PINA

The Japanese Defence Ministry said Friday that it will host a meeting of defence representatives from Japan and Pacific island countries in Tokyo over two days from Tuesday. It is the second meeting under the framework after an online meeting in September 2021 and the first to be held in person. Participants will aim to strengthen their cooperation to promote a...

The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) last week signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on correspondent banking relationships with the United States Department of the Treasury (U.S Treasury). This historic agreement marks a significant milestone in enhancing financial cooperation and collaboration between the PIFS and the U.S Treasury and is a key bridge towards an inaugural Pacific Banking forum planned...

By harnessing human, environmental and resource security, Canberra can counter Beijing’s coercive tactics in the region. By Thomas Lonergan During the summer political slumber, Australian Defence Personnel Minister Matt Keogh indicated that Canberra was considering permitting recruitment from Pacific Island Countries (PIC) as a partial solution to worsening Australian Defence Force (ADF) recruitment and retention trends. The implied logic is that Pacific...

The brave Queensland Reds dug deep before bowing 32-21 to the two-time champions from Fiji when Buildcorp Super Rugby Women’s launched at Ballymore Stadium Sunday. An enthusiastic crowd roared for the plucky Reds when back-to-back fightback tries within five minutes closed the scores to 22-21 just past the hour mark. The Fijian Drua were bigger across the park yet it didn’t...

Moana Pasifika have held on for a 22-14 win over the Western Force at HBF Park. It's their first win over the WA-based franchise and their second of the season, improving on their tally from last year. Kyren Taumoefolau extended the lead shortly afterwards before the hosts tried to mount a comeback. However, they struggled for discipline and execution, allowing the visitors...

China is expanding security partnerships with island states across the Pacific, according to American lawmakers and officials wary of the communist regime moving to curtail U.S influence in a critical region. “Through foreign assistance, elite capture, and robust public messaging campaigns, the PRC has moved aggressively to assert itself in the Pacific Islands,” Assistant Secretary Daniel Kritenbrink, the lead State...

The UN Secretary-General on Thursday called for “putting people first” by ending the stigma and discrimination around those who use drugs and the expansion of prevention and treatment programmes. In his message to the opening of the 67th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, Secretary-General António Guterres said the proliferation of powerful street drugs and pharmaceutical misuse needs to...

Pacific police are stepping up the fight against organised crime groups attempting to launder illicit cash and facilitating other economic crime throughout the region, thanks to specialised training delivered by the Australian Federal Police (AFP). The course, which commenced in February, was attended by 24 police officers from Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The initiative...

Kiribati's Minister for Women, Youth, Sports and Social Affairs, Martin Moretti, has declared the island nation’s dedication to gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. At the 68th Session of the Commission of the Status of Women (CSW68), he welcomed the session's focus on addressing poverty and strengthening institutions with a gender perspective. “Kiribati acknowledges that gender equality and...

America’s military leaders in the Pacific are asking Congress for a surge in funding to keep their edge against China. The request comes in the form of an annual review Indo-Pacific Command sends lawmakers, listing what it thinks is necessary to stay the region’s top military power. Defence News obtained an unclassified copy of this year’s report, which requests around US$26.5...