PINA

Lobbying to form Solomon Islands' next government is intensifying. With only four more seats in the 50-member parliament yet to be officially declared, there is no outright winner. As of Monday, the two largest blocs in the winner's circle, independents and the incumbent prime minister Manasseh Sogavare’s Our Party, were tied with 12 MPs each. It's a significant result, given at the...

Delegates attending the inaugural Commonwealth Ocean Ministers Meeting in the Republic of Cyprus committed to take forward their consultations to upcoming global summits. They agreed to lead on ocean protection and management through the Commonwealth Blue Charter and a proposed Commonwealth Ocean Declaration, which will for the first time identify their shared priorities and collaborative actions around sustainable governance of...

The 19th Western Pacific Naval Symposium opened in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, on Monday. The event has drawn approximately 150 high-level naval delegations from nearly 30 countries around the Pacific Rim. During the symposium, Zhang Youxia, Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission, delivered a keynote address, emphasising the need for unity and cooperation to uphold global maritime security and...

Amid intensifying competition in the region, Australia is bankrolling a Chinese government-backed construction company with a chequered history to build Nauru’s new port. In January, the Chinese Communist Party’s news organ had happy news for the Pacific island nation of Nauru following its decision to align with Beijing and ditch its diplomatic recognition of Taiwan. The Global Times pointed to the...

Barely a month after completing new agreements under the Compact of Free Association with Washington, Micronesian President Wesley Simina recently met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who offered to bring more infrastructure investments and other economic assistance to the Pacific island nation under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. According to a statement from the Federated States of Micronesia government, Xi...

The Papua New Guinea National Court in Waigani on Friday closed criminal proceedings against Ialibu-Pangia MP and former prime minister Peter O’Neill regarding the K3billion (US$790 million) UBS loan saga for lack of evidence. Judge Teresa Berrigan said O’Neill was free to go after the Public Prosecutor’s Office filed a declaration declining to lay any charges against O’Neill as it...

Papua New Guinea Deputy Prime Minister John Rosso, NCD Governor Powes Parkop and Minister for Foreign Affairs Justin Tkatchenko were on hand to welcome Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on arrival Monday Both Police Commissioner David Manning and PNG Defence Force acting Commander Philip Polewara was also on hand to welcome Albanese. Albanese will begin his 17 kilometre walk today and...

Fiji contributes a fraction of one percent of the global macroplastic leakages from abandoned, lost, discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) but bears a disproportionate burden on its devastating impact on marine life and ecosystems. Studies show that between 600,000 and 800,000 metric tonnes of ALDFG or ghost gear enter the oceans on an annual basis, making up 70 percent of all...

The fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-4), is taking place from 23 to 29 April 2024 in Ottawa, Canada. This week, the Pacific Small Islands Developing States are preparing for the event through a series of meetings, both as PSIDS as well as...

Japan head coach Eddie Jones was part of the panel of selectors asked to select up to 30 players from the Pacific Challenge who would go for a camp under the PacAus Sports programmes. Jones has been in Samoa for just over a week, where he has been scouting for talent in the Pacific Challenge tournament. Speaking about the tournament, Jones...