Additional COVID funding postpones aid cuts
Faced with the prospect of another cut to aid while the COVID-19 pandemic continues – and in some ways intensifies in our region – the government has again reached for the “temporary and targeted” lever to avoid
Australia hands over Blackrock as China concerns re-emerge
The opening of the Blackrock Camp in Nadi this month signified the culmination of “close to a A$100 million investment” by the Australian government designed to support Fiji’s peacekeeping and humanitarian
Solomon Islands PM says China security deal ‘ready for signing’
Solomon Islands' PM says a contentious security agreement with Beijing was “ready for
Solomons: Putting a draft security deal with China in local context
A draft MOU between Honiara and Beijing on security related issues has sparked international headlines and worried response from
Australia’s vaccine diplomacy in Pacific islands wards off Beijing: Morrison
Australia has been able to stop an “incursion” by Beijing into the Pacific islands by talking with leaders there weekly and offering vaccine aid, Prime Minister Scott Morrison
PNG’s PM Marape tests positive for COVID-19 in Beijing, cancels France trip
Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival in Beijing on Thursday for the opening of the Winter Games and will not be traveling to France this week for an Indo-Pacific
Opinion: Guam, a prime military target for the Chinese
Guam remains a key target for the Chinese military. During the Cold War Guam was a target of the Soviet military in part because Sumay was home to Navy submarines that carried intercontinental ballistic missiles
Tokelau gets high-speed internet access, as security concerns edge China edged out of laying undersea cables throughout Asia Pacific
Tokelau, whose nearest neighbour is 500 kilometres away, has become that much closer to the rest of the world, after a new submarine cable landed on its shores, bringing high-speed reliable internet access. The
Boosting networks against transnational crime
By Nic Maclellan Last month Tongan police confirmed that more than 14 kilograms of cocaine had washed up on beaches in Vava’u. Police say the drugs have an estimated sale value of over $5 million pa’anga and more
U.S funding tapped for Pacific undersea cable after China rebuffed
The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) will tap a U.S funding facility to construct a Pacific undersea communications cable, two sources told Reuters, after rejecting a Chinese company-led proposal that was deemed a
Vanuatu receives Sinopharm doses
Vanuatu has officially received the 20,000 doses of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine and 22,400 syringes from the Chinese Government Monday. China’s Sinopharm was the second vaccine to arrive in Port Vila, a month after
Opinion: Chinese overfishing in the South Pacific devastates some Islands’ livelihoods
Chinese fishing boats’ illegal overfishing in the South Pacific has been devastating some island economies. According to two former U.S. officials, “illegal, unregulated fishing by Chinese vessels has become common