PINA

The Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) Australia overcharged the PNG Government by AUD$175 million (about K464 million) which must be reimbursed to the State, it has been revealed. Prime Minister James Marape revealed this in Parliament Wednesday when tabling the Commission of Inquiry report on the UBS K3 billion (US$1.3 billion) loan in 2014. Marape said the inquiry found that the...

New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta says the new Solomon Islands security arrangement with China is unwelcome and unnecessary and should be open to regional scrutiny. New Zealand and Australia have reacted with frustration to the news Solomon Islands politicians have signed a security agreement with China. The possibility such a deal could be struck had prompted concerns - shared...

Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni says they are closely monitoring the situation as Solomon Islands sign security pact with China. The security pact has raised fears that China could establish a military presence in the region. Prime Minister Sovaleni said Tonga was monitoring the situation and he would raise it in the next forum leaders meeting. “Our position is basically to table...

Fiji and the United States have pledged commitment to advance collaborations on issues of importance to Fiji and the region, particularly in areas of climate change, defence and security, and economic recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was articulated Wednesday during a courtesy call to Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, from the deputy Assistant to the President of...

The Pacific Elders’ Voice is deeply concerned about reports of human rights abuse in West Papua. According to reports from reliable sources, the human rights situation in the last few years has significantly deteriorated. These reports suggest an increased number of extra judicial executions, enforced disappearances and the internal displacement of Melanesian Papuans. The Pacific Elders recall the Pacific Island Forum...

White House delegation led by Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell on Wednesday, met Fiji’s Prime minister, Frank Bainimarama in Suva to discuss regional security. The meeting came as the United States, Japan, New Zealand and Australia shared concerns about Solomom Islands security pact with China “and its serious risks to a free and open Indo-Pacific”, the White House said earlier. “On the...

Fearing the militarisation of the Pacific, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has urged the Solomon Islands to walk away from its newly inked security deal with China. China’s foreign ministry announced on Tuesday night it had wrapped up an “inter-governmental framework agreement on security co-operation” with the Solomon Islands. Under the deal, first leaked last month, Beijing will build police...

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Solomon Islands knows Australia is a "great friend" as he defended his government's response over the Pacific Island nation's security deal with China, which Labor has labelled a significant policy failure. Australia has raised concerns and disappointment at the signing of the deal, While campaigning in south-east Queensland on Wednesday, Anthony Albanese joined Labor's foreign affairs...

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Wednesday reiterated that the security cooperation between China and the Solomon Islands does not target any third party, and that the United States should respect these Pacific Island countries as independent and sovereign states rather than as its appendages. Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a daily news briefing when commenting on media...

A symposium to review the efforts and the impact on the execution of Fiji’s commitment to the UN Oceans Conference (UNOC), to review Fiji’s efforts to date, and to define Fiji’s progress towards the achievement of the long-term marine reserve and conservation priorities was opened by President Ratu Wiliame Maivalili Katonivere, in Suva Wednesday. Speaking at the event, which is...