In this bulletin:
1. AUST — Aust PM to host series of Pacific leaders’ meetings in Queensland
2. PACIFIC — CROP heads discuss 2050 strategy, energy crisis and COP31 preparations
3. FIJI — Fiji’s Minister of Defence advised Beijing not to conduct missile test
4. PACIFIC — Foreign leaders on notice after Chinese missile test
5. PACIFIC — China’s missile test In South Pacific ‘iIncredibly unwelcome’, NZ PM Luxon says
6. PACIFIC — Southwest Pacific’s last tropical glacier could vanish within months
7. VAN — Drug and HIV threats demand united national response, Vanuatu Minister tells Security Summit
8. UN — Peace hinges on people-centred policing, global summit hears
9. PACIFIC — Pacific Ministers urged to make ending violence against women central to climate action
10. VAN — AFP deploys drug detection dogs to Vanuatu in historic first operation
11. PACNEWS BIZ — Vanuatu gets VT30M annually from airspace
12. PACNEWS DIGEST — The Nuclear-Free Pacific and Hypersonic Hypocrisy
13. PACNEWS DIGEST — How ADB’s Maritime Investment Could Keep Tuvalu Connected While Strengthening Long-Term Resilience
AUST – DIPLOMACY/SECURITY: AUST GOVT PACNEWS 3: Wed 08 Jul 2026
Aust PM to host series of Pacific leaders’ meetings in Queensland
BRISBANE, 08 JULY 2026 (AUST GOVT) — After returning from Fiji and the Solomon Islands and signing historic agreements with Fiji and Vanuatu, Prime Minister Albanese will host Pacific leaders from Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Tonga in Brisbane for ongoing regional security talks.
These important meetings will take place on the same day that Australia’s historic mutual defence treaty with PNG comes into force.
Prime Minister Albanese will hold bilateral meetings with each of the Leaders in Brisbane to discuss regional security, trade and economic growth opportunities.
He will then host the Leaders at the grand final of the State of Origin at Suncorp Stadium.
The Albanese Labor Government is helping grow rugby league across the Pacific.
The Brisbane meetings will come off the back of the Prime Minister’s visit to Honiara – where Australia is advancing a new era of cooperation with the Solomon Islands.
“This important series of meetings in Brisbane comes at a time where we are working closely with our Pacific family on the issues that matter to our region.
“I am very much looking forward to hosting Pacific Leaders in Brisbane and attending the State of Origin with them.
“Through one of Australia’s favourite sporting codes, we are bringing our Pacific family closer together.” Prime Minister Albanese said.
The meetings come at a time when the Government is making a range of breakthroughs in the Pacific such as:
*The Vuvale Union and Ocean of Peace Alliance with Fiji (2026) – two historic agreements to deepen integration, including a mutual defence treaty – our fourth formal Alliance.
*The Pukpuk Mutual Defence Treaty with Papua New Guinea (2025) – a historic mutual defence treaty with our nearest neighbour, Australia’s first new Alliance in more than 70 years.
*The Nakamal Agreement with Vanuatu (2026) – a new treaty, initiated at Vanuatu’s request, which elevated the partnership across security, economic and development cooperation, reinforcing Pacific collective security.
*The Falepili Union with Tuvalu (2023) – a groundbreaking treaty covering climate cooperation, human mobility and shared security, the first agreement of its kind in the world.
*The Nauru-Australia Treaty (2024) – an integrated economic and security partnership supporting Nauru’s stability and resilience.
*Pacific Policing Initiative (2024) – major Pacific-led, Australia-backed regional policing initiative to strengthen collective peace and security throughout the Pacific.
*Pacific Response Group (2024) – new multinational initiative for coordinated regional defence deployments for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
*An agreed statement of intent to elevate our partnership with Tonga.
*Rebuilding Australia’s international development program, expanding Pacific labour mobility and establishing the Pacific Engagement Visa…. PACNEWS
PACIFIC – DIPLOMACY: PACNEWS/PIFS PACNEWS 3: Wed 08 Jul 2026
CROP heads discuss 2050 strategy, energy crisis and COP31 preparations
SUVA, 08 JULY 2026 (PACNEWS/PIFS) — The 66th Heads of Council of Regional Organisations of the Pacific (CROP) Meeting convened at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat on Tuesday, focusing on regional priorities ahead of the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Palau.
The meeting was chaired by Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Baron Divavesi Waqa and attended virtually by all CROP heads.
According to the Forum Secretariat, discussions focused on priorities for CROP Harmonisation, reflections on the implementation of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, and the operationalisation of Thematic Advisory Groups.
The meeting also considered “how to improve how these mechanisms work, moving forward,” as well as key regional priorities to be considered by Forum Leaders when they meet at the 55th Pacific Islands Forum in Palau from 31 August to 4 September 2026.
CROP Heads also received an update on the progress of the Regional Response Mechanism to the evolving energy crisis and the work of the supporting CROP Taskforce.
Looking ahead, the meeting discussed preparations for COP31 and the pre-COP31 meetings to be held in Fiji and Tuvalu in October…. PACNEWS
FIJI – DEFENCE/DIPLOMACY: ABC PACIFIC PACNEWS 3: Wed 08 Jul 2026
Fiji’s Minister of Defence advised Beijing not to conduct missile test
SUVA, 08 JULY 2026 (ABC PACIFIC) — Fiji’s Defence Minister Pio Tikoduadua says he is disappointed Beijing proceeded with a missile test after he warned the Chinese Embassy in Suva against it.
A long-range missile test equipped with a dummy warhead was launched by China from a submarine on Monday, landing near the exclusive economic zones of Naoero and Tuvalu.
The launch came just hours after Australia and Fiji’s Prime Ministers signed the historic Vuvale Union and Ocean of Peace Alliance treaties – a defence pact backed by more than a billion dollars in Australian investment over a decade and promises major benefits for Fiji’s security sector.
“China is a big power, we are only a small nation,” said Minister Tikoduadua.
“If we all have respect for each other in a quest for peace, I’m sure incidents like this can be avoided,” he added…. PACNEWS
PACIFIC – MISSLE TEST/SECURITY: AAP PACNEWS 3: Wed 08 Jul 2026
Foreign leaders on notice after Chinese missile test
ANKARA, 08 JULY 2026 (AAP) — NATO leaders have expressed concern at China’s nuclear missile test in the Pacific, as Australia’s minister for the region warned the incident was undermining peace.
Pacific Minister Pat Conroy, who is representing Australia at the NATO Leaders’ Summit in Turkey, said the missile test had been a feature of several discussions at the conference.
“NATO is taking plenty of notice. The Secretary General, Mark Rutte, has talked about it publicly,” he told Nine’s Today programme on Wednesday.
“Many of the NATO countries also highlighted it, it’s another example of how we’re all interconnected. There’s no such thing as a regional conflict; all conflicts are global now.
“It just demonstrates why the Albanese government is committed to increasing our defence funding so significantly, while also increasing our diplomatic efforts,” he said.
China fired a nuclear-capable long-range missile from a submarine in the Pacific on Monday, with the federal government only receiving several hours’ notice.
The missile is understood to have landed between Nauru and Tuvalu.
The timing of the test came just hours after Australia signed a defence alliance with Fiji worth $1 billion (US$690 million), aimed at countering Chinese influence in the region.
China has been seeking to ink its own security deals with Pacific nations.
Conroy said the test only reinforced the need to bolster efforts in the Pacific.
“There’s an element of contrast where China was ignoring the stated wishes of Pacific leaders at the same time as we were signing our fourth alliance ever with Fiji,” he said.
“It demonstrates that the way we’re going about business in the Pacific will be more effective.”
Opposition foreign spokesman Ted O’Brien said he was confident Pacific allies would be able to assert themselves against the actions of China.
“It is completely inappropriate that on a week, especially where we are talking about an ocean of peace in the Pacific, that the Beijing regime decides to fire a missile into the region,” he told ABC Radio.
“It certainly goes to the contrast between what Australia’s view is of the Pacific family and clearly what the People’s Republic of China’s view is.”
He said the test represented a larger concern for the region, particularly on China’s military capabilities.
“We also have the largest build-up in military capabilities since World War II in our region, and that includes, on the part of the People’s Republic of China, building more nuclear weapons,” he said.
“This is why we need to be backing in any calls that come internationally, for there to be greater transparency on the build-up of nuclear weapons, and there also needs to be arms control discussions.”
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning defended the test, saying it was a routine arrangement in its military training programmme.
“It is consistent with international law and customary international practice and is not directed at any specific country or target,” she said.
“The countries concerned were informed prior to the launch. The whole process was safe, standard and professional.
“We hope relevant countries will not read too much into it,” Mao said…. PACNEWS
PACIFIC – DIPLOMACY: RNZ PACIFIC PACNEWS 3: Wed 08 Jul 2026
China’s missile test In South Pacific ‘iIncredibly unwelcome’, NZ PM Luxon says
WELLINGTON, 08 JULY 2026 (RNZ PACIFIC) — New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says it’s unacceptable China has tested nuclear-capable weapons in the Pacific, and the government’s expressed its concerns directly.
On Monday, China test-launched a long-range ballistic missile with a dummy warhead.
The missile flew over the Exclusive Economic Zones of the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Tuvalu and Kiribati, and landed in waters near Tuvalu and Kiribati.
Luxon said that was unacceptable, unwelcome and concerning.
“This is an intercontinental ballistic missile test, the second that we’ve seen in recent years, having not had one in the region for 40 years, from China,” he said.
“We are living in a region that is proudly nuclear free … we don’t want to see increasing militarisation in our region.”
China’s activity was legal, but inconsistent with Pacific values and the region would strongly push back against it, Luxon said.
“We have expressed our concerns [with China] very directly and very clearly,” he said.
The missile firing came shortly after a new defence treaty was signed between Australia and Fiji on Monday.
Luxon said he had spoken with both countries’ Prime Ministers about the agreement and Cabinet was discussing whether New Zealand might join it.
Cabinet was very interested in exploring participation but there was a way to go yet, given it had only just been signed, Luxon said…. PACNEWS
PACIFIC – TROPICAL GLACIER: UN NEWS CENTRE PACNEWS 3: Wed 08 Jul 2026
Southwest Pacific’s last tropical glacier could vanish within months
GENEVA, 08 JULY 2026 (UN NEWS CENTRE) — The Southwest Pacific is facing mounting climate risks as its vast ocean expanse becomes hotter, more acidic and more dangerous for coastal communities, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said in a report published on Tuesday.
The latest State of the Climate in the South-West Pacific report found that 2025 was the second warmest year on record for the region, behind 2024, with average surface air temperature about 0.37 °C above the 1991–2020 average.
The report documents how rising sea levels threaten low-lying island nations and coastal settlements – while marine heatwaves and ocean acidification are damaging ecosystems critical for food security, tourism, fisheries and local economies.
It warned that the region’s last remaining tropical glacier – located in Indonesia – may disappear by the end of this year or early 2027 as the remaining tropical ice cover is only about two per cent of the size observed in 1988.
“For many countries and territories in the Southwest Pacific, the ocean is central to livelihoods, economies and resilience,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.
“In 2025, the region experienced warming oceans, rising sea levels, marine heatwaves and ocean acidification, alongside tropical cyclones and the continued loss of tropical glacier ice.”
WMO said long-term ocean warming has made marine heatwaves more frequent, longer lasting and more intense.
In 2025, record-high ocean heat content in the upper 700 metres of the ocean was observed south of Australia and in the southern Tasman Sea, as well as in parts of the tropical North Pacific between the Philippines and Hawaii and locally south of Sumatra in Indonesia.
Average sea-surface temperatures remained high across the whole region despite the temporary cooling influence of the La Niña climate pattern in some areas, with record levels around Papua New Guinea, in the Australian region and across a broad area of the tropical western North Pacific extending from east of the Philippines to Hawaii.
Marine heatwaves can cause coral bleaching, fish deaths, major disruption to aquaculture, kelp forest loss, shifts in species distribution and harmful algal blooms, WMO explained.
Although marine heatwave coverage in 2025 was lower than the previous year, it still marked the most extensive ever recorded in a year without an El Niño event, which the agency called “a worrisome sign for 2026, with a potentially strong El Niño event now developing.”
During summer 2024/2025, marine heatwave conditions around Australia contributed to coral bleaching in both the eastern and western reef systems in the same season for the first time, highlighting the need for effective early warning services.
Sea levels also continued to rise in response to ocean warming. Between 1999 and 2025, sea level in the Southwest Pacific region increased at an average rate of 3.7 ± 0.03 millimetres per year.
The report identified an elongated area of especially high sea-level rise stretching from the eastern coast of Australia to around 120°W longitude, covering the Coral and Tasman Seas and a large area west of New Zealand.
Moreover, almost the entire Southwest Pacific recorded historically low surface ocean pH values in 2025, as seawater absorbed increasing amounts of carbon dioxide and became more acidic.
The year’s deadliest single event was Cyclone Senyar, the first known system to reach tropical cyclone intensity in the Strait of Malacca. More than 10 million people in Indonesia and Malaysia were affected while more than 1,200 were killed.
The heaviest rainfall was recorded in far northern Sumatra, where more than 400 millimetres fell in one day, as well as in northern Peninsular Malaysia and southern Thailand.
The report was produced by WMO in collaboration with national meteorological and hydrological services, international data centres, leading climate research and marine services institutions, and UN partners, including its regional Economic and Social Commission, ESCAP.
“Across Asia and the Pacific, heat is intensifying multi-hazard risks, intersecting with food systems, public health, infrastructure and oceans, and placing new pressures on health and livelihoods,” said Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, the ESCAP Executive Secretary.
“Early warning and early action save lives when alerts are timely, messages are trusted and last-mile delivery reaches the vulnerable…. PACNEWS
VAN – SECURITY MEET: VANUATU DAILY POST PACNEWS 3: Wed 08 Jul 2026
Drug and HIV threats demand united national response, Vanuatu Minister tells Security Summit
PORT VILA, 08 JULY 2026 (VANUATU DAILY POST) — Vanuatu has brought together security, health and community leaders for the country’s first National Summit on Border Security and Preparedness for Emerging Drug and HIV Threats, held in Port Vila, as authorities warn of growing threats from illicit drugs, organised crime and rising HIV transmission.
The two-day summit, which concludes today, focuses on developing a coordinated national approach involving the security, health and community sectors.
Opening the summit, Minister of Internal Affairs and Police Andrew Solomon Napuat warned that transnational organised criminal networks are becoming increasingly sophisticated and are using Pacific Island countries as transit routes for illicit drugs destined for lucrative markets in Australia and New Zealand.
“The criminal networks are becoming more sophisticated and more active in our region. They target our youth, destabilise our communities and families, and fuel crime,” Minister Napuat said.
He noted that Australia and New Zealand remain among the world’s highest-value markets for illicit drugs such as methamphetamine and cocaine, making Pacific Island countries increasingly vulnerable to organised criminal syndicates seeking alternative trafficking routes.
The Minister pointed to developments across the Pacific, highlighting a sharp increase in drug-related offences in neighbouring countries over recent years.
“Our closest neighbours have experienced dramatic increases in drug seizures. Organised criminal networks are using the Pacific as a transit corridor, and island nations like Vanuatu, with extensive maritime borders and limited surveillance capacity, are vulnerable to these well-funded and well-organised criminal groups,” he said.
Minister Napuat revealed that Vanuatu had recorded three cocaine interceptions within a single year, warning that authorities could not be certain how many illegal shipments had entered the country undetected.
He also disclosed that more than 825 drug-related offences have been recorded since 2023.
Cases involving possession of prohibited substances account for the highest number of offences, while cannabis cultivation continues to remain widespread.
“These figures demonstrate a clear upward trend in drug-related offending and confirm that the demand for prohibited substances remains a growing concern within our communities,” he said.
The Minister also warned that the rise in illicit drug use, particularly injecting drug use in parts of the Pacific, is contributing to increasing HIV transmission.
“These are not separate issues — they are connected, and they require a coordinated national response,” he said.
Minister Napuat stressed that drug trafficking and HIV are not solely law enforcement issues but challenges that require collaboration across all sectors of society.
“We are not here because these threats have already overwhelmed us.
“We are here to ensure we have a coordinated action plan across security, health and community sectors before the situation worsens.”
He said customs officers cannot intercept what they cannot detect, health workers cannot treat illnesses if communities are afraid to seek help, and police cannot prosecute crimes if the public lacks confidence in law enforcement.
“National security is not only the responsibility of immigration, police, customs, biosecurity or aviation authorities.
“It is the responsibility of every ministry, every chief, every pastor, every teacher and every parent in Vanuatu.”
The Minister urged participants to use the summit as an opportunity to develop practical outcomes rather than simply discuss challenges.
Among the expected outcomes are a national action plan with clear policy, legislative and operational recommendations, a community preparedness framework, stronger intelligence-sharing arrangements between border agencies, and a joint declaration committing all participating organisations to coordinated action.
He also acknowledged the support of regional and international partners, including experts from Australia and across the Pacific, whose participation demonstrates a shared commitment to addressing the growing regional threat.
Minister Napuat urged participants to engage openly throughout the summit and work together to safeguard the country’s future.
“These threats, if left unaddressed, will undermine not only our national security but also our families, our communities and the future we are building for our children,” he said.
“We owe it to the next generation to face these challenges with the seriousness, unity and courage they demand.
“Together, we can confront these challenges. Together, we can build a healthier, safer and more resilient Vanuatu,” Napuat said…. PACNEWS
UN – POLICE CHIEFS MEET: UN NEWS CENTRE PACNEWS 3: Wed 08 Jul 2026
Peace hinges on people-centred policing, global summit hears
NEW YORK, 08 JULY 2026 (UN NEWS CENTRE) — Policing is the cornerstone of peace, said top UN officials ahead of the fifth UN Chiefs of Police Summit, which began on Tuesday.
The two-day summit brings together ministers, chiefs of police and senior representatives of policing organisations to discuss how UN policing and national police can mutually reinforce one another in addressing current and emerging global security challenges.
“The goal of this summit is to ensure that our Organisation is aligned and prepared to support the nearly 4,500 UN Police personnel nearly 80 countries who serve across our peace operations while also helping shape how United Nations policing continues to evolve to meet today’s increasingly complex security environment,” said chief of UN Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix.
“Ultimately, the focus is on ensuring that we continue to invest in peace by investing in effective policing, strong partnerships and the women and men who serve on the front lines every single day,” he said.
Lacroix said recent budget cuts from the lack of some Member States fully paying assessed contributions “have had a real impact across the board where it matters most”.
“The approved budgets remain in place, but without the necessary cash, those budgets cannot be fully implemented,” he said.
“We have effectively had to reduce spending by around 25 per cent, and this affects nearly every aspect of our work.”
Less payments mean reduced patrols in high-risk areas, longer response times to developing crises and fewer opportunities to train and support local police so they can assume full responsibility when missions eventually wind down.
Despite financial challenges, policing remains a cornerstone of sustainable peace, said UN Police Adviser Faisal Shahkar.
Unlike military peacekeepers, UN police work directly with communities to strengthen national police services, rebuild public trust and reinforce criminal justice institutions after conflict, tackling challenges from organised crime and cybercrime to sexual and gender-based violence.
Shahkar said this year’s summit will focus on the future of UN policing, including innovation and new technologies, stronger partnerships and more effective responses to transnational threats.
“For communities affected by conflict, peace is not only the silence of weapons. It is also the ability to return home, send children to school, report violence, access justice, and trust the institutions meant to protect them,” he said,
“At the heart of this summit is a simple message: safety is integral to peace,” Shankar…. PACNEWS
PACIFIC – CLIMATE CHANGE/WOMEN: VANUATU DAILY POST PACNEWS 3: Wed 08 Jul 2026
Pacific Ministers Urged to Make Ending Violence Against Women Central to Climate Action
PORT VILA, 08 JULY 2026 (VANUATU DAILY POST) — As climate disasters place more women at risk of violence, Pacific ministers have been urged in Port Vila to ensure women’s safety is built into climate policies and disaster planning.
This follows a high-level policy dialogue held alongside the recent Pacific Innovation Forum for Climate and Environment (PIFCE) in Vanuatu’s capital.
The dialogue brought together Ni-Vanuatu women leaders with ministers and government representatives from Vanuatu, Kiribati, Tuvalu and Samoa to discuss the growing links between climate change, disasters and gender-based violence.
Participants called for women’s voices to be placed at the centre of climate decision-making and for governments to adopt gender-responsive climate policies.
According to the 2024 National Survey on Women’s Lives and Family Relationships, conducted by the Vanuatu Women’s Centre and the Vanuatu Bureau of Statistics, women face an increased risk of physical or sexual violence from intimate partners during and immediately after disasters.
The survey also found that 86 per cent of women in Vanuatu experience one or more forms of intimate partner violence during their lifetime.
With Vanuatu ranked among the world’s most disaster-prone countries, participants said climate-related disasters are intensifying the risks faced by women, making it essential that their experiences inform climate policy and disaster preparedness.
ActionAid Vanuatu Country Manager Flora Vano said women’s perspectives continue to be overlooked in climate planning despite their firsthand knowledge of the challenges faced during disasters.
“Despite this, women’s voices are excluded from decision-making spaces, and as a result, their valuable knowledge and firsthand experiences are not being considered when it comes to climate and disaster policy and programming. We must integrate prevention of violence against women into government climate plans, and we’re calling on Pacific government leaders to take responsibility for this issue,” she said.
UN Women Ending Violence Against Women Programme Manager Jurgita Sereikaite said Pacific leaders had recognised that climate change and violence against women are interconnected challenges.
“The Pacific has long led the world on climate justice, and this dialogue showed that leadership extending to a new frontier. Climate ministers from across the region agreed that violence against women and the climate crisis are not two separate emergencies but one, and that climate policy, planning and financing must reflect that reality,” she said.
The participatory dialogue was convened on 30 June by ActionAid Vanuatu, the Women I Tok Tok Tugeta (WITTT) Network, the Ministry of Climate Change and UN Women through the Pacific Partnership to End Violence Against Women and Girls, with funding support from the Australian Government and the European Union.
Participants agreed that violence against women and the climate crisis represent a single, compounding human rights challenge requiring coordinated action.
The dialogue produced 11 key recommendations, including integrating violence prevention into climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction and humanitarian policies; increasing women’s participation in climate decision-making; investing in women-led climate resilience initiatives; strengthening coordination between climate change and women’s ministries; designing climate-resilient infrastructure that prioritises women’s safety and accessibility; expanding telecommunications and renewable energy in remote communities; and increasing gender-responsive climate financing.
The recommendations were formally presented to Pacific ministers and delegates attending PIFCE and will contribute to regional advocacy efforts ahead of the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31), where Australia will preside over negotiations and Pacific priorities are expected to play a significant role in shaping the global climate agenda…. PACNEWS
VAN – DETETECTION DOGS: VANUATU DAILY POST PACNEWS 3: Wed 08 Jul 2026
AFP deploys drug detection dogs to Vanuatu in historic first operation
PORT VILA, 08 JULY 2026 (VANUATU DAILY POST) — For the first time in its history, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) has deployed its specialist drug detection dogs outside Australia, with Vanuatu becoming the first country to host the elite canine unit as part of a joint operation targeting drug trafficking and organised crime.
Speaking to the Vanuatu Daily Post and Vanuatu Nightly News at the inaugural National Security Summit in Port Vila, AFP Superintendent Alexander Middlemiss, who has served with the AFP for more than 20 years, said the deployment marks a significant milestone in Australia’s law enforcement partnership with Vanuatu.
Throughout his career, Superintendent Middlemiss has provided distinguished service across frontline policing, tactical and undercover operations, specialist investigations, international deployments and executive command.
The AFP has brought three specially trained detector dogs to Vanuatu to support Operation Greenshield, following a request from the Vanuatu Police Force (VPF) Commissioner and Minister of Internal Affairs Andrew Solomon Napuat.
The operation aims to disrupt the trafficking, cultivation and distribution of cannabis while strengthening Vanuatu’s long-term border security capability.
“Before coming to Vanuatu, the dogs were specifically trained to detect cannabis,” Superintendent Middlemiss said.
“They were capable of detecting methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, MDMA and large amounts of cash. We added cannabis detection because of the priorities identified by the Vanuatu Government.”
For the next two weeks, the dogs and their handlers will work alongside Vanuatu Police at ports, airports, cargo facilities and other locations suspected of being linked to organised criminal networks. The canines can also detect illegal cannabis plantations and identify drugs being transported or distributed anywhere across the country.
Superintendent Middlemiss said the deployment is more than a short-term operation; it is the beginning of building Vanuatu’s own sovereign drug detection capability.
“This is the first time the AFP has deployed its canine capability overseas for a joint operation,” he said. “We’re proud that Vanuatu is the first country to partner with us in this way.”
Following the operation, the AFP will conduct a scoping assessment before launching a long-term capacity-building programme. Selected Vanuatu Police officers will travel to Australia to undergo specialist canine handler training before returning home with trained detector dogs.
The initiative will ultimately lead to the creation of the Vanuatu Police Force’s first dedicated Canine Unit, giving the country its own permanent drug detection capability.
“We have agreement from the Police Commissioner to establish a canine unit within the Vanuatu Police Force,” Superintendent Middlemiss said. “Our long-term goal is for Vanuatu to operate its own canine capability while continuing to work with Australia on regional operations across the Pacific.”
The dogs are also trained to detect large quantities of cash, including both Australian dollars and Vanuatu vatu. Because both currencies are printed on the same polymer material, the dogs can identify concealed cash regardless of whether it is Australian or Vanuatu currency.
The deployment comes as Vanuatu steps up efforts to combat transnational organised crime and illicit drug trafficking. Officials say the partnership with the AFP is a major investment in strengthening border security, law enforcement capability and regional cooperation to protect Vanuatu from emerging criminal threats…. PACNEWS
PACNEWS BIZ
VAN – AIPRSPACE: VANUATU DAILY POST PACNEWS BIZ: Wed 08 Jul 2026
Vanuatu gets VT30M annually from airspace
PORT VILA, 08 JULY 2026 (VANUATU DAILY POST) — The Vanuatu Government has been receiving VT30 million (US$249,604) in revenue from its upper airspace managed by Fiji Airports Limited for many years.
This was conveyed by the Minister for Infrastructure, Xavier Emanuel Harry, to the Parliamentary Committee on Economic and Foreign Policies.
He said that the money is deposited into a Trust Fund held by the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu (RBV) and dedicated to civil aviation development.
A Disbursement Committee, comprising the ministry and stakeholders, has been established to assess and approve funding whenever required, he said.
Minister Harry and senior officials from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Public Utilities (MIPU) were asked why Fiji is still managing Vanuatu’s upper airspace and whether Vanuatu’s 2.5 percent share of the revenue should be reviewed.
The Nadi Flight Information Region (FIR) covers Vanuatu, Kiribati, Tuvalu, New Caledonia and Fiji. Under the revenue-sharing arrangement, Vanuatu receives 2.5 percent, while the other countries receive less. Fiji receives the largest share of around 92 percent.
The amount paid to each country is not based on each aircraft that flies over each country’s airspace, but on the revenue made from the entire FIR under Nadi, which is divided and paid in shares.
In his response, Minister Harry said Vanuatu’s 2.5 percent share has remained unchanged for many years and that the ministry believes it should be increased.
He said that if Vanuatu wants to manage its own airspace, it must first determine whether it can generate enough revenue, as the government would need to invest in the technical air navigation facilities required to operate the service.
He said it is also a decision about Vanuatu’s sovereignty and its choice to manage its own airspace. The Minister for Infrastructure said discussions were held with the Fiji Airports Authority to negotiate an increase in the 2.5 percent share.
“At the last meeting with Fiji, other countries also voiced concerns that their current revenue shares were also low. The outcome of the meeting was for the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to review the revenue arrangement, whether each country is receiving adequate revenue,” said Minister Harry.
He emphasised that if the government wants to control its own airspace, it needs to invest and decide whether it can generate the same revenue as the current arrangement.
Minister Harry added that further developments on the status of the 2.5 percent revenue share are expected by the end of this year…. PACNEWS
The views expressed in PACNEWS are those of agencies contributing articles and do not necessarily those of PINA and/or PACNEWS
The Nuclear-Free Pacific and Hypersonic Hypocrisy
By Jeremy Rose
WELLINGTON, 08 JULY 2026 (PACIFIC SCOOP) — On February 18 of this year, the U.S launched a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from the Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Travelling at speeds of more than 24,000 kilometres an hour, it landed near the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands 6,700 kilometres away 24 minutes later.
Minuteman III missiles can deliver up to three separate nuclear warheads, each more than 20 times as powerful as the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
On 03 March 2025, the Marshall Islands formally announced its intention to join the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone by signing the Treaty of Rarotonga.
Searches of the NZ Herald and Stuff websites for stories about the missile test, and the signing of the treaty come up empty.
And yet, on Tuesday, both the NZ Herald and The Post led with news that China had test-fired a nuclear-capable ballistic missile in the Pacific. Neither report made any mention of the nine ballistic missile tests fired into the Pacific by the USA since 2021.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters and his Australian counterpart, Penny Wong, were both quoted as saying the Chinese missile test went against the intent of the Treaty of Rarotonga.
“The Pacific Islands Forum leaders have made clear that they want the Pacific to be an ocean of peace. We believe this test is inconsistent with that objective,” Wong said.
Wong isn’t wrong.
In 2024 Kiribati publicly criticised an earlier test of a Minuteman III missile that also landed in the Ronald Reagan Space and Missile Test Range located near the Kwajalein Atoll. As the name suggests, the tests are a regular occurrence.
A statement from the President’s Office, reported by RNZ, said Kiribati objected equally to China and the US using the South Pacific for test-firing nuclear-capable missiles.
“Kiribati continues to advocate for the cessation of weapons testing in the Pacific Ocean and urges global cooperation to ensure the peace, security, and stability of our shared environment. We remain committed to protecting the peaceful future of the Pacific and safeguarding the well-being of future generations.”
It’s a thought – almost – echoed by Winston Peters in his response to the Chinese test: “This missile was fired into the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone established by the Treaty of Rarotonga. China’s action goes against the object and intent of that Treaty.”
You’ll search long and hard to find any similar criticism of the U.S missile tests by Ministers Peters and Wong. That’s despite the people of the Marshall Islands themselves and the leaders of neighbouring countries making it clear any testing of ballistic missiles in the Pacific goes against the spirit of the Treaty of Rarotonga.
The Chinese missile test is widely being reported as a response to Australia and Fiji’s signing of the Ocean of Peace Alliance the previous day.
Without confirmation from China, it’s impossible to know for certain, but it seems likely that the alliance – which New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has expressed interest in signing up to – is seen as a ratcheting up of military tensions in the South Pacific.
When it comes to the “object and intent” of the Treaty of Rarotonga, mentioned by Peters, few if any of the signatories would have countenanced one of their members purchasing nuclear-powered submarines.
But in 2023, Australia announced it was doing just that with the planned purchase of three nuclear submarines at an estimated cost of more than AUD$300 billion (about 15 times the combined GDP of the Forum countries excluding New Zealand and Australia).
Shortly after the announcement, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Damukana Sogavare told the UN General Assembly that his nation “would like to keep our region nuclear-free and put the region’s nuclear legacy behind us… We do not support any form of militarisation in our region that could threaten regional and international peace and stability.”
The legacy Sogavare mentions is nowhere felt more keenly than the Marshall Islands, where the US carried out 67 atmospheric nuclear tests between 1946 and 1956, resulting in sky-high rates of thyroid cancer.
The US has paid out just US$150 million in compensation despite the internationally mandated Marshall Islands Nuclear Claims Tribunal having awarded over US$2 billion in personal injury and property claims.
A survey by the Asia New Zealand Foundation earlier this year found that just 23 percent of New Zealanders viewed China as a threat, compared to 35 percent who saw the U.S as one.
The U.S has more than 5,000 nuclear warheads with 1,700 actively deployed; China has 620 with 34 deployed.
China has a long-standing policy of no-first use of nuclear weapons, while the US refuses to rule it out.
When our leaders claim to be supporting Pacific countries in their commitment to a nuclear-free Pacific by rightly criticising China’s missile tests while steadfastly refusing to criticise the USA’s regular testing of intercontinental nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, they’re indulging in hypersonic hypocrisy…. PACNEWS
Jeremy Rose is a Wellington based journalist and broadcaster. He worked as a producer/presenter on RNZ’s Mediawatch and Ideas programmes, co-founded the worker-owned City Voice newspaper in Wellington in the ’90s
PACNEWS DIGEST
The views expressed in PACNEWS are those of agencies contributing articles and do not necessarily those of PINA and/or PACNEWS
How ADB’s Maritime Investment could keep Tuvalu connected while strengthening long-term resilience
FUNAFUTI, 08 JULY 2026 (DEV DISCOURSE) — The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) decision to provide a US$10 million grant to strengthen Tuvalu’s maritime transport network is significant not because it finances another large infrastructure project, but because it focuses on preserving an existing one.
By directing funding toward the operation and maintenance of transport assets rather than new construction, the initiative reflects an emerging shift in development policy that recognises infrastructure delivers value only when it remains safe, reliable, and financially sustainable throughout its lifecycle. For Tuvalu, a small island nation spread across vast stretches of the Pacific Ocean, this approach has implications that extend beyond transport, influencing economic resilience, public service delivery, fiscal planning, and long-term climate adaptation.
Keeping Tuvalu’s Lifeline Open Strengthens Economic and Social Resilience
For Tuvalu, maritime transport is the backbone of national connectivity. With the country’s outer islands located between 118 and 457 kilometres from the capital, Funafuti, sea transport is the only practical means of moving people, food, fuel, construction materials, medical supplies, and commercial goods. The Manu Sina passenger and cargo vessel, therefore, functions as a critical public asset rather than simply a transport service.
ADB’s grant is likely to improve the reliability of these connections through preventive maintenance and vessel certification, reducing the risk of service interruptions that can isolate remote communities. Better connectivity means residents can access hospitals, schools, government services, and markets more consistently, while businesses can transport goods with greater certainty. This reliability can help stabilize local supply chains, reduce transport-related disruptions, and improve economic activity across dispersed island communities.
The investment also demonstrates that maintaining infrastructure can often generate higher long-term returns than replacing assets after they deteriorate. Extending the operational life of existing transport infrastructure allows Tuvalu to maximize previous development investments while avoiding the significantly higher costs associated with emergency repairs or premature replacement.
A Policy Shift from Building Infrastructure to Managing National Assets
The grant sends an important message to policymakers across the Pacific that infrastructure policy should not end when construction is completed. One of the most notable features of the project is the creation of a dedicated expenditure financing facility for maintaining transport projects previously supported by ADB. This reflects a broader policy shift toward lifecycle asset management rather than infrastructure expansion alone.
For Tuvalu’s government, the project creates an opportunity to strengthen institutional capacity in transport asset management. Better maintenance planning, systematic inspections, and improved financial management could make future infrastructure spending more efficient while reducing long-term operational costs.
The initiative also encourages policymakers to integrate maintenance budgets into national fiscal planning instead of treating them as discretionary expenditures that can be postponed during periods of financial pressure. For many small island developing states, deferred maintenance has historically shortened infrastructure lifespans and increased future financing needs. Establishing predictable maintenance funding could therefore improve fiscal sustainability and protect scarce public resources.
Beyond transport, the project may influence how other sectors, including water, energy, and public facilities, approach infrastructure management by placing greater emphasis on preserving existing assets alongside new investment.
Development Partners and Private Stakeholders Gain from Greater Infrastructure Reliability
The project also carries broader implications for development partners and private-sector stakeholders operating in Pacific Island economies.
For multilateral development institutions such as ADB, the grant demonstrates an evolving approach to development finance that prioritizes the long-term performance of infrastructure rather than measuring success solely by new construction. Ensuring that previously financed assets remain operational improves the effectiveness of development assistance and increases the return on donor investments.
The initiative may also encourage other international development agencies to expand financing models that combine infrastructure investment with dedicated maintenance funding and institutional capacity building. Such approaches are particularly relevant for climate-vulnerable island states, where limited financial resources often make maintenance difficult despite growing infrastructure needs.
Private businesses stand to benefit from more predictable maritime services. Retailers, suppliers, transport operators, tourism enterprises, fisheries, and small businesses depend heavily on regular shipping schedules to move products between islands. More reliable maritime operations reduce logistical uncertainty, improve inventory management, lower the risk of supply shortages, and create a more stable environment for commercial activity.
Improved transport reliability may also strengthen investor confidence by demonstrating that critical infrastructure is being managed proactively rather than reactively.
Climate Risks and Financial Sustainability Will Determine Long-Term Success
Despite its immediate benefits, the grant does not eliminate the structural challenges facing Tuvalu’s transport system. The country remains highly exposed to climate change, including rising sea levels, coastal erosion, stronger storms, and increasingly unpredictable weather that can disrupt maritime operations and damage supporting infrastructure.
Maintaining vessels and strengthening asset management improve resilience, but long-term adaptation will likely require continued investment in ports, navigation systems, coastal protection, and climate-resilient transport infrastructure. Policymakers will therefore need to align maintenance strategies with broader climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction policies.
Another challenge will be sustaining maintenance financing after external grant support concludes. Small island economies often face limited fiscal capacity and competing public spending priorities. The effectiveness of the newly established maintenance financing facility will ultimately depend on whether Tuvalu can institutionalize preventive maintenance practices within its own budgeting framework while continuing to mobilise support from development partners where necessary.
For stakeholders, the project’s success should be measured not only by whether the Manu Sina remains operational, but also by whether the initiative strengthens long-term governance, improves transport reliability, reduces lifecycle costs, and builds institutional systems capable of sustaining infrastructure beyond donor-funded projects.
Ultimately, ADB’s latest investment reflects an important evolution in development thinking. Rather than focusing exclusively on building new infrastructure, it recognises that resilient economies depend equally on maintaining what already exists. For Tuvalu, where maritime transport underpins economic activity, public services, and national cohesion, protecting existing transport assets could prove just as valuable as constructing new ones. For policymakers, the project reinforces the importance of integrating maintenance into national development strategies, while for development partners and private stakeholders, it offers a practical model for improving infrastructure resilience in some of the world’s most geographically challenging and climate-vulnerable economies…. PACNEWS
