PINA

Samoa and China do not have any plans for military ties, Prime Minister Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa says. Mata’afa who is on a three-day trip to Aotearoa is making her first official bilateral trip abroad since becoming leader last year. Her visit marks 60 years of diplomatic relations between New Zealand and Samoa and the 60th anniversary of Samoa's independence. At a media...

The controversial security deal struck between Solomon Islands and China that caught the western world off guard was needed to maintain internal security and help fight climate change, a leading Solomon Islands official has said, defending his country’s right to choose its allies. Speaking to the Guardian in his first interview since the deal between China and Solomon Islands was...

By Nic Maclellan “The threat of nuclear weapons is an existential crisis and we feel the weight that this places on us for our future,” says Bedi Racule. “It can be really hard to face these things, but we have no choice but to fight for our future.” A student at the University of the South Pacific and intern with the...

The Kiribati Government has declared a State of Disaster for the entire country because of drought. This follows increased salinity levels in the water sources and below-normal recent rainfall which is forecast to continue until the end of the year. The disaster declaration allows the government to coordinate efforts involving various public bodies and international agencies and partners to get aid...

Papua New Guinea’s Common roll, important for the voting population in the 2022 National General Elections has one glaring loophole, it is incomplete. It is inaccurate and not up to date. Figures coming in from provinces paint a picture of incompetence, inconvenience and ineffectiveness, which will unfortunately result in a missed opportunity for millions of eligible voters whose names are not...

The World Bank's Board of Directors have approved a new World Bank project that will work to improve regional collaboration, national capacity and management, and the sustainable longer-term development of Solomon Islands' vital fisheries sector. Building on the achievements of the first phase of the Pacific Islands Regional Oceanscape Project (PROP), the US$13.5 million Pacific Islands Regional Oceanscape Programme –...

Vulnerable island states say they cannot wait another three years for a funding mechanism to help victims of climate disasters. Developing countries demanded the creation of a fund to respond to the losses and damages caused by increasing climate impacts during last year’s Cop26 climate talks in Glasgow, UK. But in the face of U.S and EU opposition, they settled for...

Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa has arrived in New Zealand ahead of her first official bilateral overseas visit since taking office, with China and regional security high on the agenda. Sworn in amid a constitutional crisis, the island nation's first female prime minister made headlines around the world last year when she was locked out of parliament, with the...

Fiji will make the most of all its relationships amid growing ties with China and other countries around the world. Minister for Defence, National Security, and Policing Inia Seruiratu highlighted this while responding to questions raised during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. The question was centred on the recent visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the Fijian government’s stance...

China's former ambassador to the United States claims Western countries are treating the South Pacific like their “backyard” in a throwback to the colonial era, while Beijing sees the small island nations as equals. Cui Tiankai made the remarks in an interview with CNN on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue defense summit in Singapore on Sunday. In the interview, Cui...