PINA

Fiji’s Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has sought to play down concern over China’s proposed deal with 10 Pacific nations covering policing, security and communications. Former Kiribati president Anote Tong says the deal incorporates action on climate change - the Pacific’s biggest security concern - and has welcomed the Albanese government’s renewed focus on the issue. Sayed-Khaiyum, who is also Fiji’s climate change...

Another Morobean has been sworn in as the new Papua New Guinea deputy Prime Minister two weeks after the passing of Sam Basil. Minister for Lands and Physical Planning John Rosso was sworn in by Acting Governor General Sir Gibbs Salika at Government House Konedobu Wednesday. Watched on by his wife and two children, the first time MP and Minister took...

Opinion by Dr Anna Powles Ten years ago, Pacific security thinkers would debate whether Chinese engagement in the Pacific was by default or by design. The leaked draft of the regional and economic agreement China is hoping will be signed by 10 Pacific nations next week answers that question. It reveals the ambitious scope of Beijing’s strategic intent in the Pacific...

The world will experience 1.5 medium to large-scale disasters every day through the end of the decade, unless countries ramp up action on prevention and risk reduction, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said in Bali, Indonesia, on Wednesday. Mohammed was speaking at the opening of the Seventh Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction - the first international forum on the...

Chinese and Australian foreign ministers will launch duelling charm offensives in the South Pacific Thursday, as Beijing and the West jostle for influence in the strategically significant region. Top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi is expected to arrive in Solomon Island's capital Honiara, kicking off a lengthy, eight-nation regional tour. Australia's recently sworn-in Foreign Minister Penny Wong will meanwhile touch down in...

Financial assistance for developing countries must be at the top of the agenda for UN climate talks this year, the host country, Egypt, has made clear, as governments will be required to follow through on promises made at the Cop26 summit last year. Egypt will host Cop27 in Sharm el-Sheikh in November. The talks will take place in the shadow...

The Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) is pleased to announce the appointment of Petero Manufolau as its new Board Chairperson. The SPTO Board of Directors endorsed the announcement of Manufolau, CEO of the Tourism Authority of Kiribati, as the new Chairperson at its Board meeting today. Manufolau has previously held senior management positions in both private and regional tourism organisations, specialising in...

New Zealand on Wednesday said it would extend the New Zealand Defence Force's deployment to the Solomon Islands until at least May next year, amid concerns among Western allies about China's growing presence in the South Pacific. New Zealand deployed troops to the Solomon Islands at the request of the nation's government in late 2021 after rioting broke out in...

The U.S, Japan, Australia and India have launched a satellite-based initiative to help countries in the Indo-Pacific region track illegal fishing and unconventional maritime militias, in their latest effort to counter China. President Joe Biden and the other leaders of the Quad security grouping unveiled the scheme in Tokyo at their fourth summit in just over a year. The Quad, which...

Media Association of Solomon Islands (MASI) has issued a boycott notice to its members for the PRC Press event scheduled for Thursday. MASI President, Georgina Kekea said MASI is disappointed that media is only allowed limited access for the visit. Kekea said Solomon Islands is a democratic country and when media freedom is dictated on someone else’s terms, it then impedes...