PINA

A deadline of strategic importance for Washington passed without a breakthrough on Saturday night. As lawmakers remained occupied with averting a federal government shutdown just hours before a midnight deadline, the Compact of Free Association (Cofa) pact that had steered ties between Washington and the Marshall Islands for decades expired on 30 September. No public announcement has been made on the...

A new report released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) today delves into the current evidence of trafficking, risk areas, and frameworks and responses to human trafficking in the Pacific Island countries. Covering Micronesia, Fiji, Palau, Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands and Tonga, the report finds that the Pacific Island countries are vulnerable to the exploitation and...

The Vanuatu Government has boycotted Parliament forcing an adjournment until Friday due to a lack of a quorum. The extraordinary sitting was called to debate a motion-of-no-confidence in prime minister Sato Kilman with the opposition claiming to have the support of 27 MPs to the government's 24. The boycott on Monday effectively buys Kilman's camp more time to lobby support especially...

Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says the U.S-Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting is a critical platform to hold one-on-one interactions with President Joe Biden and address national issues. This marked Rabuka’s first participation in the summit since taking office, and he described it as an enlightening experience. The Prime Minister said the Leaders’ Summit in Washington reflected how far Fiji and...

By Joseph Morokana Thirty-three constituencies in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (AROB) are currently implementing a strategic programme known as the ‘Bougainville Internal Independence Readiness’. This crucial programme endorsed by the Autonomous Bougainville Government House of Representative (HoR) in a parliamentary motion two years ago, is specially designed for communities to develop the overall socio-economic, political and spiritual aspects of their...

Australia will lose respect among its Pacific neighbours in the “inconceivable” scenario that the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum fails, according to a Vanuatu MP. “Respect for Australia in the Pacific will be elevated by a positive Yes vote,” former Vanuatu Foreign Minister Ralph Regenvanu wrote on X. “It is almost inconceivable to us that this may not happen, but that...

Fiji is leading the fight to ensure that the World Trade Organisation’s Fisheries Subsidies Agreement is successfully implemented. This agreement is the first WTO agreement to focus on sustainability and the environment by prohibiting harmful fisheries subsidies and was adopted during the Ministerial Conference in June 2022. Under this agreement, members agree to consider the legality and sustainability of the fishing...

Can Australia rebuild a strategic military partnership with France at the same time as independence movements claim Pacific support? By Nic Maclellan On 28 September, the Assembly of French Polynesia unanimously passed a resolution endorsing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), the nuclear ban treaty that entered into force in 2021. Even though France refuses to sign the...

Governments also must strengthen the agreement to better guard against overfishing and other ills By Megan Jungwiwattanaporn An agreement secured last year that could help end overfishing around the world is awaiting completion within the World Trade Organisation, and WTO members should act quickly to ratify and improve that deal. The Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, which the WTO adopted in June...

Climate action has been recognised as the most significant opportunity in the 21st century to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which guide the global, regional and national development efforts of governments worldwide. By Dr Deepa Pullanikkatil, Commonwealth National Climate Finance Adviser for Fiji and Keshav Dash, Commonwealth National Climate Finance Adviser for Tuvalu. The SDGs, outlined in the 2030 Agenda...