Politics

From left to right, Yessie Mosby, Anjali Viswamohanan, Chongrak Thinagul and Jose Cobangbang IV have a wide range of reasons for being at the world's largest climate summit.
COP27

'Why I'm at COP': Climate summit attendees tell their stories

Huge conference in Egypt drawing thousands of people from around the world

13 November 2022
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaks at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Nov. 8.
COP27

Pay for climate change, Pakistan and others tell rich nations

Prime Minister Sharif calls his country's floods a 'man-made disaster' at COP27

9 November 2022
Made up of 80 small islands in the South Pacific, Vanuatu is at the forefront of destructive extreme weather events.
COP27

Vanuatu says cyclones, rising seas are 'human rights issues'

Climate envoy from small Pacific nation makes remark ahead of COP27

5 November 2022
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles, second from left, with counterparts from the South Pacific in Tonga. He visited Papua New Guinea before the meeting, and will later head to Fiji. (Photo courtesy of Australia's Defense Ministry)
Indo-Pacific

Australia, South Pacific islands bolster ties as China's clout grows

Canberra ramps up diplomacy via regional defense chiefs' meeting and bilateral talks

19 October 2022
A nuclear weapon is detonated at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands in 1946. (Image has been colorized.) 
International relations

U.S. nuclear tests hang over Marshall Islands treaty talks

Failure to address compensation, climate change could open door for China

17 October 2022
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, left, and Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese meet in Canberra on Oct. 6. (AAP)
Indo-Pacific

Solomon Islands, Australia reaffirm security and development ties

Sogavare, Albanese build relationship as China woos Solomons with economic aid

7 October 2022
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, right, poses for a photo with U.S. President Joe Biden, second from right, and other Pacific Island leaders on Sept. 29.
Indo-Pacific

Solomon Islands signs U.S.-Pacific partnership statement in about-face

China-leaning country seen influencing toned-down language on security

1 October 2022
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a working lunch at the U.S.-Pacific Island Country Summit in Washington on Sept. 28.
Indo-Pacific

U.S. warns of China threat in first Pacific islands strategy

Biden administration plans to open 3 embassies in region to bolster influence

30 September 2022
U.S. President Joe Biden will host 18 Pacific nation leaders at a summit in Washington on Sept. 28. (Source photo by Reuters) 
International relations

Pacific leaders seek to shed political pawn status at Biden summit

President's meeting a response to China's proposed alliances in region

28 September 2022
Kamala Harris speaks via video link during the Pacific Islands Forum in Suva, Fiji, on July 13: The U.S. should seek sustainable influence in the Pacific region.
Opinion

Pacific summit is Biden's chance to demonstrate U.S. soft power

In belated outreach, compassion and commitment can close gap with China

27 September 2022
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Damukana Sogavare addresses the United Nations General Assembly in 2017. The leader has appeared to snub the U.S. since signing a security agreement with China.
International relations

Solomons 'unfairly targeted' since recognizing China: prime minister

Sogavare says islands 'friends to all' amid concern over security deal with Beijing

24 September 2022
The Sydney Opera House is illuminated in honour of Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 9.
International relations

Queen's death may stir republican sentiment in Australia, Pacific

Affection for Elizabeth as head of state might not transfer to King Charles

15 September 2022
The summit will reflect Washington's "broadening and deepening cooperation on key issues such as climate change, pandemic response, economic recovery, maritime security, environmental protection, and advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific," the White House said in a statement.
Indo-Pacific

Biden to host Pacific Island leaders as China courts region

12 countries, including the Solomon Islands, invited to Sept. 28-29 summit in U.S.

3 September 2022
The Solomon Islands' Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare's embrace of China is worrying opposition leaders and regional bodies. (Source photos by AP and Reuters) 
Indo-Pacific

Solomon Islands lurch toward despotism as China debt deepens

U.S. Navy ships banned from port; Sogavare imposes media controls

30 August 2022
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang attend a signing ceremony in Beijing in October 2019: China is making definite inroads in the region.
Opinion

China cannot match what U.S. has to offer Pacific island states

Washington and its allies must strengthen region's democratic institutions

5 August 2022
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hugs Solomon Islands counterpart Manasseh Sogavare on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum in Suva, Fiji, on July 13.
International relations

Pacific forum signals reset with Australia, U.S. as China hovers

Albanese and Solomon Islands' Sogavare hug it out after neighbors' security spat

14 July 2022
Micronesia's President David Panuelo during an exclusive interview with Nikkei Asia on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum on July 13 in Suva, Fiji. (Photo by Fumi Matsumoto)
Interview

Micronesia president frets over China's regional security goals

Bilateral ties only 'on economic and technical cooperation': FSM leader Panuelo

13 July 2022
Palau's President Surangel Whipps speaks to Nikkei Asia on the sidelines of Pacific Islands Forum in the Fijian capital of Suva on July 12.
Interview

Palau maintains Taiwan ties despite Chinese pressure

Pacific nation will raise concerns at regional forum, president says

13 July 2022
Protesters criticize the treatment of women in Australian politics last year. Gender equality was a key theme of the recent Australian election that brought a change of government.
Society

WEF Gender Gap report shines harsh light on Asia's lopsided politics

Japan, China and others trail as region remains only 13% of way to political parity

13 July 2022
Activists in Jakarta protest during International Women's Day on March 8.
Coronavirus

COVID worsens gender gap in Indonesia, Pakistan: UN agency report

Study also shows women in Pacific islands affected more by vaccine misinformation

22 June 2022
Wang Yi, left, lock arms with Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare in Honiara, Solomon Islands, on May 26: Wang's strategic overreach put him off balance.
Opinion

China loses its way in the South Pacific

Wang Yi's eight-nation tour fails to impress

7 June 2022
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, left, meets with Tongan King Tupou VI in Nuku'alofa on Friday. (Australian Department of Foreign Affairs via AP)
Indo-Pacific

Australia runs diplomatic Pacific island blitz in China's wake

Foreign minister travels to three islands in less than two weeks in office

4 June 2022
Anthony Albanese addresses Labor colleagues during a party caucus in Canberra on May 31: Strategically-minded people are once again in charge of Australian foreign relations.
Opinion

Historic alliance beckons if Greens can work with Australia's Albanese

Failure to make common cause would set the country back another decade

1 June 2022
The airstrip on Kanton Island in Kiribati was built by the U.S. military. 
International relations

Kiribati runway project in focus as China's Wang Yi tours region

Small islands in South Pacific play big role in geopolitical chess match

29 May 2022
Chinese naval personnel stand at attention. The country is seeking to establish defense ties in the Pacific Ocean.
Indo-Pacific

China seeks regional security deal with Pacific Island nations

One leader warns that the arrangement would lead to a new Cold War or worse

27 May 2022