PINA

Small island nations are another step closer to holding the world’s big polluters to account for the harm they cause from their emissions. Vanuatu made history last year when the UN General Assembly adopted the tiny island state's proposal to have the International Court of Justice (ICJ) clarify countries' legal obligations to protect people and the environment from the effects...

Nauru President David Adeang arrived in Beijing on Sunday, embarking on a six-day state visit to China from Sunday to 29 March. It marks the first visit by a Nauruan president after the two countries resumed diplomatic ties in January 2024. Experts believe the trip will enhance political mutual trust and understanding, which will serve as a springboard from which further...

A landmark moment for our Oceans, our Fisheries and our Future: Forum Fisheries Committee(FFC) Officials Chair Director Glen Joseph of the Marshall Islands, supported by Director-General Dr Manu Tupou-Roosen, filed the Forum Fisheries Agency’s (FFA) first ever submission to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague last week. Spearheaded by Vanuatu, in 2023, the UNGA adopted a Resolution...

The Fijian Media Association (FMA) conducted its annual general meeting on Friday (22 March 2024), at the Fiji Museum in Suva, where it reviewed the work carried out in 2023, including its financial report, proposed measures to strengthen the organisation and forthcoming projects in 2024. The meeting, in the 10th year since the FMA's establishment, also elected its Executive Committee...

The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat has submitted a written statement to the International Court of Justice on the question of the Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change. This is the first time the Secretariat is participating in a proceeding of the World Court, whose seat is at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. The Secretariat was represented by...

Former Cook Islands deputy Prime Minister Robert Tepaitau and two other former high-ranking Government officials were handed jail terms Friday for fraud and corruption charges. Tepaitau has been jailed for two years and nine months for conspiracy to defraud and using a document to obtain pecuniary advantage. He, along with former Environment Service director Ngatokorua Puna and his wife, Diane Charlie-Puna,...

From his perch at the hilltop Yue Lai Hotel, China-born entrepreneur Zhao Fugang enjoys a panoramic view of Fiji’s seaside capital, Suva. But the hotel is not just the headquarters of Zhao’s local business empire, which has stretched from tourism to property development. It’s also the base for the businessman’s parallel job: promoting China’s influence in the Pacific country. The imposing...

Japan conducted its first-ever cybersecurity exercise with five Pacific island countries in February, apparently aiming in conjunction with the United States to create secure and robust digital connectivity in the strategically important region where China is expanding its influence. Security experts hailed the recent event in Guam as significant -- with some seeing it as Japan's first foray into cyber...

By Camilla Pohle Members of a U.S Senate hearing on 14 March said that Washington’s relationships with Pacific Island countries are based on respect. If this is true, the United States must compensate and apologise to Marshallese victims of U.S radiation experiments that began in the 1950s. The Marshall Islands is a crucial U.S partner, with a diaspora in this country,...

International Maritime Organisation IMO has agreed on an illustration of a possible draft outline of an “IMO net-zero framework” for cutting greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from international shipping. This marks a step forward in the legal process towards adopting global regulations, referred to as "mid-term GHG reduction measures", that will help achieve the targets contained in the 2023 IMO Strategy...