U.S., Marshall Islands finally seal a new deal under COFA
After months of thorny negotiations that almost broke down at certain points, the United States and the Marshall Islands have finally signed a new 20-year agreement to renew the economic provisions of the Compact of
U.S., Marshall Islands sign security deal that will limit China’s access to Western Pacific
The Republic of the Marshall Islands and the U.S. signed agreements Monday that will give Washington a stronger presence in the Western Pacific and the right to deny China and other nations access to the islands’
U.S. negotiator expects to sign new deal with Marshall Islands this week
The United States has finalised a 20-year extension to its agreement on ties with the strategic Marshall Islands and expects to sign the US$2.3 billion deal on Monday, chief U.S. negotiator with the Pacific island
COP28: Boiling Point
It’s taken 70 years but some of the life is slowly coming back around Bikini atoll, ravaged by the United States’ nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands immediately after World War Two. For a team from the
Chinese grifters tie up UN, Marshalls in scam
The stakes could scarcely have been higher for Hilda Heine, the former president of the Marshall Islands. For years, her remote archipelago nation of just 40,000 people was best known to the world — if known at all
U.S. groping for contingency plan amid expiration of COFA’s economic provisions
The U.S. economic provisions for the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Marshall Islands under the Compacts of Free Association expired on 30 September without being renewed as the U.S. Congress continued to
Opinion: Government shutdown threatens key U.S. effort to counter China in Pacific
A looming government shutdown threatens to upend a major multibillion-dollar diplomatic initiative between the United States and three Pacific Island nations that the Biden administration views as a cornerstone of its
Opinion: U.S. under pressure to conclude compact agreements in the North Pacific
Little information has emerged about how negotiations for the renewal of the Compact of Free Association (COFA) between the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and the United States are progressing. The United States
Opinion: U.S. claims to Central Pacific flout International law
In defiance of international norms and rules, U.S. officials are laying claim to the large oceanic area in the central Pacific Ocean that is home to the compact states. Now that they are renewing the economic provisions
Opinion: What happens now that MEPC80 is behind us?
Next year the delegates of the 6PAC Plus will be back in London to determine the basket of measures that will accompany the newly adopted strategy to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of international shipping. The
Pacific countries urged to take advantage of geopolitical interests to support ocean governance
The Republic of Marshall Islands national ocean policy is premised on working ‘smarter’ and not ‘harder.’ Glen Joseph, the Director of the Marshall Islands Marine Resource Authority (MIMRA) said
Marshall Islands reacts to U.S. expansion of nuclear compensation
Within days of United States congressional leaders and executive branch officials telling Marshall Islands leaders there was no more money for nuclear test compensation, the U.S. Senate passed legislation expanding
Artists set sail for Marshall Islands hoping for Climate wake-up call
A group of artists will set sail for the remote Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean hoping their trip through one of the world’s most vulnerable regions will draw attention to the impact of climate change and
Q&A: U.S. considering security guarantees for three Pacific Island nations
U.S. Congress is reviewing a proposal from President Joe Biden to create new security guarantees for three Pacific Island states: the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau. If Congress passes the Compacts of Free
Superpower legacy: How the US continues to test nuclear victims
It is not often that Pacific church leaders must confront the fact that their people have been used for half a century as guinea pigs to further the military interests of a global superpower. And when the realisation
COFA agreement still elusive
The Marshall Islands has called on Washington to pay full compensation for the health, environmental and cultural damage caused by 67 nuclear tests carried out by the American government. Kenneth Kedi, Speaker of the
Young right a historical wrong
A 2019 Columbia University study showed that some areas of the Marshall Islands are 10 times more radioactive than Chernobyl and Fukushima despite decades of clean-up efforts by the United States. Yet, few young
A market access game changer
The Marshall Islands and Walmart partnership The Pacific Islands region is home to the world’s largest tuna fishery worth in excess of US$4.5 billion each year. For over half a century, the Pacific Small Island
How officials bought luxury ‘government’ cars with funding for victims of U.S. nuclear testing
The hydrogen bomb exploded at 6.45am, vaporising three islands in a fireball four-and-a-half miles wide and sending a tower of radioactive debris high into the atmosphere. At 15 megatons, the Castle Bravo device –
Marshall Islands end U.S. Compact hold-out
When an 11th hour appeal for more nuclear test compensation by Marshall Islands leaders fell flat in the United States Congress in mid-July, the government endorsed a stalled funding agreement ending a seven-month
Congress prodded to finalise Compact package for freely associated states
Defence officials and territorial delegates have pressed both houses of Congress to tie up the proposed new economic packages under the Compacts of Free Association, noting the freely associated states’ critical role
Opinion: Vital to protect pro-Israel UN votes from Pacific nations
It is no secret that Israel is disproportionately singled out at the United Nations. Last year, the General Assembly approved 15 anti-Israel resolutions. That was two more than all of the other resolutions criticising
Marshall Islands seeks U.S. apology, compensation for nuclear tests damage
The Marshall Islands on Tuesday called on Washington to pay “full” compensation for the health, environmental and cultural damage caused by 67 nuclear tests carried out by the American government, refusing to accept
