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
Murray said U.S Coast Guard efforts to increase its Pacific presence and work with Pacific countries through shiprider agreements had been welcomed by Forum members.
The United States also announced the first U.S-Pacific Islands Conference of Police Ministers, or COPMIN, later this year, to be co-chaired with Palau.
The conference will focus on maritime security, drug trafficking, cybercrime and illicit finance.
A US$17 million Pacific Regional IUU Fishing Project was also announced to strengthen national laws, policies and regulations, develop training programmes and deploy technology to combat illegal fishing.
Landau’s Pacific trip continued after the Forum with visits to Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia, Honiara in Solomon Islands and Christmas Island in Kiribati.
In Chuuk, he surveyed recovery efforts following Typhoon Sinlaku and announced that the United States intends to provide more than US$100 million for disaster relief and reconstruction in the FSM under U.S commitments to the Compact of Free Association.
In Honiara, Landau signed a Peace Corps country agreement with Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele to facilitate the return of the Peace Corps after a 26-year absence.
In Kiribati, he attended the Kiribati Development Partners Forum at the invitation of President Taneti Maamau and reaffirmed U.S support for economic development under the country’s Kiribati 20-Year Vision.
Murray said Washington would continue to strengthen its relationship with Pacific island countries.
“Strong U.S ties with the Pacific make our country and the region safer, stronger, and more prosperous.
“The United States stands ready, willing, and eager to deepen our partnerships in the Pacific, and will continue to show up in the region,” he said….PACNEWS
PACIFIC – DIPLOMACY: PACNEWS PACNEWS 2: Wed 16 Sep 2026
U.S welcomes Solomon Islands PM Wale’s policy shift: Murray
WASHINGTON, 16 SEPTEMBER 2026 (PACNEWS) —- The United States says it welcomes Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale’s shift in foreign policy and wants to strengthen economic and security ties with Honiara based on “transparency, collaboration and equal partnership.”
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matt Murray said Washington was encouraged by Wale’s early international engagement, including visits to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the United States and Japan.
“We’re delighted to see Prime Minister Wale reprioritise his approach to foreign policy as he’s come into power as prime minister,” Murray said during a virtual press briefing.
Murray said Wale’s visit to Washington last month had produced progress on several areas of bilateral cooperation.
These included finalising an investment incentive agreement with the U.S Development Finance Corporation, a shiprider agreement with the U.S Coast Guard and steps to restore the Peace Corps presence in Solomon Islands.
The shiprider agreement was signed in July, while a country agreement to bring the Peace Corps back to Solomon Islands was signed during U.S Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau’s visit to Honiara.
Murray said Washington wanted to build on those agreements and expand cooperation with Solomon Islands.
“We want to continue to look for ways in which we can work with the Solomon Islands as an economic and security partner,” he said.
He said Wale’s government was reviewing its relationships with a range of regional partners, including China and Australia.
“Prime Minister Wale is reconsidering his approach and his government’s approach to other counterparts, whether it’s China or whether it’s Australia or others in the region,” Murray said.
The United States, he said, wanted to ensure it could offer Solomon Islands a reliable alternative based on equal partnership.
“We want to make sure and the Deputy Secretary has conveyed this to the prime minister that we can be a strong partner of the Solomon Islands and that we can engage the Solomon Islands on the basis of transparency, collaboration, and in the spirit of equal partnership,” he said.
Murray did not directly address whether the United States supports the possible Australia-Solomon Islands security treaty or whether the 2022 Solomon Islands-China security agreement should be allowed to lapse when it reaches its five-year mark.
Instead, he emphasised the broader U.S commitment to strengthening relations with Honiara.
The United States and Solomon Islands have maintained diplomatic relations for 48 years, with Murray linking the relationship to their shared history during World War II, particularly the Battle of Guadalcanal.
He said the relationship had developed around shared values including democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
“We remain committed to that relationship,” Murray said.
Murray said Washington was looking forward to building on what he described as recent successes with Solomon Islands and strengthening cooperation in both economic and security areas.
“We look forward to continuing to build out that relationship and build on these recent successes that we’ve had with the Solomon Islands,” he said…PACNEWS
PACIFIC – CLIMATE CHANGE: SOL GOVT PACNEWS 2: Wed 16 Sep 2026
Solomon Islands PM Wale unveils GREAT’s climate action plan at regional climate conference in Honiara
HONIARA, 16 SEPTEMBER 2026 (SOL GOVT) —Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale has declared climate change a national security and economic priority, unveiling a legislative and investment agenda aimed at building a climate-resilient country by 2050.
Opening the Pacific Climate Conference in Honiara, Wale said the GREAT Coalition Government had embedded climate responsibility across its policies, with a focus on people, responsible resource governance, environmental standards and long-term national resilience.
“Our task is to translate these commitments into visible improvements in villages, provinces, public services and livelihoods,” Wale said.
“We will legislate. We will budget. We will enforce. And we will report to our people on delivery, not on intentions.”
Wale said climate commitments must be measurable and backed by concrete action.
Under GREAT’s Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology policy, the Government will pursue legislative and institutional reforms, including establishing a dedicated enforcement unit.
It will also integrate climate adaptation and disaster risk into national and local planning, including proactive relocation planning for vulnerable communities.
Other priorities include mobilising climate finance and green growth, protecting ecosystems, sustainable natural resource management, advancing a circular economy, strengthening weather and climate services, and investing in environmental education and knowledge systems.
Renewable energy transition has also been elevated as one of the Government’s six flagship development programmes.
Wale said Solomon Islands would expand solar, hydro, geothermal and biomass energy to reduce fuel imports, improve rural services and create green jobs.
The Government’s legislative agenda includes a Climate Change Bill, National Disaster Council Bill, Meteorological Services Bill and Independent Energy Regulator Bill.
It will also introduce Carbon Trading Regulations and Deforestation Compliance Regulations, while reviewing the Environment Act and Electricity Act.
Wale said climate finance must be treated as climate justice rather than charity, calling for finance that is adequate, predictable, accessible and grant-based.
“A fund that exists internationally but cannot be reached by a Pacific community is not delivering justice,” he said.
Solomon Islands will strengthen its domestic climate-finance architecture, develop a pipeline of investable projects, pursue national accreditation to access international funds directly and establish a Solomon Islands Renewable Energy Fund.
The Government is also developing the country’s first National Loss and Damage Policy and Investment Roadmap, covering both economic and non-economic loss.
Wale said ecosystems must be recognised as part of the country’s climate infrastructure.
“A healthy reef and mangrove are coastal protection. A healthy forest supports water security. These ecosystems are climate infrastructure,” he said.
He outlined reforms covering sustainable forestry, community forestry, high-integrity carbon markets with fair benefits for landowners, sustainable fisheries, marine spatial planning and circular economy waste management.
Wale also called for greater use of traditional knowledge in climate action.
“We are descendants of voyagers who crossed the world’s largest ocean without satellites,” he said.
“They did not deny risk. They understood it, prepared for it and navigated through it together.”
Wale said traditional knowledge remained a source of observation and innovation and should be reflected in research, education and climate investment.
The Pacific Climate Conference continues in Honiara this week….PACNEWS
PACIFIC – FOSSIL FUEL/CLEAN ENERGY: AAP PACNEWS 2: Wed 16 Sep 2026
Slashing fossil fuels is ‘life and death’ for Pacific
SYDNEY, 16 SEPTEMBER 2026 (AAP)— Major fossil fuel-producing nations including Australia must stop expanding coal and gas developments to prevent climate change devastating Pacific nations and forcing people to leave their homes.
Tuvalu Climate Change Minister Maina Vakafua Talia issued the call at The Australia Institute’s Climate Integrity Summit in Sydney on Tuesday, while warning low-lying nations would need financial help to establish large-scale renewable energy solutions.
The warning comes after a United Nations report found island nations faced the risk of submersion when temperatures rose by more than 1.5C, and weeks before Tuvalu is due to host world leaders at a pre-COP event.
Dr Talia told the fourth annual event, held at NSW parliament, that the risks posed by global warming were frightening and kept him awake at night.
“It’s a life and death scenario for people in Tuvalu and it’s far too long we have been discussing this issue,” he said.
“Having the pre-COP special leaders event in Tuvalu and, of course, with the (Transitioning Away From Fossil Fuels) meeting next year, we do not just want them to come and watch how vulnerable we are but to also (see) how (the) economic vulnerability of Tuvalu it is the issue of climate change.”
Forcing citizens to leave Tuvalu should not be considered an adequate response to climate change, Dr Talia said, and more nations should address the root causes of global warming.
Countries that produce fossil fuels should not approve new developments, he said, and should help smaller nations transition to renewable energy generation.
“The logic is very simple: we should put a stop to the expansion of coal and mines and gas to ensure the survival of those who continue to live in small island states,” he said.
“If we don’t put a stop to the real problem, it will become a major problem, and it’s a major problem already.”
The call to halt new coal and gas developments was echoed by The Australia Institute co-chief executive Dr Richard Denniss, who told attendees Australia should not take pride in its renewable energy efforts while making a large contribution to global emissions.
“We are the third largest fossil fuel exporter in the world and we are not transitioning away from fossil fuels, we are rushing headlong into them,” he said.
“The number of solar panels on domestic roofs (is) irrelevant.”
Genuine efforts to cut emissions would be needed to address global warming, Canadian senator Rosa Galvez said, rather than carbon capture or offsets.
“If we had started this transition 40 years ago, maybe there was room for this delaying, slower tactics to reduce emissions,” she said….PACNEWS
PAC – HEALTH: PACNEWS PACNEWS 2: Wed 16 Sep 2026
“No warrior stands alone”: WHO Pacific chief
NUKU’ALOFA, 16 SEPTEMBER 2026 (PACNEWS) —- Health progress in the Pacific cannot be achieved by countries working alone, says World Health Organisation Regional Director for the Western Pacific, Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala.
“No warrior stands alone,” Dr Piukala said after meeting Tonga Prime Minister Lord Fatafehi Fakafanua during his first official mission to his Pacific homeland since taking up the WHO regional director role.
Dr Piukala said the meeting focused on Tonga’s health priorities, including strengthening health security, tackling non-communicable diseases and building resilience to climate change.
“Progress in health is never achieved alone. It comes through leadership, partnership, trust and a shared commitment to our people,” he said.
Dr Piukala said Tonga’s leadership remained important in shaping solutions to shared health challenges across the Blue Pacific.
He also attended the 16th Biennial Scientific Conference of the Pacific Society for Reproductive Health (PSRH), being held in Nuku’alofa under the theme ‘Fakakaukau ki he kahaʻu – Thinking Towards the Future’.
Dr Piukala said Pacific countries were making progress in areas including cervical cancer elimination and maternal health, but significant gaps remained.
These include sexually transmitted infections, rising HIV, adolescent pregnancy, maternal mortality and shortages of skilled birth attendants.
He said addressing those challenges required more than health services and supplies.
The Pacific must also confront issues of power, dignity, gender equality, human rights and shared responsibility, Dr Piukala said.
“Silence does not protect us,” he said, calling for the Pacific practice of talanoa — listening, trusting and learning from one another.
Dr Piukala said reproductive health required the combined efforts of governments, communities, health workers, researchers, traditional and faith leaders, women and young people.
“A canoe moves forward when everyone paddles together. Reproductive health is no different.
“Our future depends on how well we pull together,” he said.
Dr Piukala also thanked the Tongan Government for its partnership and continued commitment to health and said Tonga’s voice would remain important in addressing the region’s shared health challenges…..PACNEWS
FIJI – HIV/AIDS/HEALTH: FIJI SUN PACNEWS 2: Wed 16 Sep 2026
Fiji’s HIV crisis puts babies at risk as child cases nearly double
SUVA, 16 SEPTEMBER 2206 (FIJI SUN)— Fiji’s escalating HIV crisis is increasingly affecting mothers and babies, with 59 children born with HIV in 2025 and 18 dying before their first birthday.
The number of children born with HIV almost doubled from 32 in 2024 to 59 in 2025, as the Ministry of Health and Medical Services moves the country’s HIV response into crisis mode.
Health Minister Dr Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu said two percent of pregnant women were living with HIV.
The figures come as Fiji prepares to formally declare a national HIV emergency following Cabinet’s endorsement on September 9 this year.
The declaration will be made under the Public Health Act 1935, with the response being implemented under the HIV/AIDS Act 2011.
The scale of the outbreak has also been reflected in the overall number of new HIV diagnoses, which increased sharply to 2,016 in 2025, compared with approximately 120 in 2019.
This represents a 16-fold increase in reported infections in six years.
The Ministry has warned that without urgent action, the number of people living with HIV could reach 25,000 by 2029.
Chair of the National HIV Outbreak and Cluster Response Taskforce, Dr Jason Mitchell, said infections had been rising from the beginning.
“In 2024 it was 32 cases and it almost doubled by 2025. The numbers in HIV for babies to become infected with HIV, it’s very significant, what we are experiencing in Fiji. That explains why the minister had elevated this particular response; it allows us to do a little faster than we have been doing the last year or so. We just want to be better and faster when we make decisions,” Dr Mitchell said.
He said the elevated response would help speed up decision-making as Fiji responds to the outbreak.
“There is a belief that all of this happened in the last couple of years but if you look at the statistics, our numbers have been going up right from the very beginning. The global accepted goal is there should be zero HIV infection, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths and that should be the goal of our national programme and what we should be focusing together as a country.”
Dr Lalabalavu said the increase in reported cases was partly due to expanded testing, which was identifying people who had previously been undiagnosed.
The Government plans to expand HIV testing and prevention measures, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for people at higher risk, long-acting injectable prevention, treatment as prevention, and a needle and syringe programme for people who inject drugs.
The Government has also established a Cabinet subcommittee to support the national response.
The subcommittee includes acting Attorney-General Siromi Turaga, Minister for Policing Ioane Naivalurua, Minister for iTaukei Affairs Ifereimi Vasu, Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection Sashi Kiran and Minister for Finance Esrom Immanuel. It is chaired by Lalabalavu.
The response is being supported by international funding, including AUD$48 million (FJD$75 million) from Australia and NZ$5.2 million (FJD$6.62 million).
The Health Ministry’s warning comes as Fiji seeks to contain an outbreak that is no longer limited to rising diagnoses, with the increase in infections among pregnant women and children adding urgency to the national response….PACNEWS
PAC – DIPLOMACY: PACNEWS PACNEWS 2: Wed 16 Sep 2026
Tonga, SPC strengthen cooperation on national development priorities
NUKU’ALOFA, 16 SEPTEMBER 2026 (PACNEWS)— Tonga and the Pacific Community (SPC) have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen cooperation on national development priorities and improve support for the wellbeing of the Tongan people.
Prime Minister Lord Fakafanua met with SPC Director-General, Dr Paula Vivili during his first official visit to Tonga since taking up his position.
The meeting focused on strengthening cooperation between Tonga and SPC and advancing shared priorities in areas critical to Tonga’s development.
SPC provides Tonga with technical expertise, research, data, training and capacity building in areas including health, education, agriculture, fisheries, climate change, disaster resilience and sustainable development.
During the visit, Dr Vivili also met with Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala and the Minister for His Majesty’s Diplomatic Services to discuss Tonga’s development priorities and opportunities to strengthen SPC’s support and partnership with the Kingdom.
The visit also included a step to strengthen regional health cooperation, with SPC and the World Health Organisation signing a Memorandum of Understanding to deepen collaboration and support the delivery of essential health services across the Pacific.
Since taking office, Dr Vivili has prioritised direct engagement with SPC members to understand their priorities and ensure the organisation’s work remains responsive to the needs of Pacific people.
“The Pacific Community is an important regional partner for Tonga,” the Prime Minister’s Office said, highlighting SPC’s role in providing technical support and building national capacity.
Tonga has been a member of SPC since 1983.
The visit is part of Dr Vivili’s engagement with SPC members as he seeks to strengthen partnerships and ensure the organisation’s support reflects national priorities across the Pacific…..PACNEWS
PACNEWS BIZ
PAC – FISHERIES: PACNEWS PACNEWS BIZ: Wed 16 Sep 2026
Fiji’s ocean resources must create greater returns for our people: Fisheries Minister Bainivalu
BANGKOK, 16 SEPTEMBER 2026 (PACNEWS)— Fiji is demanding a greater share of the economic benefits from Pacific fisheries resources, with Fisheries and Forests Minister Alitia Bainivalu saying the wealth generated from tuna must translate into jobs, investment and income for Pacific people.
Bainivalu made the call while attending the 19th INFOFISH World Tuna Trade Conference and Exhibition (TUNA 2026) in Bangkok, where she is representing Fiji and engaging directly with the global seafood industry.
“My message is clear: Fiji’s ocean resources must create greater opportunities and greater returns for the people of Fiji,” Bainivalu said.
She said Pacific Island countries had carried much of the responsibility for managing and protecting the region’s fisheries resources while enormous wealth was generated from those resources in global markets.
“That must change,” she said.
Bainivalu said Fiji wanted a fisheries sector that creates jobs, supports fishers, grows local businesses, attracts responsible investment and increases the economic value retained in the country.
She said tuna resources were not simply commodities in the global seafood trade but were directly linked to livelihoods, food security, business income and government revenue.
“Our tuna resources are not simply numbers in the global seafood trade,” Bainivalu said.
“They represent livelihoods for our coastal communities, opportunities for our young people, income for our businesses, food security for our families and revenue for our country.”
Bainivalu also highlighted Fiji’s move to strengthen transparency and accountability in fisheries management.
Three days before travelling to Bangkok, Fiji became the first Pacific Island country to sign a national Memorandum of Understanding to fully implement Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) standards during a meeting in Rome.
She said Fiji was also strengthening its efforts against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
The National Offshore Fisheries Operations and Surveillance Centre, launched in May 2025, uses real-time satellite tracking and electronic monitoring to strengthen surveillance and enforcement.
Fiji is also implementing 100 percent port call inspections under the Port State Measures Agreement.
“We are sending a strong message: Fiji will protect its waters and will not allow illegal fishing to take away the future of our people,” Bainivalu said.
But Bainivalu said protection of fisheries resources must be matched by efforts to increase the value retained in Fiji.
She said this included greater local processing, investment, employment, skills development and participation by Fijian businesses across the fisheries value chain.
“When international investors and fishing fleets benefit from our resources, Fiji and our people must benefit too,” she said.
Bainivalu said Fiji was advocating for a blue economy that was sustainable, transparent and economically fair, with coastal and maritime communities becoming active participants and beneficiaries rather than simply resource custodians.
She also warned that climate change was already affecting the movement of tuna stocks, making it critical for Pacific Island countries to have a stronger voice in regional and international fisheries decisions.
“We cannot simply manage the decline of our fisheries.
“We must build a fisheries industry that can sustain our people and our economy for generations,” Bainivalu said.
She said the Coalition Government would continue to protect Fiji’s natural resources while creating more economic opportunities.
“Our ocean is more than an environmental asset. It is Fiji’s economic asset.
“Our commitment remains simple: protect our resources, create opportunities, grow our economy and put our people first,” Bainivalu said…..PACNEWS
AUST – SKILLED WORKERS: FBC NEWS PACNEWS BIZ: Wed 16 Sep 2026
Australia partnership sparks skills concern
SUVA, 16 SEPTEMBER 2026 (FBC NEWS) —Fiji’s Ministry of Education is warning that greater worker mobility under the proposed Fiji-Australia partnership could worsen Fiji’s shortage of skilled workers.
Permanent Secretary Navin Raaj told the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence that skills retention remains a major challenge.
He said Fiji must ensure that increased mobility supports the country’s workforce needs and does not deepen shortages in critical occupations.
The concern comes as Fiji seeks to strengthen education and training links with Australia.
“Skills retention is a challenge for our country, we should also ensure that mobility contributes to Fiji’s workforce needs and does not unintentionally deepen shortages in critical occupations.”
Raaj said mobility must be managed carefully so that it benefits Fiji’s workforce rather than leaving critical sectors without enough skilled people.
The issue also raises questions about Fiji’s investment in education and training.
The committee also questioned the Ministry about another risk linked to closer education cooperation, the protection of sensitive data.
Committee member Virendra Lal asked what safeguards would protect information about children, schools and examinations.
Raaj said cyber security and data protection were important for the Ministry.
He said the risks associated with greater digital connectivity must be carefully managed.
The issue is becoming more important as the Ministry looks to expand cooperation with Australia in digital learning and artificial intelligence.
The Ministry wants education and human capital development included in the Vuvale Union’s 10-year work plan.
It is also calling for clear outcomes and accountability.
The Ministry presented on the proposed Fiji-Australia Vuvale Union and Ocean of Peace Alliance, also known as the Veitacini Treaty….PACNEWS
FIJI – RESERVES: FIJI TIMES PACNEWS BIZ: Wed 16 Sep 2026
$3.9bn reserves, buffer strong despite 5.7 percent inflation:Reserve Bank of Fiji
SUVA, 16 SEPTEMBER 2026 (FIJI TIMES)—Fiji’s foreign reserves remain strong, giving the local economy a safe buffer even as local families face high living costs, the Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) reported in its August economic review.
Foreign reserves stood at $3.9 billion (US$1.95 million) as of 31 August this year, which is sufficient to cover 5.5 months of retained imports.
That money, the central bank stated was being held up by external Government loan drawdowns, strong tourism receipts and remittance inflows from families overseas.
“Foreign reserves are expected to remain adequate over the medium term,” the RBF stated.
The RBF also revealed that headline inflation had eased to 5.7 percent in July from 6.1 percent in June but remained well above the -1.5 percent recorded a year earlier.
“The annual increase was driven primarily by higher prices in transport (1.8 percentage points), alcoholic beverages, tobacco and narcotics (1.7pp), food and non-alcoholic beverages (1.4pp), and housing and utilities (0.7pp).
“Inflation is expected to remain elevated in the coming months, reflecting the removal of the bus fare subsidy from September, the fading base effects of the August 2025 VAT rate reduction from the annual inflation calculation, and the continued pass-through of higher global fuel and freight costs to domestic prices.”
The RBF stated that while risks to the outlook remained tilted to the downside, added that heightened geopolitical tensions, trade frictions, and volatility in global energy markets could increase imported inflation, widen the trade deficit and place some strain on foreign reserves.
“The RBF will continue to closely monitor global and domestic developments and stand ready to adjust its policy settings as needed to maintain price stability and protect the adequacy of foreign reserves,” the central bank stated…..PACNEWS
PACNEWS In Focus
The views expressed in PACNEWS are those of agencies contributing articles and do not necessarily those of PINA and/or PACNEWS
From Indigenous Loss, a Potent Legal Argument on Climate
Human rights lawyer Julian Aguon explores how warming threatens not only the survival of small island nations but also the traditions of their Indigenous peoples. He is citing these injuries in legal actions, including in a major victory at the International Court of Justice last year.
By Beth Gardiner
HAGATNA, 16 SEPTEMBER 2026 (YALE ENVIRONMENT 360)—Last year, the International Court of Justice unanimously ruled that countries have a legal obligation to limit greenhouse gas emissions. The decision was the culmination of a years-long campaign launched by a group of law students in the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu.
The landmark opinion, which said countries’ failure to address emissions from fossil fuels and other sources could carry legal consequences, provides a potentially powerful new tool for communities, organisations, or governments suing in national courts to compel climate action or win damages. It could also push international climate negotiators toward a more aggressive stance on a danger the judges called “urgent and existential.”
Julian Aguon, an Indigenous Chamorro human rights lawyer from Guam, wore a garland of coconut fronds and cowry shells as he argued Vanuatu’s case in The Hague. He and his colleagues had traveled across Melanesia and Micronesia to gather testimony from residents whose homes, cultures, and livelihoods are being devastated by climate change.
While the impact of climate change is typically measured in degrees of warming, feet of flooding, or monetary losses, for many Indigenous people it is inflicting a profound cultural, spiritual, and emotional injury that the sterile language of science and economics fails to capture, said Aguon, founder of the Guam-based Indigenous rights and environmental justice firm Blue Ocean Law.
In an interview with Yale Environment 360, he said that highlighting the harms Indigenous peoples and cultures are suffering proved a potent legal strategy at the United Nations’ main judicial body.
“Climate change is unraveling the very terms by which people know themselves and keep covenant with the natural world.” In the ICJ case, he said, “we brought that to the court’s attention because these are rights violations of the highest order — violations of the right to life, the right to culture, the right to self-determination.”
Yale Environment 360: Can you tell me about the testimonies you and your colleagues gathered when you traveled to Vanuatu, Fiji, and other island nations in preparation for the case? How did they shape your arguments in court?
Julian Aguon: There’s no way to translate the urgency and gravity of the climate crisis other than via firsthand accounts of loss and damage, so we wanted to foreground vulnerable communities’ experiences. The process revealed in spectacular ways just how emaciated the global discourse on climate harms is. The harms aren’t just environmental, and people who speak in that limited frame don’t know anything about what’s happening in the Pacific. It’s a collapse of cultural traditions that stretch back millennia and have sustained life in these islands for thousands and thousands of years.
In Yakel village [in Vanuatu], many ceremonies revolve around the yam, which is the most important root crop. Some of the ceremonies haven’t been performed in years because there hasn’t been a successful yam harvest. For example, there’s an elaborate four-day dance by which the people choose their high chief. And they’re unable to perform this dance because of the yam’s absence.
That all causes an enormous amount of stress and distress, and it affects the ability to pass on to future generations these cultural teachings, which are place-based. Because these are cultures that have grown out of a particular piece of soil, they’re tied to their place and the life in it. So we’re talking about a massive rupture to culture and to cosmologies. And the vocabulary of environmental damage, because it remains so one-dimensional and flat, and largely borrowed from Western frameworks, fails to capture the true gravity and the true nature of the harm that climate change is causing.
E360: Pacific island nations are experiencing twice the global rate of sea level rise. For many, the threat is existential. Tuvalu’s prime minister has noted that 50 percent of his country will be regularly underwater by 2050. What did you hear about this threat in the communities you visited?
Aguon: All over Melanesia, the story was the same. In Veraibari, in Papua New Guinea, people have already moved four times due to sea level rise, [with the village, situated between a river and the sea, relocating to safer ground]. It’s one thing to talk about rising seas in terms of the numbers, but it’s something else entirely to hear what it means when you have to move four times, and you’re in the midst of a fifth and final climate-induced relocation [because there is nowhere else to go]. What’s more, people in Veraibari don’t understand themselves as having moved there. According to their cultural teachings, it is one of the birthplaces of humankind. To be forced to keep moving and retreating from your ancestral homeland, which is also, in your cosmology, one of the earliest sites of human civilization — the stakes could not be higher.
E360: How is climate change infringing on the right to self-determination?
Aguon: These island nations struggled for so long to throw off the colonial yoke, to emerge as independent sovereign states. And now all of these self-determined ways of life are being gravely imperiled [by rich countries’ fossil fuel emissions]. It’s the definition of climate injustice, and in some ways it’s the latest iteration of the great game of imperialism, of world-making and world-destroying. It’s laying bare all the same structural inequalities.
E360: Can you explain how the case came about?
Aguon: Basically 27 law students from the Vanuatu campus of the University of the South Pacific rallied behind this call to bring the world’s biggest problem to the world’s highest court. They approached [Vanuatu’s leaders, including] the then-minister of foreign affairs, Ralph Regenvanu, who ran with it, and the government spearheaded a global campaign to get the United Nations General Assembly to refer the legal question to the International Court of Justice. It was a Herculean effort, a really muscular, robust diplomatic campaign. It resulted in this beautiful moment in 2023 when the General Assembly adopted the referral by consensus.
E360: How do you see the opinion’s significance, particularly since it is advisory rather than binding?
Aguon: While it’s technically nonbinding in and of itself, the opinion is an authoritative statement of what the law really is. The court evaluated the legality of the conduct driving climate change, not only under climate treaties like the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, but also under a wider body of international law, including international environmental law, human rights law, and the Law of the Sea.
The opinion says states have binding legal obligations to address the climate crisis. That dispels the ambiguity that has frustrated global progress. And most importantly, it said breaching those obligations is an “internationally wrongful act.” That gives countries and communities new tools, and it has changed the legal terrain for this fight.
Now we are seeing new waves of climate litigation that seek to really hold the powerful to account, be it a state or a corporation. And it’s going to be something that travels. It will feed contentious cases, like where one state is suing another state, or one frontline community is suing a carbon major. It’s going to filter down into all kinds of legal proceedings at the national and regional level and international level. That’s already happening.
E360: On its website, your law firm says “there is no climate justice without Indigenous leadership.” Can you explain what you mean by that?
Aguon: It’s abundantly clear that the imagination that got us into this planetary mess cannot be the one to get us out of it. Indigenous peoples have a different imagination, and they have a lot to say about restoring the right relationship between people and planet.
Indigenous peoples the world over share an absolute insistence on anti-commodification, the idea that not everything can be bought and sold. We understand that our health and the health of the planet are inseparable, that humans are inseparable from the more-than-human world, and the health of one is the health of all. All these things that seem so rudimentary or basic, they’re ideas that clearly are not animating the current world order.
E360: Can you talk about how that worldview shapes your work on deep-sea mining?
Aguon: The current [U.S] administration, through the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, is seeking to expedite deep-sea mining in the waters off American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam. Alongside other organisations, we’re contesting that, and we believe the permitting process the agency envisions violates several federal environmental statutes.
But as a firm, we’re also trying to push newer ideas, arguing that some Indigenous communities here in Micronesia have very unique claims. For example, way-finding communities that have been traversing these oceanic spaces for millennia, they have a very different relationship to the sea. Some of the sacred sites that way-finders have talked about forever in their chants include areas where the U.S government wants to allow deep-sea mining. These communities also maintain healthy relationships with the more-than-human world, like with certain seabirds, with whales, and other cetaceans that are considered spiritual guides.
These claims don’t sound in administrative law like, “X agency violated Y statute.” We’re saying something much deeper, that certain cultures depend on the health and integrity of the ocean, of the deep-sea environment, and to authorize deep-sea mining in these spaces violates several of their human rights, including the right to culture. What we were talking about earlier happening on land is also happening at sea.
This kind of thinking requires taking a step back to understand that the modern world order we’ve inherited, where everything is about nation-states, is laughable when you use a different timescale. The cultures who have been reared in this part of the world are much older than the United States itself. How do you fit the worldviews and the traditional knowledge systems of ancient civilisations into categories that reflect only the last 200 years? It’s almost an impossible task, but that’s what we need to do to get to where we need to go. …PACNEWS
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The views expressed in PACNEWS are those of agencies contributing articles and do not necessarily those of PINA and/or PACNEWS
U.S allies in Asia alarmed as think tank calls for pullback
Analysts warn that a U.S withdrawal from the western Pacific, as recently suggested by a think tank, would weaken deterrence and strengthen China’s position.
By Julian Ryall
WASHINGTON, 16 SEPTEMBER 2026 (DW)—A study by a U.S foreign policy think tank advocates a major military pullback from the western Pacific, prompting concern among long-standing allies of the United States across the Indo-Pacific, analysts say.
The report was authored by Jennifer Kavanagh, a senior fellow and director of military analysis at the right-of-centre Defence Priorities Foundation. Kavanagh calls for the U.S to “narrow its defence commitments in the region” by ending mutual defence alliances with South Korea, Japan, Australia and the Philippines.
The priority for Washington, she states, is to defend the U.S homeland and safeguard access to key economic markets and trade routes. That would be best served by pulling back from the “first island chain,” which runs from Okinawa in southern Japan, through Taiwan and on to the Philippines.
Kavanagh writes that U.S forces should be pared back and moved to the “second island chain,” which runs from eastern Japan to the Northern Marianas Islands in the central Pacific, Guam, Palau and on to Papua New Guinea.
The report states that moving the troops back would make their positions easier to defend and “reduce the risk of a catastrophic war with China.”
Taiwan in the crosshairs
Such a withdrawal would arguably be most keenly felt in Taiwan, which Beijing views as a renegade province that must one day be assimilated into greater China.
In her report, Kavanagh notes that the U.S has no formal commitment to come to the assistance of Taiwan in the event of an attack by China. She warns that any armed clash “would come at an exorbitant cost for the United States, far in excess of any benefits.”
“With a cost-benefit calculation this lopsided, a change in the U.S commitment to Taiwan seems wise,” she said. “The United States should shift from strategic ambiguity to a clear non-intervention policy in the event of any military confrontation over Taiwan.”
The countries named in the report have made no formal comments on the think tank’s proposals, but its conclusions “will be viewed with shock,” William Yang, a Taiwan-based security analyst for the International Crisis Group, told DW.
The concern will be even deeper given that the Defence Priorities Foundation is known for its isolationist foreign and defence policy positions and is reputed to have ties with a number of senior and like-minded decision-makers in the White House, Yang said.
Pullout ‘seems to be very accommodating to China’
Yang noted that U.S President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to withdraw troops from allied nations in Europe and Asia if his demands for larger payments or concessions in some other area of the bilateral relationship were not met, Yang said.
“This is a venture into a fully restrained agenda and seems to be very accommodating to China,” Yang said.
Though there is no indication that the White House is about to adopt the foundation’s proposals, Yang said, they do mesh with many of the administration’s isolationist and transactional principles. And, if the plans were to find favor with Trump, he said, the consequences would be “earthquake-level.”
The Defence Priorities report was published amid broader regional concerns about the durability of U.S security commitments in Asia, specifically tensions over Taiwan and the South China Sea.
Despite Kavanagh’s reassurances, many analysts suggest that a withdrawal of U.S support in the region would prompt China to quickly seize Taiwan and nuclear-armed North Korea to make greater demands on South Korea. It is also likely to trigger a region-wide spike in defence spending and, ultimately, a rupture in regional nuclear non-proliferation efforts.
Report plays down China fears
Kavanagh’s report plays down those fears, concluding that “China’s path to regional hegemony would be a difficult one, threats to the U.S homeland emanating from Asia are few, and challenges to U.S economic interests are unlikely and to some extent self-deterring.”
Why are China and the U.S so fixated on Taiwan?
Garren Mulloy, a professor of international relations at Daito Bunka University and a specialist in military issues, described the study as “one of the more cogent and informed versions of what Trump and those around him have been arguing inconsistently for years: The idea is that the U.S has a priority to defend the homeland and all costs incurred in other missions are a waste.”
“In my view, this is seeing the cost of everything and the value of nothing,” Mulloy said. He pointed out a number of “obvious problems”: notably that the United States would leave a void that China and, to a lesser extent, Russia would step in to fill, and the U.S would have no influence on the region’s geopolitics — including “the shaping of norms, standards and laws.”
“Is this worth saving money for that Trump would give away in a tax cut or election bribe?” Mulloy asked, in reference to the president’s promise of US$5,000 (€4,300) for every U.S adult if his party wins midterm congressional elections in November.
“This is the ultimate short-term vision that haunts diplomats around the world,” Mulloy said.
Dan Pinkston, a professor of international relations at the Seoul campus of Troy University, echoes those concerns, describing the plan as “flawed and unrealistic.”
“The whole premise of the report is completely different to how collective and cooperative international security has been practiced for decades,” Pinkston said.
“These people have a very different worldview, and you wonder if they won’t stop at the second island chain and go all the way back to the U.S mainland.”
Fears of a stronger China
U.S isolationists see NATO and America’s other allies “purely as a burden and a cost,” Pinkston said, which is “too simplistic.”
By withdrawing from security alliances in the Indo-Pacific, the U.S jeopardises its trade relationships and largely gives up any influence it presently has over “complex issues” that range from combating piracy, breaches of international sanctions, efforts to combat cybercrime and espionage, smuggling, climate change, fisheries, cross-border financial crime, and a host of other critical matters, Pinkston said.
“It’s naive to believe that China is going to be benevolent if the U.S withdraws and will act in anyone else’s best interests when it comes to the rule of law, peaceful settlements of territorial disputes or human rights,” he said…. PACNEWS
