PINA

Rugby fans in Fiji and beyond will get the chance to hear about the journey of the Fijian Drua from a bright idea to a competitive Super Rugby team at a panel discussion organised by the Australian High Commission and Fijian Media Association (FMA) today at Albert Park. In a first of its kind, Fijian Drua Head Coach, Mick Byrne,...

One of the most senior U.S officials in the Pacific has refused to rule out military action against Solomon Islands if it were to allow China to establish a military base there, saying that the security deal between the countries presented “potential regional security implications” for the U.S and other allies. Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary of state for East...

Papua New Guinea Governor General Sir Bob Dadae is expected to announce if the 2022 National General Election will proceed as scheduled or deferred for two weeks. This follows the PNG Electoral Commission’s (PNGEC) official request for the issue of writs date and opening of nominations to be extended from 28 April (this Thursday) to 12 May The request was...

The New Zealand government has increased its climate finance to a billion dollars over the next four years, with the Pacific, including Fiji, receiving half of the funds. In an interview with FBC News, New Zealand Climate Change Ambassador, Kay Harrison said these funds will be used to assist Fiji and other Pacific countries mitigate the impacts of climate change,...

Fijian Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says some ten percent of Fiji’s debt burden is owed to climate disasters alone. While speaking at the United Nations Economic and Social Council Forum, he said as the scale of these disasters increases, so must the country’s access to concessional finance. He said while the government had to borrow hundreds of millions, Fiji successfully...

The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM)last Friday, filed with the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf a claim of an extended continental shelf covering a high-sea area of approximately 188,000 square kilometres (72,500 square miles) located in the North of Yap. This is in line with Article 76 of the United Nations Convention on the Law...

A former senior colonel in China’s People’s Liberation Army has laughed off suggestions that Beijing takes Australia’s concerns about its new pact with the Solomon Islands seriously. China and the Solomon Islands recently signed a security pact, and Australia and the US now fear Beijing will use the deal as an opportunity to expand its military presence in the Pacific. Prime...

The peopling of the Pacific is one of the most significant migrations in human history. And now an archaeological discovery on a small island in Papua New Guinea has recast the early scope of this settlement, in a finding archaeologists say could explain the migration east three millennia ago. The unearthing of animal bones and tools on Brooker Island, 200km...

French Polynesian President Édouard Fritch recently committed to conserving 1 million square kilometers (386,000 square miles) of the ocean by creating a new large-scale marine protected area and establishing artisanal fishing zones around each of its 118 islands in the South Pacific Ocean. The waters surrounding the remote islands offer habitats to an abundance of marine life, including 21 species...

Labor will vow to increase foreign aid to Pacific island countries and ramp up patrols to fight illegal fishing, as it makes an election pledge to “restore Australia’s place as first partner of choice for our Pacific family”. A boost to regional broadcasting is also part of the package, with Labor seeking to intensify political pressure on the prime minister,...