Category Archives: Pacific islands

Solomon Islands prime minister says foreign criticism of China security deal ‘very insulting’

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Manasseh Sogavare says it is ‘utter nonsense’ that China’s presence is a threat to regional stability

Solomon Islands prime minister Manasseh Sogavare has dismissed foreign criticism of the country’s security negotiations with China as “insulting” and called those who leaked the draft agreement “lunatics”, in his first comments to parliament on the proposed treaty.

“We find it very insulting, Mr Speaker, to be branded as unfit to manage our sovereign affairs,” Sogavare said on Tuesday.

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Australia’s lost influence in Pacific on display in Solomon Islands-China deal, Anthony Albanese says

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Labor leader says inaction on climate change and cuts to foreign aid have broken trust, forcing Pacific nations to turn elsewhere

Australia has lost influence in the Pacific by failing to act on climate and cutting foreign aid, Anthony Albanese says, amid concerns about China’s proposed security deal with Solomon Islands.

Australia and New Zealand are worried the draft agreement could jeopardise regional stability, with China having the opportunity to base navy warships in the Pacific less than 2,000km off the Australian coast.

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Chinese draft security deal with Solomon Islands didn’t blindside Australia, Morrison says

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Analysts say unratified document which would allow China to base ships in the Pacific is a ‘wish list’ which reveals nation’s intent in ‘black and white’

Scott Morrison says Australia was not blindsided by a draft security deal between China and Solomon Islands, which experts warn has demonstrated a “black and white” intent at expanding influence in the Pacific.

The draft would allow China to base navy warships in the Pacific less than 2,000km off the Australian coast, but some experts, including the Lowy Institute’s Jonathan Pryke, caution it reads more like a “wishlist” from China than a finalised agreement.

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Secret shipment of replica guns to Solomon Islands police by China triggers concern

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Police had been criticised after reports that a ‘shipment of arms’ arrived in the country on a logging vessel from an unknown source

A shipment of replica firearms by China to Solomon Islands police has caused concern as the Pacific nation grapples with security concerns sparked by its increasingly close relationship with Beijing.

The police force had been criticised over the secrecy surrounding delivery of what a local media report called a “large shipment of arms” that arrived in the country on a logging vessel earlier this month from an unknown source.

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‘Really concerning’: China finalising security deal with Solomon Islands to base warships in the Pacific

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Draft agreement circulating on social media suggests China could establish military base less than 2,000km from Australia

Australian officials are alarmed at Solomon Islands’ planned security deal with China with the defence minister, Peter Dutton, stating “we would be concerned clearly about any military base being established” less than 2,000km off the coast.

Solomon Islands has signed a policing deal with China and will send a proposal for a broader security agreement covering the military to its cabinet for consideration.

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‘A blatant lie’: China and Taiwan fight for credit over rescue of sailors lost at sea for 29 days

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Both governments are claiming responsibility for rescue of nine Papua New Guinean nationals last month

Tensions between China and Taiwan have found an unlikely battleground – a fight over who rescued nine Papua New Guinean sailors who were lost at sea for nearly a month.

The dispute came after the rescue of the Papua New Guinean nationals in Solomon Island waters after 29 days lost at sea, late in February.

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Papua New Guinean MP charged with murder over shooting death in restaurant

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First-term government MP Lohia Boe Samuel has been charged with murder over the death of Robert Jerry last week

A Papua New Guinean MP has been charged with murder, after the shooting death of a man at a restaurant in the capital of Port Moresby last week.

Police will allege that Lohia Boe Samuel, the MP for Moresby North-West, was having dinner with Robert Jerry and another man at Fushion 2 restaurant on Friday 11 March when a firearm was discharged, killing Jerry.

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Niue becomes second Pacific island in a week to lose Covid-free status

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World Health Organization says there are now just eight other countries that have not reported any cases of the virus

Niue has reported its first case of Covid-19, becoming the second island in the Pacific to lose its Covid-zero status within a week.

The Niuean government says the case arrived on a flight from New Zealand, with 26 other passengers on Monday. The travellers tested negative for the virus prior to departing.

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Chatham Islands, one of world’s most remote places, records first Covid cases

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The islands, 800km east of New Zealand, had been among several other isolated nations and territories that had so far evaded the virus

After nearly two years of dodging Covid-19, one of the most remote inhabited places in the world has recorded its first ever cases of the virus.

Rēkohu, or the Chatham Islands, are just over 800km east of New Zealand’s mainland and are home to roughly 600 permanent residents.

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‘Trojan horse’: Palau’s bid to become global crypto hub could turn it into scammers paradise, critics warn

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Experts say Palau should be wary of entering into a programme that could leave it open to exploitation and harm its image

Palau’s new digital residency programme could leave it open to cryptoscammers and corruption, critics have warned, arguing that not enough due diligence has been done on the scheme.

The programme allows foreigners to buy an e-residency card which in turn allows them to start companies and sign documents, among other things. Most importantly, when the relevant legislation is passed, it will allow them to trade in cryptocurrencies, useful for residents whose countries, like China, do not allow it.

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‘We just keep going’: the Tongan resort destroyed by nature’s fury – for the third time

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Despite a narrow escape from last month’s tsunami and the arrival of Covid in Tonga, Ha’atafu owner Moana Paea is determined to rebuild her resort once again

When the Ha’atafu beach resort was levelled by the tsunami that hit Tonga last month, it was the third time that the family-run business had been completely destroyed by a natural disaster.

In 1982, the resort was wiped out by Cyclone Isaac and a year later by Cyclone Kina.

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‘People are dying on the floor’: healthcare workers tell of Covid devastation in Solomon Islands

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The Pacific country was coronavirus-free until last month but an outbreak of thousands of cases is overwhelming the health system

Frontline health workers in Solomon Islands have warned that its health system is on the brink of collapse as the country struggles to deal with a devastating outbreak of Covid-19.

A senior doctor and two nurses at the National Referral Hospital (NRH) in the capital of Honiara have told of how there are no beds for Covid patients – leading to people dying on the floor of the wards – as well as a lack of facilities and staff shortages that have led to Covid-positive nurses being recalled to work and probationary nurses tending to critically ill patients solo, when they should be supervised by a more senior nurse.

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Cook Islands reports first Covid case amid fears of ‘silent transmission’

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Hundreds turn out for testing across the Pacific country after a traveller from New Zealand tested positive for the virus

One of the last remaining countries without Covid-19 - the small Pacific nation of Cook Islands - has reported its first case of the virus.

Prime minister Mark Brown said the first case arrived on an international flight from New Zealand on 10 February.

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

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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.

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Panguna mine at centre of bloody Bougainville conflict set to reopen after 30 years

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Local government hopes reopening of mine – once world’s most profitable – will support bid for independence from Papua New Guinea

The mine at the centre of the decade-long civil war between rebels in Bougainville and Papua New Guinea security forces is set to reopen 30 years after it was forced to close, following an agreement between local landowners.

Panguna was once one of the world’s largest and most profitable copper and goldmines and still contains an estimated 5.3m tons of copper and 19.3m ounces of gold, which would make the reserves worth about $60bn at today’s prices.

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The Hawaiian elders awaiting trial for protesting the world’s largest telescope

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More than 30 elders were arrested on Mauna Kea in 2019 in dramatic scenes, but many are still waiting for their day in court

On a cold morning in July 2019, more than 30 Native Hawaiian elders gathered on top of a mountain, committed to getting arrested.

“I wasn’t afraid,” says 83-year-old Maxine Kahaulelio. “The moment when the kahea [the call] went out, they said the big machines were coming and they were going to start the desecration … We stood there from 2:30 in the morning … freezing, 9,000 feet above sea level. They had all their gear but we didn’t have anything, just blankets and sweaters.”

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Fear and dread: Covid-free for two years, Pacific islands experience explosion in case numbers

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The virus has swept into remote island countries, sowing panic and confusion

Covid-free for almost two years, some Pacific island nations are suddenly struggling with an explosion in cases as the virus, thought in most cases to be the more transmissible variant Omicron, breaches the defences they had so successfully put up since the beginning of the pandemic.

Kiribati, Samoa, Palau and Solomon Islands have all experienced outbreaks within the last three weeks. The countries have approached the arrival of the virus with different strategies, some imposing lockdowns while others rely on their high levels of vaccination for protection.

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‘Absolutely amazing’: Tongan man swept away by tsunami stayed afloat for 24 hours

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Lisala Folau climbed a tree on his home island before being washed away and eventually managing to reach the capital

The story of a Tongan man washed away by the tsunami and who drifted and swam between islands for more than 24 hours has become one of the first to emerge from the island nation, five days after the disaster cut off communications between it and the rest of the world.

Lisala Folau, a retired disabled carpenter, told Tongan radio station Broadcom FM that he swam and floated from his island of Atata via two other uninhabited islands to eventually reach the main island of Tongatapu, a total distance of around 13 kilometres.

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Tonga: new footage shows aftermath of volcano eruption and tsunami – video

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Footage has emerged from Tonga showing buildings covered with ash, as well as damage to properties and infrastructure. The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted on Saturday evening, triggering tsunami waves of up to 15 metres. Water supplies were seriously affected by volcanic ash, according to the government

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Tongans in Australia fear the worst amid a void in communications after tsunami – video

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Members of the Tongan diaspora feared never seeing their loved ones on the Pacific island again when communications were cut off following the volcanic eruption on Saturday. 'I'm aware that other islanders, other Pacific people, other Tongans, all feel exactly my feeling. That's how close we are.' said Tongan-Australian artist and activist Seini Taumoepeau. She said she hasn't had any contact with relatives and friends in Tonga days after a massive volcanic eruption and tsunami caused significant damage and cut off phone and internet lines for the archipelago.

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