Keir Starmer to announce expansion in region that will also include business club to increase economic ties
The UK will increase its military and economic presence in the Indo-Pacific to support regional stability, Keir Starmer will announce on Saturday.
In an effort to counter China’s influence, ministers will expand the Royal Navy’s presence in the region and carry out more joint patrols with Pacific island nations.
Continue reading...Mount Kodu landowners petition prime minister to pay outstanding commitment the government made to them to preserve the track
The historic Kokoda track has been closed indefinitely as local landowners demand outstanding payments from the Papua New Guinea government.
Earlier in the month, Australians walking the 138km Kokoda track had treks cancelled while others were stalled for long periods as protests by landowners closed sections of the trail.
Continue reading...The ICBM, carrying a dummy warhead, was launched into ‘high seas’ of the Pacific Ocean
China has announced the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile into the “high seas” of the Pacific Ocean, flying over the northern point of the Philippines in what is believed to be the first such test since the early 1980s.
The launch of the missile, which the defence ministry said was carrying a dummy warhead, comes at a time of growing international scrutiny of the country’s nuclear arsenal, and prompted statements of concern from several nations.
Continue reading...Guardian analysis shows web of agreements between Pacific countries and Australia, US and China, as experts raise concerns over rising militarisation
As competition for influence in the Pacific region intensifies, analysis by the Guardian has mapped a vast network of security, policing and defence agreements between the island countries and foreign partners – leading to concerns about militarisation of the region.
The Guardian examined agreements and partnerships covering security, defence and policing with the 10 largest Pacific countries by population. Australia remains the dominant partner in the region – accounting for more than half the deals identified – followed by New Zealand, the US and China.
Continue reading...With lagoons once choked by rubbish, pressure from the appalled community led the government to ban certain single-use products
For generations, the people of Erakor village in the Pacific nation of Vanuatu would pass their time swimming in the local lagoon. Ken Andrew, a local chief, remembers diving in its depths when he was a child, chasing the fish that spawned in its turquoise waters.
That was decades ago. Now 52, Andrew has noticed a more pernicious entity invading the lagoon: plastic.
Continue reading...Washington will look to partner with Pacific media sector, top official tells the Guardian
Regional media has emerged as a new front in the contest between the US and China in the Pacific, as Washington said it will support “free media” while warning of the dangers of Beijing’s efforts to manipulate information around the world.
During a visit to countries in the Indo-Pacific in October, the US under secretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, Elizabeth Allen, said Washington was “prioritising the support of independent media” across the region.
Continue reading...Scientists calculate 2022 eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano released 1,000 times more energy than Hiroshima bomb
A huge underwater volcanic event in Tonga last year was of a magnitude comparable with the most powerful nuclear detonation by the US, researchers have revealed.
Scientists have used eye and earwitnesses accounts, along with data from tide gauges, satellites, evidence of broken windows and other sources, to calculate that the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano, which occurred on 15 January 2022 and was felt around the world, likely involved five blasts. The last of them released energy equivalent to about 15 megatonnes of TNT.
Continue reading...Washington, which has ties with the island nation but has been represented by diplomats based in New Guinea, also plans embassies in Kiribati and Tonga
The United States plans to open an embassy in Vanuatu, the state department has confirmed, as Washington moves to boost its diplomatic presence in the Pacific to counter China’s growing influence.
“Consistent with the US Indo-Pacific strategy, a permanent diplomatic presence in Vanuatu would allow the US government to deepen relationships with Ni-Vanuatu officials and society,” the department said in a statement.
Continue reading...Cyclone Kevin passed over the capital Port Vila less than three days after Cyclone Judy cut power in the city
A state of emergency was declared in Vanuatu as category 4 Cyclone Kevin brought gale-force winds and torrential rain to the Pacific nation battling its second major cyclone in a week.
Cyclone Kevin passed over the capital Port Vila late on Friday and was moving across the southern island province of Tafea on Saturday morning, bringing wind gusts in excess of 230km/h, according to the country’s meteorology department.
Continue reading...Frank Bainimarama, who launched a blistering attack on the president on Monday, was suspended for three years
Fiji’s opposition leader and its long-serving former prime minister, Frank Bainimarama, has been suspended from parliament for three years for sedition and insulting the president.
The suspension came days after he launched an extraordinary verbal attack on the country’s president, Ratu Wiliame Katonivere.
Lavenia Lativerata-Vuadreu works for Mai TV in Fiji
Reuters contributed to this report
Continue reading...Families who relocate under federal scheme would not have access to Medicare, or relocation or housing costs, making move unviable for many, experts warn
Guest workers from Pacific Island countries will soon be able to relocate their families to Australia, but there are already concerns over “red flags” in the current design of the scheme that may make it unviable.
The federal scheme will pilot bringing up to 200 families on one- to four-year contracts starting this year, a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said. This comes after years of the workers – who fill the gaps in Australia’s agriculture, meat-works and aged care workforces under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme – being separated from their families.
Continue reading...Vanuatu Election Commission yet to declare official results but Julia King likely to be lone female voice in 52-member parliament
Votes are still being counted in Vanuatu’s snap election, but with the preliminary votes tallied, one change seems certain: Vanuatu’s all-male parliament is no more, with the first woman elected to office since 2008 likely to be announced within days.
“I’m excited for Vanuatu women of course,” Julia King said. King looks set to be returned as the MP for Mele on the outskirts of the capital of Port Vila. “I’m happy for women in general to know they have a voice that can be represented up there. That’s the part I can be excited about.”
Continue reading...Wealthy high-polluting countries to face growing calls from poorer nations to help cover cost of extreme weather and sea level rises
Australia is being urged to increase its investment in climate action, with a new report estimating the country is funding just one-tenth of its fair share globally.
The study being released by Oxfam and ActionAid Australia on Thursday calls on Australia to immediately increase its climate finance commitments to $3bn ahead of the UN climate meeting Cop27 to be held in Egypt in November.
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Continue reading...The vessel was delivering fuel in mangrove-rich South West Bay on Malekula Island when it burst into flames, injuring at least three people
A massive fireball has erupted after a fuel transport barge caught fire in a pristine bay on a remote Vanuatu island, injuring at least three people.
The Western Star, a barge fitted out to carry fuel and cargo, burst into flames at South West Bay on Malekula, Vanuatu’s second largest island, on Wednesday.
Continue reading...It’s important to view encounters between the two militaries in operational context
Last week it was reported that in early July an Australian warship had been closely followed by a Chinese guided-missile destroyer, a nuclear-powered attack submarine and multiple military aircraft as it travelled through the East China Sea.
This incident followed a confrontation on 26 May, when an Australian maritime surveillance plane was dangerously intercepted by a Chinese fighter over the South China Sea.
Continue reading...Pacific islands urge new Labor government to support push for international court of justice to issue climate advisory opinion
Australia’s new Labor government has been called on to prove its commitment to climate action and support for Pacific countries by backing a campaign led by Vanuatu to see international law changed to recognise climate change harm.
In a letter to the prime minister sent by leading Pacific and Australian NGOs, shared exclusively with Guardian Australia, the groups urged Anthony Albanese to support Vanuatu’s campaign for the international court of justice to issue an advisory opinion on the question of climate change.
Continue reading...The tourism-dependent Pacific country will reopen with almost no restrictions in July, though there are concerns about lack of airline deals
Vanuatu, one of the last Covid hermit nations, is set to open up to international travel, but there are concerns the country is not ready to restart tourism, with a lack of deals with foreign airlines posing a significant problem.
From 1 July, international tourists will be able to return to Vanuatu, a country of 300,000 people three hours from Australia, which has had some of the toughest border restrictions in the world through the pandemic.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Collin Beck, who is believed to have been involved in negotiating the pact, offers most comprehensive defence yet of the controversial deal
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 leaked, Collin Beck, the permanent secretary of foreign affairs and a senior figure in the Solomons government, also said Australia should question whether it had been “fair” to Solomon Islands in its intense scrutiny of the deal.
Continue reading...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...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.
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