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Pacific Islands Forum

Pacific Islands Forum
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Pacific Islands Forum. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
last updated:
20 August, 2024
High tides crash ashore in Funafuti, Tuvalu, on February 11. Tuvalu and other low-lying Pacific Island nations face a growing threat of inundation as climate change drives rising sea levels and more intense natural disasters. Photo: Tuvalu Meteorological Service / Reuters
Pacific nations

Opinion | Why we must follow Pacific Islands’ lead on climate change

Pacific Islands nations show how cooperation can transcend national boundaries to address common challenges effectively. They need support.

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US-China relations

US, Britain stress unity towards China as new strategic dialogue opens in London

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Taiwan

No 2 Taiwan official visiting US for 2 weeks seeks ‘better understanding’

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US-China relations

As No 2 US envoy ends Pacific tour, Beijing scores a diplomatic win on Taiwan

After Beijing envoy demands ‘correction’, Pacific Islands Forum scraps Taiwan reference from its annual summit’s final communique.

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US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell (left) attends a ceremony in Port Vila, Vanuatu, on Thursday to repatriate sacred human relics seized in New York by the FBI in 2016. Campbell also attended the opening of America’s new embassy in the Pacific nation. Photo: Reuters
Diplomacy

China vows to help Fiji tackle climate change in push for greater Pacific role

President Xi Jinping made the pledge along with promises of economic support in a meeting with Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka

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Pacific nations

French response in New Caledonia risks helping China: analysts

French President Emmanuel Macron’s ambitions to deepen French influence in the Pacific, where China is expanding its security ties, could be put at risk by the heavy-handed response to civil unrest in New Caledonia

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Pacific nations

US rejects Chinese envoy’s claim it illegally boarded fishing boats in Pacific

China’s ambassador to New Zealand had called the use of ‘shiprider’ pacts between the US and Vanuatu, Kiribati and Papua New Guinea to ‘carry out law enforcement activities against China’s fishing vessels’ a violation of international law.

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A US Coast Guard small boat crew waits for Vanuatu fishery department and police officials to conduct a boarding in the Pacific nation’s exclusive economic zone in February. Photo: US Coast Guard Pacific Area
Pacific nations

Tuvalu’s Taiwan ties in the balance as Pacific nation gets new PM

The issue of diplomatic recognition is up for debate in the island nation, one of only three remaining Pacific allies of Taiwan. The new prime minister’s position on the subject has not been made public.

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Japan

What can Japan offer Pacific nations amid growing Chinese influence?

Japan’s renewed focus on Pacific nations comes amid regional concern about Fukushima waste water discharge and as Chinese influence grows.

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Pacific nations

Chinese police work in Kiribati as Beijing widens Pacific ties to counter US

Kiribati’s acting police commissioner said Chinese officers were assisting their local counterparts on community policing and a crime database programme.

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Kiribati controls one of the biggest exclusive economic zones in the world. Photo: Getty Images
US-China relations

‘Plan for punishment’: will Beijing dial up deterrence after Taiwan election?

Following Nauru’s diplomatic switch, mainland China is expected to further restrict the island’s international space.

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Taiwanese president-elect William Lai Ching-te (centre) is expected to press for more inclusion in international bodies, but some observers say the island’s bid for UN participation is doomed. Photo: Elson Li
Pacific nations

Australia-Tuvalu treaty sparks fears of population drain, threat to sovereignty

Australia’s agreement with Tuvalu may provide younger locals with a migration pathway but is seen by older islanders as an encroachment of sovereignty.

Pacific nations

Solomon Islands hosts China-funded Pacific Games amid big-power rivalry

Solomon Islands’ PM Manasseh Sogavare has alarmed the West with his pro-Beijing engagement and increasingly authoritarian reflexes. He told This Week in Asia that Honiara’s ties with China ‘were never better’.

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Pacific nations

Cracks emerge in Pacific island unity as leaders skip meet amid US-China rivalry

The leaders of Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands will not attend this week’s annual Pacific Islands Forum, which also counts Australia and New Zealand among its members.

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Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (front) takes a selfie with fellow leaders during last year’s Pacific Islands Forum. Photo: AFP
US-China relations

China and US diplomats overseeing Asian affairs meet to discuss region

China’s Vice-Foreign Minister for Asia Sun Weidong meets Daniel Kritenbrink, US Assistant Secretary of State, for ‘candid, in-depth and constructive consultation’ on regional issues, including Taiwan and maritime issues.

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Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink meets Vice-Foreign Minister for Asia Sun Weidong in Washington. The meeting is the latest exchange in a string of bilateral high-level engagements. Photo: X @USAsiaPacific
US-China relations

Biden unveils Pacific nations aid, embassies as Solomons PM sits out

American leader extols ‘security, prosperity and dignity’ for Oceanic allies and partners in latest response to China’s decades-long inroads in region.

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US-China relations

Biden to meet Pacific Island nations as US-China attention stays high

Summit between American president and region’s leaders will be second in a year as Washington seeks to counter Beijing’s push for clout.

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Asean

Opinion | No Biden, no problem: Asean just has to forge its own path

Joe Biden’s no-show at next month’s Asean Summit is a calculated decision taken in US interests. Instead of feeling slighted, the bloc should redouble its efforts to strengthen intraregional integration and seize emerging opportunities for strategic cooperation.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Science

China and Russia accuse Japan of dumping Fukushima water for cost reasons

A joint submission to the IAEA by Moscow and Beijing said heating and then evaporating the water would be safer, but this option would be more expensive.

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Pacific nations

Pacific Islands leaders meet amid political crisis

Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji and New Caledonia’s ruling FLNKS party are meeting to consider declaring a ‘region of peace and neutrality’, as the nations are at the centre of a geopolitical contest.

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Japan

Opinion | Japan should heed fishing industry fears about Fukushima discharge plan

The Pacific fishing industry, stressed from climate change and overfishing, does not need additional challenges. Amid concerns about marine life and food safety, Tokyo should apply the precautionary principle.

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Demonstrators hold signs reading “No dumping” and “No to the sea, yes in the land” at a protest against Japan’s Fukushima waste water discharge plan, in Seoul, South Korea, on July 8. The proposal has also been criticised by China and is opposed by Japan’s fishing industry. Photo: Bloomberg
Japan

Opinion | Fragile oceans should not be dumping ground for Fukushima waste water

Doubts remain over whether Japan’s treatment system for the radioactive waste water and its subsequent dilution in our oceans will make it safe. Importantly, we cannot afford to upset our fragile marine ecosystem.

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Thousands of South Korean fishermen gather near the parliamentary building in Seoul on June 12 to protest against Japan’s waste water discharge plan. Photo: Xinhua
Japan

Letters | What G7’s non-opposition to Japan’s nuclear waste water plan says

Readers discuss the rich world’s support for the Fukushima water release plan, a win-win for Hong Kong and golf, and a compromise on Fanling.

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China trade

China’s Asia-Pacific trade deal, digital economy pact bids backed by New Zealand

New Zealand on Wednesday backed China’s participation in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA).

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Pacific nations

US gets ‘unrestricted’ access to PNG bases to blunt China’s influence

Washington will be able to station troops and vessels at key airports and naval bases as part of the new security pact.

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Papua New Guinea is increasingly finds itself at the centre of a diplomatic tug of war between Washington and Beijing. Photo: AFP
United States

Opinion | US must follow pledges to Pacific islands with meaningful action

The US has lagged behind in its efforts to engage with Pacific island nations, but recent action is attempting to reverse this trend. However, words will only be meaningful if they are followed by concrete action that genuinely involves engaging Pacific nations economically and diplomatically.

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) and Papua New Guinea Defence Minister Win Bakri Daki shake hands after signing a security agreement as PNG Prime Minister James Marape looks on, in Port Moresby, on May 22. Photo: AFP
India

Opinion | Great powers seeking a warm Pacific island welcome can learn from India

India was feted when it offered cheap medicines, a heart hospital, research institute, desalination plants and its IT and solar expertise – with no mention of defence issues. This could be a template for great powers seeking engagement with small nations.

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South Korea

South Korea hosts its first summit with Pacific island leaders amid China concerns

President Yoon Suk Yeol Yoon launched his strategy last year, pledging to foster a ‘free, peaceful and prosperous’ region amid concerns about China’s security ambitions for the strategic waters.

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