PINA

-Defence Minister Richard Marles declared Australia would be “very keen” to help Solomon Islands set up its own defence force and says the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu was also thinking about establishing a military. Only three Pacific Island nations — Tonga, Papua New Guinea and Fiji — currently maintain standing militaries. But Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said on...

Britain is imposing visa requirements for all visitors from Dominica, Honduras, Namibia, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu, as Home Secretary Suella Braverman cited abuse of the migration system. The Home Secretary said the changes were being made “solely for migration and border security reasons” and insisted it is “not a sign of poor relations with these countries”. In a written statement to MPs...

Pacific Islands nations Solomon Islands and Vanuatu are considering forming defence forces and have discussed the matter with Australia, Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Wednesday. Security partnerships in the region, where currently only five out of 18 members of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) bloc have a military, have come into focus after China signed a security pact with...

Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, next week will become the highest-profile U.S official to visit Samoa, as the Biden administration steps up its outreach to Pacific island nations. Emhoff will meet with government officials, community leaders and female entrepreneurs during his 13 – 24 July visit to Samoa’s capital, Apia. His communications director, Liza Acevedo, said...

There will be no coup, assures the Republic of Fiji Military Forces Commander Major General Ro Jone Kalouniwai. This follows speculations on social media including the circulation of a 50-page letter. In this letter, allegations were made that the coalition government was misinterpreting the 2013 constitution and called for the RFMF to intervene. Kalouniwai said the RFMF will continue to abide by...

Youth representatives from across the Pacific have had the opportunity to learn firsthand about the issue of loss and damage from experts and experienced climate change negotiators during the inaugural Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Loss and Damage Dialogue. Hosted by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and Climate Analytics, the gathering brought together government and...

The OFC 29th Ordinary Congress was held at the Viaduct Events Centre in Auckland, on the eve of the FIFA Women's World Cup kicking off at Eden Park today. FIFA President Gianni Infantino addressed delegates calling the OFC member nations his “dream team”. Infantino had glowing praise for the transformational change OFC has undergone in recent years. “I am happy and proud...

UN Women and FIFA have come together just ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand to advance gender equality in football, and help end abuse and discrimination on and off the pitch. The tournament is expected to be watched by more than two billion people - the largest audience for a single women’s sport in...

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup East Asia Pacific (EAP) Qualifier gets underway in Port Moresby from 22 - 29 July. Japan, Philippines, and Vanuatu join Papua New Guinea (PNG) in a 12-match long battle, over eight days, for one spot which will be a direct ticket to what will be the biggest ICC Men’s T20 World Cup ever, in...

Stronger typhoons, growing challenges for populations on low-lying atolls, ecosystem declines, and human health issues are among the major risks detailed in a new report on climate change in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). Threatened resources include culturally significant coastal infrastructure and the tens of millions of dollars that fisheries inject into the FSM economy annually, according to the...