PINA

South Pacific defence ministers will meet in Tonga on Tuesday, with Australia seeking a closer military relationship with the three island nations that have defence forces to counter China's security push in the region. Australia's defence minister Richard Marles was due to arrive in Tonga on Monday ahead of the South Pacific Defence Ministers Meeting this week, held annually to...

Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Richard Marles, hosted New Zealand Minister of Defence Peeni Henare in Geelong Monday for the annual Australia–New Zealand Defence Ministers’ Meeting. Australia and New Zealand have a uniquely close relationship. We are bound together by our history and our home in the Blue Pacific. We share values, a common strategic outlook, and...

The Fijian Elections Office(FEO) announces the appointment of Robin Boyd as Deputy Supervisor of Elections (DSoE) for the 2022 General Election. In announcing the appointment of the new DSoE, the Supervisor of Elections, Mohammed Saneem said: “Considering that the election can be announced any time, and since Craig had to return for medical attention, it was imperative that the DSoE...

Flying Fijians Head Coach Vern Cotter has selected his 31-member squad to face Scotland, Ireland, and French Barbarians during their Autumn tour test matches next month. Cotter said the selection was based on the performance of the players during the season for their clubs and during the July international window this year. “We have been watching the Northern Hemisphere players playing...

Dr Robin Mitchell has arrived for the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) General Assembly here, where he is set to be confirmed as the permanent President of the global body. The Fijian official has led ANOC on an interim basis since 2018 and is the only candidate in the Presidential election to succeed Kuwait's Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, who...

With China’s threats being the bedrock of its revitalised interest in the Blue Pacific region, Washington has overlooked climate change as the most troubling concern for island countries, according to the Pacific Elders Voice (PEV). Rendering their verdict on the U.S-Pacific Partnership Declaration recently sealed at the White House, the Pacific Elders were not too keen on its content, While the...

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown will this week welcome Australian Foreign Minister, Penny Wong on her first official visit to the Cook Islands. This week’s visit follows a June visit by Prime Minister Brown to Australia to receive the Te Kukupa II Pacific Guardian Class vessel and meet with then newly elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. During the visit...

Pacific women negotiators at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (UNFCCC COP) are adamant about what they want to come from COP27 in the city of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. With the Pacific having already cemented its priority thematic areas ahead of the global conference, women negotiators who attended the Pacific Small Island States (PSIDS)...

The president of the Autonomous Bougainville government (ABG) has accused the Australian deputy prime minister and defence minister of “veiled threats” and “intimidation” over comments made during his visit to Papua New Guinea last week. Richard Marles was asked about Bougainville’s future during a joint press conference with the PNG prime minister, James Marape, at Port Moresby last Thursday. Marles said:...

Talks among Vanuatu political parties have started for the formation of a coalition government following last Thursday's snap election. RNZ Pacific correspondent said the talks have started as it appears that none of the political parties who contested the October 13 snap election won a simple majority in the 52-seat parliament. Sources from former government, and former opposition members have revealed...