PINA

The State Department says it plans a massive increase in diplomatic personnel and spending for facilities at new U.S embassies in the Pacific islands as the Biden administration forges ahead with efforts to counter China’s growing influence in the region. In a notice sent to Congress this week, the department said it envisions hiring up to 40 staffers over the...

The Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC)continues to affirm its commitment to advocate and inspire actions in solidarity for the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) to become a full member of Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG). This week, the PCC hosted civil society partners alongside the ULMWP President Benny Wenda at a prayer vigil where the Morning Star flag was...

Adaptation and mitigation strategies alone will not be enough to recover from the effects of climate change. By George Carter, Athaulla A Rasheed Samoa assumed a leadership role in January this year as chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), the negotiating bloc for small island developing states. Samoa is well placed to elevate the experience of Pacific Islands...

Veteran playmaker Bernard Foley is encouraging his teammates to “embrace the challenge” ahead of today’s sell-out clash against Tonga in Nuku’alofa. With more than 10,000 expected to pack out Teufaiva Stadium and the surrounding rooftops, the Australia A skipper is under no illusions about what lies ahead against the Ikale Tahi on Friday afternoon. “Playing here in Tonga with the country...

Australia A’s upcoming clash with the Ikale Tahi brings back memories of a game like no other for Classic Wallabies Geoff Richardson and John Cole. Both men played in the Wallabies’ 16-11 loss to Tonga back in 1973 – Richardson at flyhalf and Cole on the wing – and have joined the Australia A Tongan Tour to participate in community...

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has leaped to the defence of China saying its strategic interests are misunderstood. Sogavare has been visiting China this week and signed a number of agreements - including a police cooperation deal which has triggered concern - as well as opening the Solomon Islands embassy in Beijing. The U.S and Australia have urged Beijing and...

The South Pacific could provide a “new focus” for China's Belt and Road Initiative after this week's visit by the Solomon Islands' Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, according to diplomatic observers. Sogavare met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday, and the two leaders pledged to establish a “comprehensive strategic partnership” and form “greater synergy” between the transcontinental infrastructure project and the...

Scientists from Harvard University have collected fragments believed to belong to a huge interstellar meteor, saying it could have come from an alien spacecraft. Avi Loeb led an expedition to find the remains of a 500-kilogramme interstellar fireball that crashed in the ocean near Manus Island, in Papua New Guinea, in 2014. The team set out on a research boat called...

By David Capie A new foreign policy assessment sees the Pacific as no longer “strategically benign” – but the concern extends well beyond the region. Before jetting off on a whirlwind trip to Brussels, Stockholm, and the NATO Summit in Vilnius last Friday, New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins gave a speech setting out his vision of the country’s foreign...

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...