PINA

People’s National Congress leader Peter O’Neill is urging Prime Minister James Marape and the government to refrain from signing any agreements with China when their foreign minister visits Port Moresby today. “Now is not the right time,” the former prime minister said of the visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and of any likely deals to be struck up...

Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta says New Zealand is “not defined by China”, and does not need to react to Chinese activity in the Pacific Islands in a way that “makes us look desperate”. She was questioned on Breakfast on Thursday about Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s trip through the Pacific in recent days, during which a series of...

The Pacific needs to remain front and centre of Australia’s diplomatic priorities, Defence Minister Richard Marles says, as China looks to expand its influence in the region. Marles says Australia cannot take the Pacific or its 10 million residents for granted. “We need engagement,” he told AAP. “If we make the Pacific a focus, if we are interested in the welfare of...

Beijing has come out firing on Thursday after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and U.S President Joe Biden expressed concerns over China’s security agreement with Solomon Islands and its wider Pacific ambitions. Speaking from the Chinese capital, foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian accused the two leaders of trying to “deliberately hype up” issues from the South China Sea to Beijing’s ongoing...

Australian top diplomat Penny Wong is embarking on her third international trip since being sworn in as foreign affairs minister and will travel to two more Pacific countries – Samoa and Tonga – as Australia and China vie for influence in the region. Before boarding her flight on Wednesday evening, Wong said Australia would “increase our contribution to regional security”...

Some Pacific Island leaders have likened China’s development engagements in the region to that of the cold war era. However, the Chinese Embassy in Fiji has pushed back saying these claims are only fueled by the cold war mentality. Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong was among the first to express concerns on the motive behind Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister, Wang...

Sevens fans only have 100 days to wait until the best 40 teams from across the globe arrive in Cape Town to contest Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022. The much-anticipated showpiece tournament is set to put an exclamation mark on the end of a thrilling year of sevens. In London last weekend we were given a glimpse of the ultra-competitive action...

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern urged President Joe Biden to engage more with Pacific Island states amid China's concerted push to increase its clout in the region when she met with the U.S leader at the White House on Tuesday. “We'll be encouraging the United States to really continue and strengthen engagement in our region, including economic engagement, which...

The U.S said on Tuesday that it was committed to supporting nations in the Pacific Ocean region. The words have come just a day after ten Pacific nations rejected a pact with China. The U.S said Beijing's own actions showed how opaque its offer was. The rejection of the pact is being seen as a diplomatic setback to China. State Department spokesman...

Persons convicted of offences and sentenced to more than nine months from 2002 upward are disqualified for life from contesting the Papua New Guinea national elections. This is the unanimous decision of the Supreme Court consisting of five senior judges in a special Supreme Court reference. The judges made the decision when interpreting various questions of law in a reference filed...