PINA

The shock over China’s security deal with Solomon Islands is evidence of “a relationship failure” , New Zealand’s foreign affairs minister has said, confirming that the pact took New Zealand, Australia and other Pacific nations completely by surprise. The deal marks Beijing’s first known bilateral security agreement in the Pacific. The text of the final deal is secret, but a...

Papua New Guinea Police Minister William Onglo plans a three-month liquor ban to be imposed during the election period from 12 May to 29 July. In a letter to all governors, he said the liquor ban would prevent trouble during the election. “The impact of alcohol-related offences can trigger something bigger around the country,” he said. “With the election it can have...

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has today defended Australia's relations with the Solomon Islands despite the Pacific nation's leader slamming critics of its security deal with China. Morrison was speaking on Today after Solomons Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said he feared invasion by some countries. “I will continue to work constructively with the Solomon Islands government as we always have,” Morrison...

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has not spoken with the prime minister of Solomon Islands since the Australian election campaign began but insists he wants to put the countries’ relationship back on a positive footing. The Australian prime minister made the remarks on Wednesday, a day after his Pacific island counterpart Manasseh Sogavare launched a thinly veiled criticism of some politicians’...

The question on the lips of many Australians right now is what is China up to in the Solomon Islands and should our government have been able to stop it? Our tiny neighbour's decision to sign a security agreement with a country many fear is becoming an ominous threat to peace has sent shockwaves through the Pacific region. Sam Roggeveen is...

Renowned Papua New Guinea journalist Scott Waide says that the country has seen an increase in cases of intimidation against journalists in the last ten years. Speaking at the inaugural Press Freedom Day breakfast in Port Moresby, Waide pointed out that there has been an increase in attacks on journalists, producers and the media in general. Waide also drew from his...

The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors has approved a new project to strengthen the climate resilience, safety, and livability of urban areas of the Marshall Islands. The US$30 million Republic of the Marshall Islands Urban Resilience Project includes support for more climate resilient public facilities and urban spaces, and assistance for climate adaptation planning and policies. The project also...

Innovation in Small Island Developing States combines digital savvy with traditional approaches Irene Chief’s words are stark as she describes what spurred her and her colleague Kama Ateca to do something about unhealthy diets in their island nation of Fiji. Seeing co-workers in their thirties or forties dying of heart attacks “will leave you traumatised,” she says. “We go to...

OP-Ed by Sameer Chand and Lasse Melgaard Fiji recorded its strongest post-independence period of economic growth in the decade before COVID-19, underpinned by rising productivity and investment, political stability, and a booming tourism industry. While the impact of the pandemic lingers, amid a climate crisis that remains the defining challenge of our time, there are enormous opportunities that can...

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach congratulated Oceania National Olympic Committee (ONOC) officials after opening the organisation’s headquarters in Suva. Bach was among the attendees at a ceremony to mark the opening of the building, located at Gladstone Road in the Fijian capital’s city. The building will be ONOC’s first headquarters, with the organisation saying the opening marked one of...