PINA

The French Ambassador to the Pacific wants to set the record straight reminding people the France is the “administering power” and in control of New Caledonia for now. “New Caledonia is France and it's legally in international public law,” Véronique Roger-Lacan told RNZ Pacific on Wednesday. “This is how it is. New Caledonia is France,” she said. Her comments follow New Caledonia...

From US$60 million to just US$89,000 in five years, and from US$59.1 million to just $28.7 million in six years. That rapid depletion of funds that were supposed to be held in trust for Pacific islanders displaced by early nuclear testing on Bikini Atoll is now at the centre of a lawsuit against the company that was supposed to keep...

Nauru has become the first South Pacific nation to sign up to SpaceX’s Starlink’s Community Gateway service. Nauruan state-owned entity Cenpac Corporation inked an agreement with Starlink on 20 August, 2024, to roll out the lightning-fast internet across the island. The deal continues Starlink’s steady rise in the South Pacific Under the arrangement, Nauru will provide land at Command Ridge for the...

By Nic Maclellan  The Pacific Islands Forum has postponed a planned monitoring mission to New Caledonia. The delegation, involving three prime ministers, had intended to visit the French Pacific dependency before next week’s Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga. The mission would have allowed Forum leaders to directly engage with diverse perspectives from supporters and opponents of independence in New Caledonia, after...

New Caledonia Congress President Roch Wamytan has doubled down on indigenous Kanaks' aspirations to seek self-determination and lambasted France for “demeaning” the high-level Pacific leaders’ mission to the French territory. New Caledonia government's pro-independence leader Louis Mapou this week put a pause on a Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Ministerial Committee from travelling to the conflict-ridden territory after differences with Paris. The...

Geopolitical shocks could disrupt the political and security landscape and strain unity in the Pacific Islands region amid strategic rivalry between China and U.S allies, a think-tank report warned ahead of an annual Pacific Islands leaders summit. Pacific Islands nations are valued in the defence plans of major world powers because of their strategic location, including for monitoring and controlling...

Two U.S Pacific territories are moving closer to a status upgrade from observer to associate member, elevating their status within the region's political and economic policy organisation, the Pacific Islands Forum. The PIF leaders' meeting is set to open Monday in Tonga’s capital, Nuku'alofa. Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni has confirmed there will be a vote on new associate members. “Guam...

The Pacific Civil Society Forum will host a Pacific People’s Forum alongside the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Tonga from 26 - 30 August, with its theme “Pikipiki Hama Kae Vaevae Manava.”. This theme aligns with the broader Pacific Islands Forum’s focus on “Transformative Resilient Pasifiki: Build Better Now,” emphasising solidarity and shared responsibility in overcoming challenges. The Pacific...

The Australian Government will provide AUD$1 million (US$673,000) to the Broadcasting Corporation of Niue (BCN) to repair studios and broadcast rooms damaged by fire in 2020. In line with Australia's development policy, this funding will enable BCN Studios ongoing media presence in Niue –which supports public debate, democratic norms and robust governance. Australian Minister for International Development and the Pacific Pat...

By Mihai Sora The Pacific region is facing a “polycrisis”, said Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka at a Pacific security conference in Suva in June. The mounting threats of climate change, transnational crime, intense geopolitical competition, severe debt and economic distress are compounding regional human security pressures, such as mental health, non-communicable diseases, gasping health systems and plummeting education outcomes. It is...