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Taiwan is returning to this year’s Pacific Islands Forum summit in Palau after it was barred from last year’s meeting in Solomon Islands. The democratically governed island, which China claims as part of its territory, will be represented by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung, who is expected to attend Forum-related events…
By Richard Curtain and Randall Prior Welfare support is meant to be central to the success of the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme, yet little is publicly known about how the system actually works. Our Devpolicy policy brief reports in some detail on the scope and effectiveness of the PALM welfare support…
By Tess Ikonomou of AAP in Canberra Commercial deep-sea mining in the Pacific could begin in months without policy guardrails due to increasing rivalry between the US and China over critical minerals, a new report warns. Analysis by the Lowy Institute has found mining could start as early as 2027,…
By Aaron Bunch of AAP in Perth Elon Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX has retrieved a rocket that splashed down in the Indian Ocean near Christmas Island. The space debris was towed to the remote island, about 1500 kilometres off the Western Australian coast, on Tuesday. “After approx. 24 days at…
By Ben McKay of AAP in Hobart Papua New Guineans will begin serving in Australia’s defence force over the next year, with recruitment ramped up to “thousands” over the next decade. Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles says the first project being implemented under the Pukpuk Treaty, the trans-Torres defence…
By Regine Chen Taiwan’ s acting representative to Australia The recent launch of a nuclear-capable ballistic missile by the People’s Republic of China into the South Pacific came at a moment when Australia and its Pacific partners were reaffirming historic commitments to regional security, mutual trust and an Ocean of…
Australia has helped achieve a major milestone for the region, with all Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) members now connected to undersea telecommunications cables for the first time. Working alongside Pacific governments and development partners, Australia has helped deliver more than 10,300 kilometres of new undersea cables, ensuring every PIF member…
Pacific island nations are facing a security challenge in responding to China’s recent missile launch near Tuvalu and keeping their vision of a region as an “ocean of peace”, as analysts say the diverse nature of their ties with Beijing is complicating efforts towards a united response. On July…
Work has begun on setting up the process for Papua New Guineans to join the Australian Defence Force ( ADF ) under the Pukpuk Treaty. PNG Prime Minister James Marape said the Australian recruitment system will be used for the selection process and it will be based on Australian established…
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has rejected suggestions that PNG’s reaffirmation of its One China Policy was the result of political pressure or economic coercion. Marape said the issues between Beijing and Taipei are matters for those directly concerned to resolve peacefully. “Papua New Guinea does not intend…
