Opinion: Question for PNG foreign minister Tkatchenko – what does the defence pact mean for West Papua?

Papua New Guinea and Indonesia have formally ratified a defence agreement a decade after its initial signing.  PNG’s Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko and the Indonesian ambassador to the Pacific nation,

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Tuvalu’s new PM says democracy and loyalty are reasons for preferring Taiwan over Beijing

The new prime minister in the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu said on Friday his country shares democratic values with Taiwan and reaffirmed that his government would maintain diplomatic ties with Taipei, ruling out a

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Tuvalu PM announces new Cabinet

Tuvalu’s newly-elected Prime Minister, Feleti Teo has named his Cabinet lineup. Governor General Tofiga Vaevalu Falani, in the exercise of authority granted by sections 63, 64, and 68 of Tuvalu’s

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PNG, Indonesia ratify defence deal to expand security cooperation

Indonesia and Papua New Guinea will boost defense cooperation, officials from the two countries said Tuesday, including border patrols in a region where indigenous Papuans have waged a decades-long insurgency against

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U.S. cautions Pacific nations after Kiribati gets Chinese police

The United States on Feb 26 cautioned Pacific Island nations against receiving assistance from Chinese security forces after Reuters reported that Chinese police are working in the remote atoll nation of Kiribati.

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Tackling nuclear legacies, 70 years after Bravo

On 1 March 1954, the US government exploded a thermonuclear weapon on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, codenamed Bravo. The test had an explosive yield of nearly 15 megatons, a thousand times more powerful than the

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China lures Palau with economic incentives to break ties with Taiwan

China has promised Palau economic benefits in exchange for the latter severing diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a letter the Palauan president wrote to an unnamed United States senator revealed.  President Surangel Whipps

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Whose tune is sweetest in the Pacific game of musical chairs?

Soon after Australia signed the Falepili union agreement with Tuvalu at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting in December, there was chatter that Nauru was next on the list for a similar deal with the Australians.

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Australian Defence Chief unaware of Commander Naliva’s torture allegation

Australia’s Defence Force Chief was unaware a Fijian officer who became a Deputy Commander of 3000 troops was alleged to have committed torture. Colonel Penioni Naliva was appointed the Deputy Commander of the 7th

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PNG PM Marape urges Australia to not ‘give up’ on his country in historic parliament address

The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape has urged Australia to not “give up” on his country during an historic address to the federal parliament. On Thursday morning, Marape became the first Pacific

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PM Albanese extends warm welcome and solidarity to PNG PM Marape in Australian Parliament

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Thursday extended a warm welcome to Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape at the Australian Parliament in Canberra – the first leader of another nation to address

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U.S. will resume Peace Corps programme in Palau

The United States will resume a long-suspended Peace Corps programme in the North Pacific island of Palau as the Biden administration continues moves to counter growing Chinese influence in the region. The Peace Corps

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