PINA

There are fears dangerous explosives stored carelessly and with no regard for the safety of villagers in Ruaniu, northeast Guadalcanal in Solomon Islands, could wipe out the village if it explodes. Close to one hundred 500L storage containers containing ammonium nitrate emulsion were said to be abandoned near the village by a Malaysian mining company some five years ago. Ammonium nitrate...

The incoming Forum Chair and Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, Mark Brown, is leading a Forum delegation to Tokyo this week to convey concerns and requests of Pacific Leaders for deferral of Japan's planned discharge of treated nuclear wastewater into the Pacific. In a readout and release from the PIF Monday, the first meeting of the Japan mission to...

The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat has released the Pacific Security Outlook Report 2022 -2023, highlighting key regional security issues and trends. By comparing the challenges and projections outlined in this report, regional decision makers can then consider which issues require most attention and prioritisation, both regionally and in their own national context. As Leaders reaffirmed when they launched the 2050 Strategy...

The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Information, Communications and Transport (MICT) for the Republic of Kiribati. The new partnership will see the two parties work together as part of the global effort to advance the field of ocean science, and obtain a complete map of the entire ocean floor. The...

Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Henry Puna and the Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown are in Japan this week meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and key ministers. Brown, as the incoming Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, will be joined by the Republic of the Marshall Islands Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kitlang Kabua at their high level meeting...

As the right to development goes together with the right to a clean, healthy, sustainable environment, “we must end the merciless, relentless, senseless war on nature,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres repeating a message that has become a mantra for his tenure. “2023 is a year of reckoning. It must be a year of game-changing climate action. We need...

University of the South Pacific (USP) Cook Islands Director Dr Debi Futter-Puati is pleased to hear the newly elected Fiji Government will release funds to the institution. Dr Futter-Puati said the impact of the previous government’s action in refusing to pay has had ripple effects across the region impacting both staff and students. “I am very pleased to hear that the...

Fijian national, Dr Pio Manoa is the new Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) Deputy Director-General. Dr Manoa was the FFA legal counsel before his appointment as the new deputy director general. Forum Fisheries Director-General, Dr Manu Tupou-Roosen has congratulated Dr Manoa on his appointment. “Pio brings extensive experience and expertise, including strategic, technical and networking, to this role. We also share a deep...

By Mar-Vic Cagurangan China’s persistent threats to take over Taiwan underscore the risk of escalating geopolitical conflicts besetting the Pacific island region. While Guam is considered a main launching pad to respond to any potential contingency, the island nations that are affiliated with the United States play a crucial role in deterring China’s incursion into the region. Washington’s security...

By Ongerung Kambes Kesolei In September 2021, Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr told world leaders at the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly that the Compact of Free Association between Palau and the United States has led to limited economic growth and hindered Palau's ability to connect with certain members of the international community due to the...