PINA

Papua New Guinea wants to create the equivalent of Britain’s Gurkha regiment as it struggles to strengthen its armed forces at a time of increasing tension in the region between China and the United States. British defence officials are in discussions with PNG about closer co-operation, including joint participation in UN peacekeeping missions and steps to enable its citizens to...

Chinese diplomats in the Pacific are critical of a decision by the Japanese government to dispose of nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant accident by discharging it into the sea. A media statement issued from the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Nuku'alofa, Tonga, urged that “Japan’s nuclear-contaminated water should be handled in a responsible way.” The Chinese...

The PACER Plus Implementation Unit (PPIU) has recently concluded a comprehensive study to identify alternative visa pathways that can facilitate the movement of semi-skilled and skilled Pacific workers to Australia and New Zealand. The PACER Plus Agreement recognises the importance of the movement of people to regional economic integration and sustainable development in the Pacific. The Movement of Natural Persons...

Solomon Islands prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare kicked off his trip to China this week with a clear goal — to deepen bilateral ties with Beijing, causing alarm among some Western nations. Among the highlights of the trip: Solomon Islands inaugurated its embassy in Beijing and the two countries signed a total of nine documents, including a police cooperation deal that...

Fiji's Minister for Home Affairs, Pio Tikoduadua claims some people, including politicians who have failed to earn power legitimately at the polls, have continually attempted to destabilise the security of the nation. During his address on the budget debate, Tikoduadua claims these individuals continually incite and propagate the Republic of Fiji Military Forces to take power, essentially to remove the...

It's been more than 30 years since the Bougainville crisis ended, but for many families on the island, the conflict's impacts show no sign of disappearing. Up to 20,000 people are estimated to have died in the conflict from 1988 to 1998, and many of them remain unaccounted for. Tens of thousands more were displaced. A new partnership between the Bougainville...

A few days before he left office in May, former Micronesian president David Panuelo unleashed his displeasure with China, divulging a list of the communist nation’s political transgressions including political warfare and bribery. However, Panuelo’s attempt to sever ties with Beijing was defeated by the FSM Congress’ rejection of his proposal to switch ties to Taiwan. Panuelo’s successor, Wesley Simina, rescued...

Research published in the science journal Nature Ocean Sustainability has found deep-sea mining is likely to pose a threat to bigeye, skipjack, and yellowfin tuna populations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Climate change is pushing migratory tuna populations into geographies that overlap with areas allocated for deep-sea mining, according to the study, “Climate change to drive increasing overlap between Pacific...

Australia A coach Jason Gilmore has named his 23-man squad for Friday's highly anticipated match against the Ikale Tahi in Nuku'alofa. Local heroes Folau Fainga'a and Taniela Tupou will pack down together alongside Tom Lambert with Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and Caderyn Neville starting in the engine room. Lachie Swinton, Brad Wilkin and Seru Uru form a potent back row partnership while veteran...

Solomon Islands' sports officials are confident of a impressive team performance at the Pacific Games which is being held in the capital Honiara later this year. This belief is not only down to a desire to do well on its own turf: the country has a programme designed to improve sport performance. The establishment of the Solomon Islands National Institute of...