Forum leaders meet to consolidate Blue Pacific agenda
For the first time since 2019, presidents and prime ministers from around the region will gather face-to-face in Suva this week, to continue the 51st Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting. The centrepiece of the summit
Tuvalu Foreign Minister cancels conference trip due to China protest
Tuvalu’s foreign minister landed in Brisbane on Monday after withdrawing from an international forum in protest against alleged Chinese coercion. Simon Kofe was due to arrive in Portugal for the UN’s Ocean
Sovereignty talks at Defence Summit in Singapore
Country leaders present at a defence summit in Singapore on Monday have made their stance clear on sovereignty. Inia Seruiratu, Fiji’s Minister for Defence, National Security and Policing highlighted that Fiji values
China, PNG discuss free trade deal
China and Papua New Guinea held talks on a free-trade deal Friday, as Beijing’s foreign minister wrapped up a landmark tour of the Pacific Islands with a stop in the resource-rich nation. Papua New Guinea’s
Fiji AG says China proposed deal ‘simply a proposal’
Fiji’s Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has sought to play down concern over China’s proposed deal with 10 Pacific nations covering policing, security and communications. Former Kiribati president Anote Tong
FSM President rejects China joint communique plan
China will seek a region-wide deal with almost a dozen Pacific islands covering policing, security and data communications cooperation when Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosts a meeting in Fiji next week, documents seen by
‘Quad’ security group to track Indo-Pacific illegal fishing
The U.S, Japan, Australia and India will on Tuesday unveil a maritime initiative aimed at curbing illegal fishing in the Indo-Pacific, a U.S official said, in the latest effort by the “Quad” to counter Chinese
China seeks security deals with Kiribati and Vanuatu
China is intensifying its drive for influence in the Pacific by negotiating security deals with two additional island nations following a pact with the Solomon Islands, according to officials in the U.S and allied
Solomon Islands congratulates Albanese on election win
The Solomon Islands has congratulated Australia’s new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on his election win as the 31st Prime Minister of Australia. Yet, “much however, remains to be done,” says Solomon Islands
Australia, NZ and the PICs: a new era for PACER?
By Dr Wadan Narsey Australia has been jolted out of its self-declared “vuvale” (family) complacency in its relations to the Pacific. Following the recent political fall-out in Australia because of the
Australia and next steps in the Pacific
Dr Anthony Bergin and Jeffrey Wall The Solomon Islands security agreement with China is a significant setback for Australia and the region. In barely three years Solomon Islands has gone from supporting Taiwan
