Page 6 - IB Jan 2024

Briefs Briefs
and all commercial arrangements. Punja & Sons Pte Ltd and
Gecko Trucking Ltd will be acquiring all Mobil Oil (Fiji) assets
American Samoa through a jointly owned vehicle, Petro Oceania. The process
The American Samoa government has announced that is expected to take up to 12 months to ensure all conditions
foreigners can now acquire or start a new limited liability necessary for the transaction are completed.
company (LLC) in the territory. The announcement opens up
opportunities for foreign companies and citizens to establish
a business presence in American Samoa. The decision was
made in recognition of the importance of foreign investment French Polynesia
in the territory. The new policy means foreign companies and Paris 2024 organisers have insisted the surfing events at
citizens can now take advantage of the benefits of LLCs, such this year’s Olympics be held on the Tahiti site of Teahupo’o
as limited liability protection, while conducting business in despite recent opposition from the International Surfing
American Samoa. Association (ISA) on the construction of an aluminium judging
tower. In October last year, residents of Teahupo’o protested
plans by Games organisers to build a 14-metre aluminium
tower that would allow up to 40 people to watch, film and
Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands judge the surfing at a famed break in front of the village.
The US Air Force is stepping up construction at the Tinian The ISA said it would not support the construction of the
North airfield, once used by the largest B-29 bomber fleet aluminium tower, suggesting the events could be judged from
during World War II, and at the Tinian International airfield, the shore.
Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, Commander of the Pacific Air Forces,
said in an interview with Nikkei Asia. “If you pay attention
in the next few months, you will see significant progress,
especially at Tinian North,” Wilsbach said. The airfield “has Guam
extensive pavement underneath the overgrown jungle. We’ll Police in Guam are set to get body cameras. The Guam
be clearing that jungle out between now and summertime.” Daily Post reports Governor Lou Leon Guerrero signed off on
Wilsbach added that it will be “an extensive” facility once several bills becoming law, including authorising the creation
construction is complete. Wilsbach declined to comment on of a body camera program for uniformed officers. Governor
when the airstrip will be operational. Guerrero said in light of CCTV and the public having cell
phone cameras, the bill recognised the positive value of body-
worn camera recordings in affecting the behaviour of those
being recorded, and the added value in aiding investigations.
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands parliament has passed the Narcotics
and Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill 2023, allowing the
importation of medicinal cannabis. Minister for Health, Rose Kiribati
Toki-Brown, thanked Prime Minister Mark Brown and the United Nations Special Rapporteur, Margaret Satterthwaite,
Members of Parliament, who contributed to the Bill. The Bill has castigated the Kiribati Government for its treatment of
sought amendment of the Narcotics and Misuse of Drugs Act judges and the country’s judicial crisis. Satterthwaite wants
2004, and now enables controlled-type drugs to be imported the government to indicate what steps it is taking to ensure
if they have been or are to be prescribed. the independence of the Kiribati judiciary, access to justice
and right to a fair trial in the country. Radio New Zealand
reported Kiribati has limited legal services available, with no
Court of Appeal, following the suspension of five judges in
Federated States of Micronesia recent years. Those suspended were four New Zealand judges
FSM President, Wesley W. Simina, has signed a regulation and one Australian.
approving a new map that shows in full the extent of the
maritime zones of the country, including its exclusive
economic zone, as well as the vast extended continental
shelf claims that are referred to as the Ontong Java Plateau, Marshall Islands
Eauripik Rise, Mussau Ridge, and the North of Yap Area. The Marshall Islands officially opened a new Embassy in Tokyo,
amended regulation officially recognised the permanence of Japan on December 9, 2023. Attended by President David
maritime boundaries and the continental shelf for the first Kabua, First Lady Ginger Kabua, and Jack Ading, Minister of
time in the history of the Pacific region. These claims may be Foreign Affairs, the opening of the new Embassy marked 32
subject to overlapping claims by neighbouring nations and are years of diplomatic presence in Japan from when the RMI
subject to examination by the Commission on the Limits of Embassy was officially established in 1991.
the Continental Shelf under the United Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea.

Nauru
Fiji A State of Disaster for the whole of Nauru was declared on
Two local companies will be taking over ExxonMobil’s Fiji December 12 for the purpose of managing and minimising the
operations and assets, including all retail sites and terminals

6 Islands Business, January 2024