Category Archives: Pacific islands

Solomon Islands PM Manasseh Sogavare to stand down after poor election result

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Leader says ‘it’s not been easy’ as he stands aside five years after controversially realigning the country with China

The Solomon Islands prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, has announced he will not stand as a candidate when lawmakers vote this week for a new leader, and his political party would instead back former foreign minister Jeremiah Manele.

The two major opposition parties in the Solomon Islands struck a coalition deal on Saturday as they vie with Sogavare’s party to form a government after an election delivered no clear winner.

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Solomon Islands election: PM Sogavare retains seat as count continues

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Full results are expected in coming days to determine whether Manasseh Sogavare’s Our party can form the next government

Solomon Islands’ incumbent prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, has retained his parliamentary seat, results showed on Saturday, but it will be days before vote counting determines whether his Our party can form the next government.

Wednesday’s national election was the first since Sogavare struck a security pact with China in 2022, drawing the Pacific island country closer to Beijing. The move concerned the US and Australia because of the potential impact on regional security.

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‘Lost for words’: Joe Biden’s tale about cannibals bemuses Papua New Guinea residents

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President’s suggestion that his ‘Uncle Bosie’ was eaten by cannibals harms US efforts to build Pacific ties, say local experts

Joe Biden’s suggestion that his uncle may have been eaten by cannibals in Papua New Guinea during world war two has been met with a mixture of bemusement and criticism in the country.

Biden spoke about his uncle, 2nd Lt Ambrose J Finnegan Jr, while campaigning in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, describing how “Uncle Bosie” had flown single engine planes as reconnaissance flights during the war. Biden said he “got shot down in New Guinea”, adding “they never found the body because there used to be a lot of cannibals, for real, in that part of New Guinea.”

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Solomon Islands election: voters head to polls that could decide future of China security ties

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Election closely watched for any impact on Pacific country’s relationship with Beijing, while voters focus on struggling health and other services

Solomon Islanders have begun voting in a national election, the first since the prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, struck a security pact with China in 2022 and drew the Pacific Islands nation closer to Beijing.

The election outcome will be closely watched by the US, China and Australia for its potential impact on regional security, although Solomon Islands voters will be focused on struggling health services, education and inadequate roads, opposition parties said.

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As Solomon Islands’ election looms, China’s influence on the Pacific country draws scrutiny

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The security deal with Beijing agreed by PM Manasseh Sogavare is under the spotlight ahead of the 17 April vote

China’s influence in the Pacific is being scrutinised as ally Solomon Islands prepares to hold elections this month, with two candidates indicating they would seek to review a controversial security pact between the two countries.

Ties between China and Solomon Islands have deepened under prime minister Manasseh Sogavare, who is hoping to secure another term in the vote on 17 April. Solomon Islands, one of the poorest countries in the Pacific, relies heavily on partners including Australia and China for development aid and support. Beijing’s assistance ranges from infrastructure development, medical, policing and security support.

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Fishermen saved by ‘Help’ message on same tiny island where ‘SOS’ saved three others

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Three rescued in the Pacific after making message in the sand with palm fronds, just as another group had done four years prior

Three fishermen stranded on a remote Pacific atoll for more than a week were rescued after spelling out the word “Help” in the sand using giant palm fronds.

A crew from the US Coast Guard cutter Oliver Henry plucked the men, in their 40s, from Pikelot atoll, part of the Federated States of Micronesia, to safety on Tuesday after their message was spotted from the air.

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Micronesia president says US beefing up military capabilities in the Pacific country

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Wesley Simina says the US is ‘well advanced’ in plans for $400m airport upgrade in Yap, amid rising tensions with China in the region

The US is considering military projects across the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) as it pushes ahead with plans for a $400m airport upgrade in the country to boost defence capabilities in the Pacific, President Wesley Simina said.

The region is of growing strategic importance to the US amid a battle for influence with China.

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Tuvalu accepts security and climate pact, says Australia’s Pacific minister

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Deal had been thrown into doubt during election campaign in Tuvalu over sovereignty concerns

Australia and Tuvalu will go ahead with a security and climate migration pact, after the latter’s new government agreed not to change the deal, Australia’s Pacific minister, Pat Conroy, has told parliament.

The two countries had announced the deal in November, but it was thrown into doubt during an election campaign in the remote Pacific atoll of 11,000 people that is threatened by rising sea levels.

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Australian-born judge challenges deportation from Kiribati amid long-running judicial crisis

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David Lambourne may be forced out of the Pacific nation if he loses challenge to president Taneti Maamau’s attempt to sack him

David Lambourne, an Australian-born high court judge whose attempted deportation two years ago from Kiribati sparked a judicial crisis in the Pacific nation, appeared in court in a case closely watched by the United Nations and international legal groups.

Lambourne, who has lived in Kiribati for 30 years and is married to opposition leader Tessie Lambourne, faces deportation if he loses a high court challenge to Kiribati president Taneti Maamau’s attempt to sack him. Kiribati will hold national elections later this year.

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Group to search for celebrated US pilot’s fighter plane in South Pacific

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Richard Bong downed 40 aircraft in a Lockheed P-38 Lightning before it crashed while being flown by another pilot

A Wisconsin museum is partnering with a historical preservation group in a search for the wreckage of the second world war ace fighter pilot Richard Bong’s plane in the South Pacific.

The Richard I Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior, Wisconsin, and the non-profit second world war historical preservation group Pacific Wrecks announced the search on Friday, Minnesota Public Radio reported.

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Tuvalu prime minister calls on Australia for sovereignty ‘guarantees’ over treaty

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Feleti Teo tells the Guardian Tuvaluans fear last year’s treaty may give Australia too much say over the Pacific nation’s security

Tuvalu’s new prime minister, Feleti Teo, wants “guarantees” from Canberra that a landmark treaty with Australia will not undermine his country’s sovereignty.

Teo, who was appointed leader last month, told the Guardian a controversial security clause in the Falepili Union treaty has led to fears among Tuvaluans that Australia “might encroach on Tuvalu’s sovereignty”.

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Tuvalu to revisit deal that gives Australia control of island nation’s security agreements

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Incoming prime minister Feleti Teo has indicated he will review details of the landmark pact that effectively gives Australia veto power over future agreements with other nations

Tuvalu’s new government has questioned the “absence of transparency” in a security and migration pact the country signed with Australia last November, throwing the landmark deal into doubt.

While the government expressed support for the “broad principles and objectives” of the Tuvalu-Australia Falepili Union in a “statement of priorities” posted to X by member of parliament Simon Kofe, it also acknowledged “the absence of transparency and consultations in socializing and informing the public in Tuvalu of such an important and groundbreaking initiative”.

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Congress ‘gradually destroying’ US relations with Pacific ally, Marshall Islands president warns

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Hilda Heine says US funding delays damage relationship with the Pacific nation as lawmakers say hold-up delivers a ‘gift’ to China

Hilda Heine, the president of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, has warned relations with the US are “gradually being destroyed by party politics” as Congress delays approval of crucial funding for the Pacific nation.

US lawmakers have not yet passed funding packages agreed in 2023 with the Marshall Islands, Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), in a move some argue is opening the door to China to build its influence in the Pacific region.

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Tuvalu names Feleti Teo prime minister after pro-Taiwan leader Kausea Natano ousted

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Taiwan ambassador says ties remain ‘rock solid’ amid rumours island nation could switch allegiance to Beijing

Lawmakers in Tuvalu have selected Feleti Teo as the Pacific island nation’s new prime minister, weeks after an election that put ties with Taiwan in focus.

Former attorney general Teo secured the support of lawmakers who were elected last month, government secretary Tufoua Panapa told Agence France-Presse on Monday.

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Papua New Guinea massacre: fears violence could spiral over tribal conflict

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Prime minister James Marape to seek help from Australia to support police after the deadly killings in Enga province

Authorities in Papua New Guinea are bracing for an escalation of violence after dozens of men were killed in a tribal massacre on Sunday.

In the wake of the killings, the prime minister, James Marape, is facing calls to declare a state of emergency to address the ongoing fighting.

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Dozens killed in outbreak of tribal violence in Papua New Guinea highlands

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Police say attack between neighbouring tribes led to mass deaths, marking an escalation in fighting in the country’s remote northern region

Dozens of men have been killed in a fresh outbreak of tribal violence in the remote highlands of Papua New Guinea, local police have said.

George Kakas, Enga provincial police commander, told the Guardian the men were killed by heavy gun fire on Sunday. He said men from two tribes staged an attack on another group who were “ambushed and killed.”

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Pacific Island leaders warn US failure to pass funding bill opens door to China

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The Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau say Congress needs to approve fresh support announced by Joe Biden

Pacific leaders have warned the US government that a delay in approving funding packages for the region threatens to play into the hands of Beijing, which is seeking to shift allegiances in the Pacific and draw away as many of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies as possible.

In 2023 the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Marshall Islands (RMI) and Palau agreed to renew 20-year funding programs with the United States. The agreements, known as Compacts of Free Association (COFA), see Washington provide economic assistance to the Pacific nations in return for exclusive military access to large and strategic areas of the Pacific.

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Papua New Guinea’s PM to address Australian parliament as Pacific security race with China builds

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Anthony Albanese and James Marape to meet on Thursday amid rising domestic pressures on the PNG leader

Australia will roll out the red carpet to the visiting Papua New Guinea prime minister, James Marape, amid efforts to stall China’s security talks with the Pacific country.

Marape is due to arrive in Canberra on Wednesday before he addresses a joint sitting of the Australian parliament on Thursday – the first Pacific leader to be afforded this honour.

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Fiji transfixed as reports of ministerial sex scandal threaten ruling coalition

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Leaked intimate images allegedly depicting affair between two ministers captivate nation and rattle prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka’s coalition

A sex scandal involving allegations of an extramarital affair between two ministers, leaked intimate images and suggestions of drug use during a ministerial trip has gripped Fiji, rattling the government and raising questions over whether the coalition can survive.

The conservative Pacific nation of about 1 million people has been transfixed by the saga which centres on an alleged affair between the minister for women, Lynda Tabuya, and former minister for education Aseri Radrodro, a married man. Radrodro also used to be son-in-law to the prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka. Discussion about the allegations has flooded social media in recent weeks, with some Fijians calling for their resignation, while others want accountability and an explanation from the coalition that has been in power for just over a year.

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Papua New Guinea in talks with China on security cooperation, foreign minister says

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Justin Tkachenko says they are in ‘early stages of negotiation’ with Beijing on its offer to assist with police and security

Papua New Guinea is in early talks with China on a potential security and policing deal, the country’s foreign minister Justin Tkachenko has said, weeks after deadly riots in the country’s capital.

Amid jostling between Washington and Beijing for influence in the Pacific, the biggest Pacific Islands nation, Papua New Guinea (PNG), has previously said Australia and the United States are its security partners, while China is an important economic partner.

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