PINA

Chinese and Australian foreign ministers will launch duelling charm offensives in the South Pacific Thursday, as Beijing and the West jostle for influence in the strategically significant region. Top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi is expected to arrive in Solomon Island's capital Honiara, kicking off a lengthy, eight-nation regional tour. Australia's recently sworn-in Foreign Minister Penny Wong will meanwhile touch down in...

Financial assistance for developing countries must be at the top of the agenda for UN climate talks this year, the host country, Egypt, has made clear, as governments will be required to follow through on promises made at the Cop26 summit last year. Egypt will host Cop27 in Sharm el-Sheikh in November. The talks will take place in the shadow...

The Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) is pleased to announce the appointment of Petero Manufolau as its new Board Chairperson. The SPTO Board of Directors endorsed the announcement of Manufolau, CEO of the Tourism Authority of Kiribati, as the new Chairperson at its Board meeting today. Manufolau has previously held senior management positions in both private and regional tourism organisations, specialising in...

New Zealand on Wednesday said it would extend the New Zealand Defence Force's deployment to the Solomon Islands until at least May next year, amid concerns among Western allies about China's growing presence in the South Pacific. New Zealand deployed troops to the Solomon Islands at the request of the nation's government in late 2021 after rioting broke out in...

The U.S, Japan, Australia and India have launched a satellite-based initiative to help countries in the Indo-Pacific region track illegal fishing and unconventional maritime militias, in their latest effort to counter China. President Joe Biden and the other leaders of the Quad security grouping unveiled the scheme in Tokyo at their fourth summit in just over a year. The Quad, which...

Media Association of Solomon Islands (MASI) has issued a boycott notice to its members for the PRC Press event scheduled for Thursday. MASI President, Georgina Kekea said MASI is disappointed that media is only allowed limited access for the visit. Kekea said Solomon Islands is a democratic country and when media freedom is dictated on someone else’s terms, it then impedes...

China will seek a region-wide deal with almost a dozen Pacific islands covering policing, security and data communications cooperation when Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosts a meeting in Fiji next week, documents seen by Reuters show. A draft communique and five-year action plan sent by Beijing to 10 Pacific islands ahead of a foreign ministers meeting on 30 May has...

Pacific journalists have raised serious concerns about secrecy surrounding the upcoming marathon tour of the Pacific by China’s foreign minister, who will be visiting eight countries in 10 days. Wang Yi will visit Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Fiji between 26 May and 04 June, on a tour of the region that has...

Australia's new foreign minister, Penny Wong travels to Fiji Thursday  "to discuss how we can best secure our region and help build a stronger Pacific family." She says the visit in her first week on the job "demonstrates the importance we place on our relationship with Fiji and on our Pacific engagement." Wong says Australia will listen to its Pacific partners...

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has urged China to be transparent as it sends a high-level delegation through the “contested” Pacific. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is leading a tour through the region from Thursday, beginning with the hotspot Solomon Islands, which recently signed a security tie-up with Beijing. The Australian and New Zealand governments sounded the alarm on that...