Category Archives: Fiji

CSIRO joins deep-sea mining project in Pacific as islands call for industry halt

Posted on by

Agency to lead consortium in scheme targeting battery materials while conservationists say Australia on ‘wrong side of debate’

Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO, has agreed to work with a controversial deep-sea mining project in the Pacific as a fourth island nation joins a call for a moratorium on the industry.

CSIRO will lead a consortium of scientists from Australia and New Zealand to help the Metals Company (TMC) develop an environmental management plan for its project, which is backed by the Nauru government.

Continue reading...

Power struggle with China and regional rift in focus as Anthony Albanese heads to Pacific Islands forum

Posted on by

Absence of Kiribati from the meeting is ‘really devastating’ to the body’s long-term strategy, security expert says

When Anthony Albanese touches down in Suva on Wednesday to attend his first Pacific Islands Forum, he will be walking in to a regional meeting that is putting on a brave face.

While it had been thought that the forum would be focused on the growing influence of China and as an opportunity for Australia to showcase its new climate credentials, Albanese will arrive to a group wrestling with other problems.

Continue reading...

End of rapid Covid test and telehealth subsidies criticised – as it happened

Posted on by

Payments extended to eight more local government areas and sped up to prioritise victims over auditing; free Covid rapid tests for concession card holders to end this month. This blog is now closed

A new campaign has launched today to tackle racism by the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Chin Tan, the race discrimination commissioner, was on ABC Radio this morning discussing the campaign he says calls on all Australians to reflect on the causes and impacts of racism, not only on its victims but Australia’s collective wellbeing as a society.

Continue reading...

Serious defects discovered in patrol boats Australia supplied to Pacific Islands

Posted on by

Potentially serious faults in Guardian-class patrol boats may force some countries to pause use of vessels

Pacific island countries may halt the use of Australian-provided patrol boats after potentially serious defects were discovered, in a blow to a $2.1bn maritime security program.

The Australian government is now considering how to work with Pacific nations to close any gap in their maritime surveillance activities while the issues – including carbon monoxide entering part of the boat – are resolved.

Continue reading...

‘I won’t survive’: queer California man facing deportation after 44 years in US

Posted on by

Salesh Prasad could be sent to Fiji, where he fears anti-LGBTQ+ violence, with California law enforcement aiding his detention

A 50-year-old California man who was born in Fiji but has lived in the US since he was six years old is facing deportation to a country where he has no family and is at risk of violence and abuse as a queer person.

Salesh “Sal” Prasad was detained by federal authorities after he was granted parole from state prison, where he had been incarcerated for years. His case has sparked outrage among human rights activists and local lawmakers who say it highlights the cruelty and expansive reach of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) under a Democratic president who has promised a more humane approach and in a state that claims to be a sanctuary for immigrants.

Continue reading...

‘Things aren’t going back’: Australia braces for step-up in China’s Pacific push

Posted on by

Despite initial relief over island nations’ rejection of security and economic pact, senior government figure says reprieve could be only temporary

The Australian government is bracing for China to step up its push to expand influence in the Pacific, with a senior figure privately conceding Canberra has a lot of work to do to regain lost trust and strengthen regional unity.

Despite initial relief at a decision by Pacific island countries to defer a sweeping 10-country security and economic pact proposed by China, the Australian government now believes this may be only a temporary reprieve.

Continue reading...

China’s foreign minister tells Pacific leaders ‘don’t be too anxious’ after they reject regional security pact

Posted on by

Wang Yi says ‘going forward we will continue to have ongoing and in-depth discussions … to shape more consensus’

Pacific countries have declined to sign up to a sweeping regional economic and security deal proposed by China, after a crucial meeting of Pacific foreign ministers and their Chinese counterpart on Monday.

China’s foreign minister Wang Yi is in the middle of a marathon tour of the region, visiting eight countries in 10 days, a trip that security experts have said represents a dramatic “uptick in tempo” of China’s push for influence in the region.

Continue reading...

Penny Wong urges Pacific nations to weigh up ‘consequences’ of China security offers

Posted on by

Australia wants to show region it is a reliable partner, says foreign minister, and to make up for a ‘lost decade on climate action’

Australia’s foreign affairs minister has used a visit to Fiji to urge Pacific countries to weigh up the “consequences” of accepting security offers from Beijing, saying the region should determine its own security.

Speaking on the second day of her trip, Penny Wong said Australia wanted to show it was a reliable and trustworthy partner, and was also “determined to make up for” what she described as “a lost decade on climate action”.

Continue reading...

Penny Wong tells Pacific nations ‘we have heard you’ as Australia and China battle for influence

Posted on by

Foreign minister uses speech in Fiji to declare ‘this is a different Australian government’ that will act responsibly on climate change

The new foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has promised to treat Pacific island countries with respect, telling an audience in Fiji that Australia is “a partner that doesn’t come with strings attached” and won’t “impose unsustainable financial burdens”.

Wong promised to respect Pacific priorities and institutions as she set out an implicit contrast with China, which is pursuing a sweeping regional economic and security deal with Pacific nations that would dramatically expand Beijing’s influence and reach into those countries.

Continue reading...

Deal proposed by China would dramatically expand security influence in Pacific

Posted on by

Leaked copy of draft shows Beijing wants more involvement in policing, cybersecurity and marine mapping

China is pursuing a sweeping regional economic security deal with Pacific nations that would dramatically expand its influence and reach into those countries, in a pact that has western countries and some Pacific leaders deeply worried.

The wide-ranging deal lays out China’s vision for a much closer relationship with the Pacific, especially on security matters, with China proposing it would be involved in training police, cybersecurity, sensitive marine mapping and gaining greater access to natural resources.

Continue reading...

Jacinda Ardern says New Zealand ‘ready to respond’ to Pacific’s security needs as China seeks deal in region

Posted on by

Prime minister says ‘the Pacific is our home’ as Beijing plans a regional security pact with almost a dozen island nations

Jacinda Ardern says New Zealand is “ready to respond” to security needs in the Pacific, after it emerged China is planning a Pacific-wide security deal with almost a dozen island nations.

The prime minister, who is touring the US, said she believed the Pacific could meet its security needs internally, implying it should do so without intervention from China or elsewhere. “On anything related to security arrangements, we are very strongly of the view that we have within the Pacific the means and ability to respond to any security challenges that exist and New Zealand is willing to do that,” Ardern said.

Continue reading...

China’s Pacific plan is ‘clear’ but so is Australia’s intention to be regional partner of choice, Penny Wong says

Posted on by

As China pursues Pacific-wide security pact, foreign minister says ‘after a lost decade we’ve got a lot of work to do to regain Australia’s position’

Australia has responded to reports that China is pursuing a Pacific-wide security pact with almost a dozen nations, stating that while Beijing’s intentions were clear “so too are the intentions of the new Australian government” to be the partner of choice in the region.

China will seek a regional deal with 10 Pacific island nations covering policing, security and data communications cooperation when the foreign minister, Wang Yi, hosts a meeting in Fiji next week, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Continue reading...

Australia to stand with Pacific islands on climate crisis and ‘respect’ region, Penny Wong says

Posted on by

New foreign affairs minister tells Pacific leaders Australia ‘will listen because we care’ after reports China may be seeking security agreement with Kiribati

Australia’s new foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, will seek to improve relations with Pacific island countries, flagging an early visit to the region and promising to be “a generous, respectful and reliable” partner.

China’s new security deal with Solomon Islands was a point of political dispute during the Australian election campaign and there are now reports that Beijing could be planning to strike a similar agreement with Kiribati.

Continue reading...

Video showing arrest of Fiji bus driver reignites debate about police use of excessive force

Posted on by

The incident was witnessed by a Fijian MP who said she intervened telling the police officer ‘You can deal with this without violence’

Fiji police have suspended an officer pending an investigation after a video showing what appeared to be the use of excessive force against a bus driver during an arrest was shared widely in the Pacific country.

The video appears to show a police officer attempting to remove a handcuffed bus driver from his bus in Labasa on Vanua Levu, Fiji’s second largest island on Monday.

Continue reading...

Fiji court rules US can seize yacht said to belong to Russian oligarch

Posted on by

Vessel docked in port of Lautoka is believed to be owned by Suleiman Kerimov, who is facing sanctions

Fiji’s high court has ruled that the US government can seize a superyacht believed to be owned by a Russian oligarch who faces sanctions from the US and the EU, which is docked in the Fijian port of Lautoka.

Judge Deepthi Amaratunga granted the request from Fijian authorities to register and enforce US warrants to seize the Amadea, which has been docked in Lautoka since 13 April and which is believed to belong to Suleiman Kerimov, who is considered a close ally of Vladimir Putin.

Continue reading...

US seeks to seize superyacht in Fiji believed to be owned by Russian oligarch

Posted on by

The Amadea is widely believed to be owned by Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, who is under US and EU sanctions

The United States is seeking to seize a superyacht suspected of belonging to a Russian oligarch that is docked in the Pacific island nation of Fiji, a restraining order filed on Tuesday by Fiji’s director of public prosecutions showed.

The luxury vessel the Amadea is widely believed to be owned by Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, who is the subject of economic sanctions by the United States and European Union imposed in response to Russia’s activities in Syria and Ukraine.

Continue reading...

If Blinken’s visit to Fiji is aimed at curtailing Chinese influence, he has his work cut out for him | Shailendra Singh

Posted on by

As the US downsized its Pacific presence, China stepped into the vacuum; a rare visit from the secretary of state won’t convince Fiji to turn on its ally

The US secretary of state’s lightning visit to Fiji may be sudden, but not surprising. That Antony Blinken is the first US secretary of state to visit Fiji in 37 years reflects just how much has changed geopolitically.

It is also an indication of Fiji’s influential role in this part of the world, being a strong, if not the strongest, Pacific ally of China, the arch-rival of the US in the Pacific.

Continue reading...

I had death threats and my tires slashed for my reporting. Many journalists in the Pacific face huge dangers | Joyce McClure

Posted on by

Freedom of the press might be included in some constitutions of Pacific countries, but it often only works in theory

I spent five years as the lone journalist on the remote Pacific island of Yap. During that time I was harassed, spat at, threatened with assassination and warned that I was being followed. The tyres on my car were slashed late one night.

There was also pressure on the political level. The chiefs of the traditional Council of Pilung (COP) asked the state legislature to throw me out of the country as a “persona non grata” claiming that my journalism “may be disruptive to the state environment and/or to the safety and security of the state”.

Continue reading...

Fiji sends 50 peacekeepers to Solomon Islands

Posted on by

Troops will join Australian-led force that also includes Papua New Guinea

Fiji will contribute 50 troops to an Australian-led peacekeeping force in Solomon Islands after anti-government rioting that razed parts of the capital of Honiara, the Fijian prime minister, Frank Bainimarama, has said.

The Fijian contingent will lift the number of peacekeepers to about 200 troops and police officers, mostly Australian with a contribution of at least 34 personnel from Papua New Guinea.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus live: Russia reports more than 30,000 daily cases for first time; Hungary cases on rise

Posted on by

Russia registered 31,299 new cases in one day; Hungary records 1,141 new infections

The UK health minister Sajid Javid has become the latest government figure to say “sorry” about the coronavirus pandemic. Appearing on the BBC this morning, Javid, who became health secretary just short of four months ago following the resignation of Matt Hancock, said:

Yes, of course I’m sorry. Obviously I am new in the role but on behalf of the government I am sorry for, during the pandemic, anyone that suffered, especially anyone that lost a loved one, a mother, a dad, a brother, a sister, a friend. Of course I am sorry for that.

Also all those people that may not have lost someone but they are still suffering - there are many people sadly suffering from long Covid, we still don’t know the impact of that. Of course I am.

Continue reading...