Unearthing stories that matters |
by Andrew Brown of AAP in Canberra Australia will provide maritime drones to Fiji’s military in a bid to bolster security in the Pacific. The Australian-made Bluebottle vessels will be gifted as part of a military partnership between the two countries. The Bluebottle drones can provide reconnaissance and surveillance and…
by Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson  of AAP in Brisbane The Pacific Ocean could feel the effects of global warming for centuries after the world reaches net-zero emissions, a study has found, due to its “long memory”. University of Melbourne researchers published the findings late on Tuesday in a peer-reviewed paper that also…
by Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson of AAP in Funafuti, Tuvalu The world’s biggest climate event should not become “another talk shop” while Pacific nations struggle to survive rising sea levels and intensifying natural disasters. Tuvalu climate change minister Maina Talia issued the warning to a delegation of world leaders visiting the small…
by Ben McKay of AAP in Hobart The rise of independents and teals and an underage social media ban have helped boost Australia’s ranking in one of the world’s leading democracy indexes. At the same time, the United States’ standing has plummeted, with the Trump-era ransacking of institutions and standards…
No confidence motion withdrawn, but experts say volatility could undermine PM Wale’s pivot to Canberra, Washington. by Charley Piringi Volatile domestic politics in the Solomon Islands has the potential to be the Achilles heel of U.S. and Australian security strategy in the Pacific, experts said, after Prime Minister Matthew Wale…
by Georgina Maka’a Pacific Island leaders have endorsed a five-year regional security roadmap and raised concerns over recent unannounced intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests, according to the communiqué issued at the close of the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting in Koror, Palau. Reaffirming the Boe Declaration and the Blue Pacific…
by Georgina Maka’a Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) leaders said climate change remains the biggest threat to the safety and lives of Pacific people. They stressed that the world must act quickly, using the best scientific information available to address the problem. The statement came during the PIF Leaders Summit in…
By Ben McKay of AAP in Koror, Palau Of all the testimonies about the impact of global warming heard at the Pacific Islands Forum summit, Maina Talia’s may be the most heart-wrenching. The Tuvalu climate change minister has been a relentless ambassador for lifting climate ambition, given the imminent threat…
By Ben McKay of AAP There are many factors that make postcard-perfect Palau a peculiar host for this year’s Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting. It’s remote and closer to the Philippines than any other PIF member. It’s attached to the US after signing a free association pact with Washington DC…
By Ben McKay of AAP in Koror, Palau China has promised “consequences” for Taiwan’s presence at the Pacific Islands Forum opening ceremony, which put the two rivals in the same room. Palau’s National Gymnasium in Koror was the unlikely venue for the geopolitical flashpoint on Monday night. On the stage…
