Digicel Pacific taps SES’s services to bolster Disaster recovery for Tonga

Amidst the increase in natural disasters in the Pacific region, Digicel Pacific and SES have announced an agreement to bolster Digicel Pacific’s network with SES’s service to enable critical communications to be

Read More

French Polynesia’s Moetai Brotherson on New Caledonia, deep sea mining and regional ties

As French diplomats worked the corridors at last week’s 53rd Pacific Islands Forum in Nuku’alofa, President of French Polynesia Moetai Brotherson has criticised decisions taken by President Emmanuel Macron that have

Read More

Pacific Islands Forum tweaks communique after China outburst

The Pacific Islands Forum secretariat has altered the communique from last week’s summit in Tonga to remove an affirming reference to Taiwan, after an outburst from China.  In a tumultuous ending to the otherwise

Read More

MSG Leaders push for strong stance on New Caledonia at Tonga Summit

The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) leaders, meeting on the sidelines of the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga, have called for a robust and unified approach to key regional issues, particularly the ongoing situation

Read More

Tonga’s Finance Minister urges Pacific unity to increase Resilience Fund

Tonga’s Finance Minister, Tiofilusi Tiueti, has urged Pacific nations and their partners to rally behind the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF), calling it a “bold step” towards a more resilient and sustainable

Read More

EU Commissioner Urpilainen calls on OACPS members to settle dues

European Union Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, Wednesday expressed serious concerns over the financial health of the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS), warning

Read More

Regional Kava Strategy launched: Tonga’s Princess urges protection against cultural misappropriation

Tongan Princess Angelika Lātūfuipeka Tuku’aho has issued a passionate call for the protection of kava’s cultural and economic value at the launch of the Regional Kava Development Strategy on Wednesday, emphasising

Read More

Kurt Campbell pledges support for Forum, as US mobilises across the north Pacific

“Across the board, if you look at the nature of our step up in every arena, it is unmistakable, it is fulsome, it is deliberate and it will continue.” `-Kurt Campbell As Pacific leaders gather in the Kingdom of

Read More

Marshall Islands wants Forum support on nuclear legacies and human rights

For twelve years after the Second World War, the United States conducted 67 nuclear tests on Bikini and Enewetak atolls in the Marshall Islands. Today, the government and people of the Republic of the Marshall Islands

Read More

Forum opens with songs of resilience, followed by earthquake

As delegates gathered in Nuku’alofa for the annual Pacific Islands Forum, the new Indoor Stadium at Tonga High School resonated with song from hundreds of school students, at Monday’s official opening. Soon after

Read More

Pacific Islands SG visits tsunami-affected school

Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General, Baron Waqa, was welcomed with songs and cheers this week when he visited a Tongan primary school that was devastated by the December 2021 volcanic eruption and tsunami.

Read More

Transformative Resilient Pasifiki: Exploring the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting theme

The theme for the 53rd Pacific Island Forum Leaders Meeting is Transformative Resilient Pasifiki: Build Better Now. And this week that theme prompted Tongan journalists who were undergoing training in preparation for

Read More

Outgoing Forum Chair Mark Brown reflects on challenging times

“We’ve been mindful that our region is of great interest from a geopolitical perspective over the last few years or so,” says Prime Minister of Cook Islands Mark Brown. “But the security issues that are seen by

Read More

Pacific Civil Society Forum to launch during 53rd Leaders Meeting

The Pacific Civil Society Forum will host a Pacific People’s Forum alongside the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Tonga from 26 – 30 August, with its theme “Pikipiki Hama Kae Vaevae Manava.”.

Read More

The Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting: Why does it matter?

The 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting (PIFLM53) kicks off next week in Nukualofa, and it has some Tongans asking what is its purpose, and what are the benefits of this annual event? Director for Governance and

Read More

UN Secretary-General Guterres to start Pacific swing

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is making his first visit to the Pacific in five years, taking in Samoa, New Zealand, Tonga and East Timor. The centrepiece of Guterres’ mission will be the

Read More

Starlink rollout slowly gains momentum

Starlink’s rollout in the region continues in fits and starts. The satellite technology company last month announced two authorised resellers in Fiji - Lightspeed Pacific and Telecom Fiji. Telecom Fiji CEO, Charles

Read More

PRF expresses grave concerns following discovery of needles and syringes amidst rising drug cases

PRF Expresses Grave Concerns Following Discovery of Needles and Syringes Amidst Rising Drug Cases Amidst the rise in drug cases in Fiji, Pacific Recycling Foundation is issuing an urgent appeal, expressing deep concern

Read More

Pacific ports at a crossroads

Enhancing climate resilience and cybersecurity The Pacific region stands at a pivotal point in its quest to strengthen maritime infrastructure against climate change and bolster cybersecurity measures. As rising sea

Read More

Elon Musk invited to Pacific Island Leaders meeting amid Tonga’s internet crisis

Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and CEO of Tesla, has been invited to attend the 53rd Pacific Island Leaders Meeting, scheduled from 26-30 August, 2024. The invitation reportedly comes from the Tongan government,

Read More

Some Islanders don’t want to leave homelands despite climate closing in – research

A Tongan researcher from the University of Waikato found that in the Pacific region, particularly in Tonga and Samoa, people don’t want to move despite what she calls the “stigma” associated with

Read More

Tonga’s fibre optic cable repair underway despite ‘data glitch’

The Cable Ship Lodbrog located the northern end of Tonga’s damaged domestic fibre optic cable on Sunday and is now searching for the southern end attached to Tongatapu.  The repair is expected to be completed by this

Read More

Pacific Heads of Maritime Forces meet in Tonga, sharing knowledge for security

The South West Pacific Heads of Maritime Forces (SWPHMF) met Wednesday in an exclusive meeting in Nuku’alofa, held at the Leadership Centre, Masefield Naval Base.  “This meeting is a chance for the heads of

Read More

Vava’u and Ha’apai communications services survive on backup satellites as cable awaits repair

Tonga’s local telephone and internet service providers, Tonga Telecommunications Corporation (TCC) and Digicel are using satellite links to restore their services to the two outer islands groups, with hopes that

Read More