Tag - oceania

 
 

OCEANIA

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on July 10.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 15, 2024
Opposition figurehead decries China's 'alarming' sway in Solomon Islands
The archipelago is the unlikely focal point of a diplomatic scramble pitting a rising China against Western rivals.
The U.S. Coast Guard Legend-class maritime security cutter USCGC Bertholf pulls into Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii in June 2012.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 10, 2024
U.S. Coast Guard rebuts China's criticism of South Pacific vessel boardings
Last month six Chinese fishing boats were found to be violating Vanuatu's fisheries law by local police on board a U.S. Coast Guard boat.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 25, 2024
New Zealand troops to help Solomon Islands in election
New Zealand said it will dispatch defense personnel, helicopters and a naval ship to the Solomon Islands to assist in a national election due next month.
High tides in Funafuti, Tuvalu, in February. About 40% of the main atoll and capital district Funafuti is already underwater at high tide, and the tiny nation is forecast to be submerged by the end of the century.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Mar 4, 2024
Tuvalu preserves history online as rising seas threaten existence
"We cannot outrun the rising tides, but we will do what we can to protect our statehood, our spirit, our values," minister Simon Kofe said.
Flags of the Solomon Islands and China near the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing in last July
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 26, 2024
China’s expansive diplomatic network still outstrips that of U.S.
Beijing had a larger footprint last year than Washington in key areas of geopolitical interest including the Pacific, East Asia and Central Asia.
Feleti Teo was formally selected by lawmakers as Tuvalu's premier on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 26, 2024
Taiwan envoy says Tuvalu ties 'rock solid' post-election
With a population of just 11,000, Tuvalu is one of just 12 states that still have formal diplomatic relations with Taipei rather than Beijing.
U.S. President Joe Biden chats with Kiribati President Taneti Maamau as Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown looks on during a summit at the White House in Washington in September.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 23, 2024
Chinese police are working in Kiribati, Hawaii's Pacific neighbor
Kiribati has not publicly announced the policing deal, which comes as Beijing renews a push to expand security ties in the Pacific islands.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (far left) and the prime minister of Samoa, Fiame Naomi Mataafa (far right), meet in Apia, the capital of Samoa, on Feb. 10.
COMMENTARY
Feb 21, 2024
Japan plays a game of Pacific islands geopolitical chess
The influx of Chinese investment and activities have introduced risk for some Pacific island nations, moves which Japan cannot ignore.
Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 16, 2024
Anxious over funding delay, Pacific island nations warn about China
The additional amount currently needed is a relatively small $2.3 billion.
Tuvalu Prime Minister Kausea Natano arrives to address the 78th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City last September.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 27, 2024
Tuvalu's pro-Taiwan leader loses seat in national election
Tuvalu, with a population of about 11,200, is one of three remaining Pacific allies of Taiwan, after Nauru cut ties this month and switched to China.
An aerial view of islands in Palau
WORLD / Politics
Jan 24, 2024
Palau becomes first nation to ratify U.N. high seas treaty
The so-called High Seas Treaty was adopted by U.N. member states in June, after more than 15 years of discussions.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 23, 2024
China pivot from Taiwan would be Tuvalu's decision, says Australia
Comments by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong come after agreement with Tuvalu that gave Australia greater say in the Pacific nation’s defense and security decisions.
Locals in the Cook Islands are cynical about the growing attention fixed on their small country, with many saying they don't necessarily trust either superpower to do the right thing by them.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 19, 2024
U.S.-China fight for one Pacific nation mirrors a regional battle
The success of Beijing’s strategy in the Pacific was reinforced just this week when Nauru became the latest island nation to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
Flags of Solomon Islands and China flutter near the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing on July 11, 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 17, 2024
China helps Pacific Islands with policing, not defense: ambassador
Solomon Islands and Kiribati switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 2019, with Nauru joining just after Taiwan's election.
An exhibition on marine life at COP28 in Dubai. The conversation around oceans and climate change was not the main focus of the conference, despite the key role oceans play in absorbing carbon.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 15, 2023
COP28, didn't the oceans deserve more attention?
Oceans are key to mitigating climate change and severely impacted by it. Yet they didn't take center stage at COP28 — though some progress was made.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during an event in Pyongyang. Smuggling efforts could be directly linked to the North's military ambitions, analysts have said.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 8, 2023
North Korean smugglers disguised under Pacific island flags
With strict sanctions limiting Pyongyang's ability to import fuel, smugglers have adopted increasingly creative methods.
U.S. Marines stand by a transfer case during a repatriation ceremony for the possible remains of unidentified service members lost in the Battle of Tarawa during World War Two in the Republic of Kiribati, July 18, 2019.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 19, 2023
The bloody, 76-hour battle on a tiny atoll that helped end World War II
The Battle of Tarawa, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, took a heavy toll on American forces and led to outrage at home.
A man walks past a giant piece of driftwood on the shoreline of Tepuka, in the Funafuti atoll, in Tuvalu.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 11, 2023
Australia signs security and migration pact with Pacific's Tuvalu
Canberra's security guarantee will allow it to respond to military aggression, protect the nation from climate change and boost migration.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attend a news conference after visiting the Temple of Heaven in Beijing on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 9, 2023
Australia’s Albanese to face anti-nuclear push at Pacific talks
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is beginning 24 hours of intensive meetings between the leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum.
Marshall Islands President David Kabua addresses the 78th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Sept. 20.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 17, 2023
U.S. finalizes 20-year extension of Marshall Islands ties
Washington is set to provide the Marshall Islands with $2.3 billion over the next 20 years.

Longform

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