PINA

China is intensifying its drive for influence in the Pacific by negotiating security deals with two additional island nations following a pact with the Solomon Islands, according to officials in the U.S and allied countries. Beijing’s talks with Kiribati, a Pacific island nation 3,000km from Hawaii where U.S Indo-Pacific Command is based, are the most advanced, the officials said. “They are...

Experts have reaffirmed the inevitable radioactive pollution to be caused by the dumping of nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean after Japan last Wednesday initially approved the discharge plan. They demanded the Japanese government to stop pressuring those opposed to the plan and to truly listen to concerns from domestic public and international community, as...

Two of the last four remaining Covid-free nations in the world are preparing to open their borders to re-join the Covid world. The Federated States of Micronesia has announced its plan to open its borders without quarantine beginning 01 August. Meanwhile, the Marshall Islands has gradually reduced its quarantine requirements since late last year and the country’s top government administrator said...

The U.S, Japan, Australia and India will on Tuesday unveil a maritime initiative aimed at curbing illegal fishing in the Indo-Pacific, a U.S official said, in the latest effort by the “Quad” to counter Chinese activity in the region. President Joe Biden and the other Quad leaders — Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and newly...

New Zealand's Budget will commit NZ$4.4 million (US$2.8 million) for a new transmitter for RNZ Pacific ensuring the future of the service. RNZ Pacific broadcasts into the wider Pacific on shortwave 24 hours a day, collaborating with 22 broadcasting partners across the region. Its current primary transmitter is nearing end of life, and its other transmitter has in effect already been...

Pacific Islanders who live as our forefathers lived celebrate biodiversity every day. Every day is biodiversity day. Our native and endemic species and the habitats in which they exist are woven into the fabric of our traditions, cultures, livelihoods and economies. Preserving our Pacific biodiversity is central preserving our identity and our future – it is the very ethos of...

Fiji’s men and New Zealand’s women turned on the style to win the HSBC France Sevens in Toulouse on Sunday. Ireland, led by the excellent Terry Kennedy, played some impressive rugby to reach their first ever men’s Cup final, but in the final the Fijians - off the back of gold in Singapore and silver in Vancouver, Canada – were...

Anthony Albanese will be Australia’s next prime minister, leaving the Coalition in disarray after it lost more than a dozen seats to Labor and independents in an election that has transformed the country’s political landscape. Declaring victory shortly before midnight on Saturday, Albanese thanked voters for the “extraordinary honour” of becoming the nation’s 31st prime minister, and said he would...

Australian voters have delivered a sharp rebuke to the centrer-right government, ending nine years of conservative rule, in favor of the centre-left opposition that promised strong action on climate change. Australian Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese appeared certain to form a minority government, though it was unclear as counting continued if the party would have enough seats for a majority,...

A proposal to double funding in the Pacific to reduce the Chinese infiltration in the region was knocked back by the Cabinet's National Security Committee months before the Solomon Islands security agreement. Foreign Minister Marise Payne proposed doubling Australia’s Pacific aid months before the Solomon Islands-China security pact but the Cabinet’s National Security Committee rejected the proposal. Payne presented the bolstered...