PINA

Princess Anne has landed in Papua New Guinea as she continues her southern hemisphere tour to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. The Princess Royal and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, landed in Port Moresby on Monday and were greeted on the tarmac of Jacksons International Airport by Prime Minister James Marape. Princess Anne was presented with a garland of...

The Australian Government and the Government of the Republic of Vanuatu have reached an important milestone, signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the long-term operation of the Pacific Fusion Centre in Port Vila. The Fusion Centre commenced from its Port Vila location in December 2021. Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women, Senator Marise Payne, said the Pacific Fusion...

Fiji’s debt is forecasted to surge to 88.6 percent of GDP in the 2022 financial year before subsiding to 85.3 percent in FY2023. This was according to the Asian Development Outlook 2022 by the Asian Development Bank which stated the government had budgeted a higher fiscal deficit equal to 14.2 percent of GDP in FY2022 and a deficit only a...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Vanuatu on 08 April signed grant agreements totaling US$2.9 million to improve resilience in the Greater Port Vila area through capacity building, institutional strengthening, and the construction of two multipurpose emergency shelters. Vanuatu’s Minister of Finance and Economic Management Johnny Koanapo and ADB Director General for the Pacific Leah Gutierrez signed...

By Michael Shoebridge Why shouldn’t we believe Beijing’s claims that its security agreement with Honiara won’t result in a base or place to operate its navy from in Solomon Islands? Because we’ve seen this playbook before: in Djibouti on the Horn of Africa. And because the Chinese government and military routinely lie about their intentions. Xi Jinping telling Barack...

The Super W finals have been locked in, with the Grand Final set to be played as part of Super Round in Melbourne. Fijiana Drua has already qualified for the Super W Grand Final, which will take place at AAMI Park on Saturday 23 April at 2 pm, having finished first in the regular season. They will face the winner of...

The Hurricanes and Moana Pasifika have made the tough decisions before Tuesday night’s rescheduled game in Wellington. TJ Perenara is back in the Hurricanes No 9 jersey after missing the narrow loss to the Crusaders on Saturday. Coach Jason Holland has selected a much-changed side from Saturday’s defeat, with Wes Goosen and James O’Reilly the only two players who have again...

A prominent New Caledonian indigenous party has said that if France wants to have an economic and political stake in the Pacific – as China’s influence in the region rises to “omnipresence” – it needs to grant New Caledonia a fourth referendum on independence and treat the Pacific island as a partner, rather than a colony. The calls come after...

Fiji has voted alongside 93 other countries to suspend Russia from the United Nations Human Rights Council. The resolution to strip Russia of its seat passed with 93 votes in favour, 24 against and 58 abstentions. Other Pacific island countries that voted to kick Russia out were Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Marshall Islands, Tonga, and Tuvalu. “@EUPasifika thanks the...

The Vanuatu Government through the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Marc Ati, has expressed utter dismay at the announcement by the Director General of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Secretariat regarding a recent voluntary contribution of US$100,000(VT10.9 million) by the Indonesian National Police, to the Secretariat. “The Secretariat’s accompanying press statement implied that the donation has the support of the membership,...