Pacific Islands

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, left, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attend a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China on Oct. 9, 2019. (File photo by Reuters) 
International relations

Taiwan joins chorus against China's pact with Solomon Islands

Taipei urges Pacific nation not to be 'China's military bargaining chip'

22 April 2022
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing in 2019. Diplomatic ties between the countries have grown closer under Sogavare.
Indo-Pacific

China-Solomon Islands security pact raises red flags in Washington

Deal sparks speculation of Beijing's base-building ambitions

21 April 2022
A display case shows photos outside Chinese Embassy in Honiara, Solomon Islands, on April 2: China is here to stay in the Pacific.
Opinion

Solomon Islands pact cements China's Pacific power status

Recent controversy is just the first step in a long-running struggle

19 April 2022
Solomon Islands citizens tour a landing craft from a New Zealand ship that dropped off personnel and supplies in 2013. The islands' government is drawing closer to China. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Navy)
International relations

No China base: Solomon Islands' denial does little to quell fears

Analyst says Sogavare risks boxing himself in despite vow not to choose sides

29 March 2022
Debris from the tsunami litters a coastline in the Tonga capital of Nuku'alofa. (Broadcom Broadcasting via AP)
Natural disasters

Tonga islands face food shortages a week after volcano eruption

Long-term aid to archipelago will be 'essential,' WHO official says

22 January 2022
Buildings damaged by the volcanic eruption and tsunami in Tonga. Much of the capital Nuku'alofa remains covered in ash. (Photo courtesy of Marian Kupu/Broadcom Broadcasting FM87.5/via Reuters)
Interview

Tonga volcano: An explosion, then a rain of ash and rocks

Local journalist describes moment of eruption, ongoing water shortage

21 January 2022
This photo from the window of a New Zealand Defence Force P-3K2 Orion surveillance flight shows heavy ash fall over Nomuka in Tonga.
International relations

Australia and New Zealand compete with China for Tonga influence

Neighboring countries send ships and aid to help nation after volcanic eruption

20 January 2022
An eruption occurs at the underwater volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai off Tonga on Jan.15. 
Natural disasters

Satellite images show explosive power of Tonga underwater volcano

Experts say 'once-in-a-century' eruption has unique seismic features

18 January 2022
The eruption of an underwater volcano off Tonga, which triggered a tsunami warning for several South Pacific island nations, is seen in an image from the NOAA GOES-West satellite taken at 05:10 a.m. GMT on Jan. 15. (Handout photo from CIRA/NOAA)
Natural disasters

Japan's eastern coast hit by tsunami triggered by Tonga eruption

Waves 1.2 meters high reported; agency warns of those up to 3 meters

16 January 2022
A woman signs before voting in a referendum in Noumea, New Caledonia, on Dec.12: France has reinforced a feeling of contempt toward the Kanak people.
Opinion

New Caledonia's Kanak people will never lose hope

The flame of self-determination cannot be extinguished

22 December 2021
A person votes in a referendum in Noumea, New Caledonia, on Sunday to decide whether to break away from France.
12 December 2021
Sunday's referendum in New Caledonia is the final of three votes on gaining independence from France. A split was rejected in the first two plebiscites.
Asia Insight

China looms over New Caledonia vote on independence from France

Most indigenous Kanaks favor a split, but European residents tend to favor status quo

7 December 2021
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang hosts Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare in October 2019: The small Pacific island state switched diplomatic ties to Beijing away from Taiwan that year.
International relations

Solomon Islands unrest magnifies Pacific unease over China ties

Calm returns but perceptions of 'checkbook diplomacy on steroids' persist

29 November 2021
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to the media at Papeete's harbor on July 27.
International relations

Macron declares 'debt' to French Polynesia over nuclear testing

President stops short of apology on Pacific 'Tour de France' with eye on China

28 July 2021
Fiame Naomi Mata'afa took office in the country's first transition of power in 23 years.
Politics

Samoa's first female PM to review costly China-backed projects

Fiame takes office after months of constitutional crisis

28 July 2021
Samoa's capital, Apia: Telecom Digicel Pacific holds a majority market share in the Pacific island nation.
Telecommunication

Australian alliance eyes bid for Pacific telecom to block China

Jamaica-based Digicel's unit reportedly sought by China Mobile

20 July 2021
Samoa's Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, left, and Prime Minister-elect Fiame Naomi Mata’afa: The former has refused to step aside after the latter narrowly won the island nation's election. (Source photos by Akira Kodaka and AP)
Politics

With dueling PMs, Samoa's democratic crisis drags on

Election winner Fiame gains legal and church support as incumbent refuses to quit

2 June 2021
Fiame Naomi Mata'afa is expected to become Samoa's first female prime minister after winning an election and two Supreme Court rulings, but the incumbent is resisting the transition.
Politics

Samoa PM-elect locked out of parliament amid 'bloodless coup' fears

Two landmark Supreme Court rulings so far fail to dislodge incumbent

24 May 2021
Samoa opposition leader Fiame Naomi Mata'afa, pictured in April, is vying to become the island's first female prime minister.
Politics

Samoa's historic election saga comes down to Supreme Court ruling

Experts see nation, and Pacific women, on cusp of new era regardless of outcome

14 May 2021
Australian officials deliver thousands of initial AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, on March 23.
Coronavirus

Australia vaccine diplomacy tested as COVID slams Papua New Guinea

Vying with China for Pacific influence, Quad member aims to win over skeptics

31 March 2021
Aerial shots of the Rock Islands in Palau in 2015.
International relations

Taiwan and Palau set to open quarantine-free 'travel bubble'

One of Taipei's few diplomatic allies looks to boost COVID-ravaged tourism

27 March 2021
Japan's NEC, France's Alcatel Submarine Networks and China's Huawei Marine had submitted bids for a project to connect Nauru, Micronesia and Kiribati with an optical cable. (Source photo by AP)
International relations

Bids by Chinese and other companies for Pacific cable no longer valid

US has warned that Beijing could use undersea infrastructure for spying

18 March 2021
Joe Biden stands with his nominees for his national security team on Nov. 24, 2020: the incoming Biden administration might be surprised to discover that U.S. alliances are in good shape.
Opinion

Biden will inherit healthy Indo-Pacific alliances

New president won't have to work too hard to repair US partnerships

10 January 2021
A woman and a child in Bangkok: no country is safe until every country is safe.
Opinion

What we must do to contain COVID in 2021

Lessons for the Western Pacific region from 2020

1 January 2021
Vale's Goro mine, seen in 2015, is one of the largest employers in New Caledonia.
Materials

Vale's move to exit New Caledonia nickel mine heightens unrest

Intruders seize machinery, while authorities halt international flights

10 December 2020