Samoan villages blindsided by decision not to excavate Manawanui
Villages in Samoa say they were blindsided by the decision to leave the sunken New Zealand Navy vessel Manawanui where it lies.
New Zealand's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister announce they won't be attending Cook Islands Constitution Day celebrations next month.
Two Fa'afafine leaders put their hands up to contest the upcoming snap election.
Anticipation builds among Pacific islands climate activists ahead of a ruling by the International Court of Justice next week.
Torres Strait Islanders lose their class action against the Australian government for failing to protect their communities from the effects of climate change.
The PNG Royal PNG Constabulary is organising a special event involving Police bands.
And It's semi-finals day at the OFC Women's Nations Cup tournament in Fiji, but the line-up is not quite what the pundits were expecting.
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ABC News
20 hours ago
- ABC News
China, US could be excluded from Pacific Islands Forum amid pressure over Taiwan
Solomon Islands could try to defuse a potentially explosive stoush over Taiwan's participation in a key regional meeting next month by restricting the gathering to Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) members — effectively excluding China, the US and a host of other countries as well. Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele is under increasing pressure over whether his country will allow Taiwan's representatives to attend the Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in Honiara this September. Taiwan has long attended the meeting as a "development partner" and has used that opportunity to meet with Pacific "allies" which extend its diplomatic recognition — although that band has now dwindled to just three nations. But Beijing remains intent on doing everything it can to isolate Taiwan diplomatically, and has been pressing Solomon Islands to break with tradition and exclude Taiwan entirely, stirring anger among Taipei's remaining allies, and stoking frustration in Canberra and Wellington. China responded furiously at last year's PIF leaders meeting in Tonga when Pacific leaders reaffirmed the status quo, and earlier this year, Solomon Islands refused to issue visas to Taiwanese officials who wanted to enter Honiara to help prepare for their delegation. Now the ABC has been told Mr Manele is likely to propose to fellow Pacific leaders that the annual dialogue with PIF partners be deferred entirely, until after a broader review of regional diplomatic architecture is complete. That review, which includes a proposal to establish a new "tiered" system for PIF dialogue partners, was meant to be finished in time for the leaders' meeting in September, but has been hit with delays. By deferring the dialogue, Solomon Islands will effectively block not just China and Taiwan from sending delegations to Honiara, but a host of other countries as well, including from Asia, Europe and the Middle East. While Mr Manele is likely to present the proposal as procedural, an Australian government source said it was "obvious" that Solomon Islands was also "looking for a solution to the Taiwan problem", which both Beijing and Taiwan's Pacific allies could live with. Palau's President Surangel Whipps Jr has already warned that singling out and excluding Taiwan could risk a reprise of the "PIF split" which rocked the forum a few years ago. Tuvalu's Climate Change Minister Maina Talia also took aim at China last week, saying Pacific nations that chose to recognise Taiwan also had the right to meet with their key partner at the leaders' meeting. Anna Powles from Massey University said the compromise being put forward by Mr Manele would "de-escalate a geopolitically charged situation" but was also "evidence that geopolitics has coopted the Forum Leaders Meeting." One Pacific official told the ABC that while no final decision had been made — and that the PIF Secretariat would have to endorse the proposal — Mr Manele's compromise might be the "only solution" if Solomon Islands was determined not to let Taiwan's representatives into the country. They also said Mr Manele and the PIF Secretariat would be able to point to a precedent: Fiji also excluded dialogue partners when they hosted the leaders meeting in 2022, saying Pacific nations needed to focus on healing rifts from the PIF split. Dr Powles said while restricting the meeting to PIF members would help "reduce distractions" from the Forum's "heavy agenda", it was "unlikely to please forum partners who will be looking to Honiara as a chance to jockey for favour". She also said Solomon Islands was simply "kicking the geopolitical can down the road to Palau, an ally of Taiwan, [which will host the meeting] in 2026." "It is clear forum leaders need to come up with a solution that respects the commitments the forum has made, respects the national interests of its members, and ensures the forum leaders' meetings do not become a geopolitical circus," she told the ABC. She also said some major PIF partners might be invited to deliver online or virtual presentations to the gathering instead, as then-US Vice President Kamala Harris did in 2022. Both Australia and New Zealand have been pressing Solomon Islands not to exclude Taiwan from the September gathering, but neither country has publicly criticised Honiara for its reluctance to allow Taipei to participate. A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told the ABC that Australia "values the forum's engagement with international partners at the annual leaders meeting, which provides an opportunity to strengthen the Pacific's voice in global affairs". "We understand arrangements for the Forum Leaders Meeting in Honiara in September are currently being finalised by the Solomon Islands government with the Pacific Islands Forum secretariat," they said. China has made substantial diplomatic inroads in Solomon Islands since it coaxed the Pacific nation into switching diplomatic recognition from Taiwan in 2019, and both Mr Manele and his predecessor, Manasseh Sogavare, have since been vocal supporters of Beijing's One China principle. While Mr Manele has drawn little domestic political criticism over the issue, prominent Solomon Islands MP Peter Kenilorea Jr took aim at the government last month, saying it was evidence that China had undermined the country's sovereignty. Dr Powles said it was "timely" that PIF leaders in Honiara would deliberate over the "Ocean of Peace" framework proposed by Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, as well as "deciding how they want to manage geopolitical tensions in the Pacific." The ABC has approached both Mr Manele's office and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat for comment.
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
New Caledonian leader outlines road to bring Bougival Accord into effect
On the program today New Caledonia's President Alcide Ponga says the French territory has a big job ahead of it to transform the Bougival Accord from a political agreement to a legal one. A deep sea mining company's exploration work with two Pacific to be scrutinised by the United Nations. The Australian Government opens up the second round of the Pacific Engagement Visa ballot. The stolen remains of the ancient civilisation who built the famous Moai heads in Rapa Nui are brought home. Debate rages in Timor-Leste over a controversial plan to build a multi-million dollar soccer stadium. The names that make up the inaugural Marshall Islands soccer squad are released. And stories told in sign language are included in Vanuatu's short story competition, Sot Sot Storian.
ABC News
3 days ago
- ABC News
Fiji's High Court finds nine men guilty in country's biggest drug bust
On the program this week: Fiji's High Court has found nine men guilty of various charges stemming from the country's biggest drug bust. Pacific countries spring into tsunami action plans following the massive eight point eight magnitude earthquake in Russia Tuvalu's Prime Minister visits Canberra following the first Tuvaluans being selected to migrate to Australia under the Falepili Migration Pathway Concerns around the skyrocketing rates of sexually transmitted diseases among PALM scheme workers Vanuatu marks 45 years of and celebrates the landmark advisory opinion passed down by the International Court of Justice.
