PINA

By Anna Kelsey-Sugg, Chris Bullock It's a question that's both tragic and hopeful: if a country stops existing physically, can it continue to exist digitally? Thanks to climate change, this curious question is becoming an essential one – and some countries have already started trying to answer it. Tuvalu, the tiny Pacific nation of 12,000 people that's halfway between Australia and...

Nearly three years after the first in-person preliminary discussions were held between the United States and the Marshall Islands for a third funding agreement in the Compact of Free Association treaty, negotiations resumed again this week with a two-day meeting at Kwajalein. The negotiations stalled after these first discussions were held in Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia between...

New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has welcomed the prospect of a broader rethink of Pacific security frameworks when leaders gather in Fiji next month. However, Mahuta says New Zealand will stand “on its own two feet” rather than work in tandem with Australia at those talks. The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) will host the region's leaders in Fiji on 12-14...

Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Samoa, gave the keynote address at the inaugural Pacific Islands Forum Women Leaders Meeting on 8 June 2022. This is the transcript of that speech By Samoan Prime Minister and foreign Minister, Fiamē Naomi Mata'afa I am delighted to provide this address for the inaugural meeting of Pacific Islands...

NSW Origin stars Daniel Tupou and Kotoni Staggs have been named in the Mate Ma’a Tonga team for the upcoming Test against New Zealand in Auckland. Tonga coach Kristian Woolf named a 25-man squad ahead of the June 25 Test, with Tupou named on the wing and Staggs at five-eighth - despite the pair playing for the Blues in last...

St George Illawarra's Jack de Belin has delayed his call on whether to play for Papua New Guinea. St George Illawarra's Jack de Belin won't be included in Papua New Guinea's squad for their upcoming Test match against Fiji but newly appointed head coach Stanley Tepend is hopeful the lock will accept a call-up later in the year. Tepend and his...

Forum Secretary General Henry Puna says the Pacific ‘must protect the sanctity of our solidarity’ – as Blue Pacific Continent, as the interest of geopolitics in the region grows. Addressing pre- Forum session of the Forum Officials Committee(FOC) meeting in Suva, Puna said the Pacific have never held as much leverage and influence until now. “A little over 24 months ago,...

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong will visit the Solomon Islands in her third Pacific trip since being sworn in. The trip will be the first from an Australian minister following the signing of a Sino-Solomons security pact as China continues to push for a region-wide security agreement. Senator Wong says her upcoming trip to New Zealand and the Solomons will reinforce...

Vanuatu, one of the last Covid hermit nations, is set to open up to international travel, but there are concerns the country is not ready to restart tourism, with a lack of deals with foreign airlines posing a significant problem. From 01 July, international tourists will be able to return to Vanuatu, a country of 300,000 people three hours from...

Tokelau's parliament has endorsed a proposal to start work on a referendum reviewing the territory's relationship with New Zealand. The move could see a vote on self-determination take place by 2025 — a first since two failed referendums more than ten years ago. Tokelau has been a territory of New Zealand since 1946, and is one of six Pacific nations that...