Pacific Islands News Roundup: Aug. 2-8, 2024

Political Leadership, Regionalism, Peace and Security

• ‘We don’t want them to fight in our backyard’: PIF SG frowns on geopolitics (Pacific Island Times)

• US military eyes Australian Island for Pacific Deterrence Initiative (Islands Business)

• President Murmu's visit to Fiji highlights India’s push for influence in the Pacific (ABC Australia)

• Australian defense expert warns AUKUS means lining up against China (The Press NZ)

• US envoy calls Marshall Islands ‘closest partner’ and talks Compact (MBJ Guam)

• South West Pacific Heads of Maritime Forces meet in Tonga, share knowledge for security (Matangi Tonga)

• Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting held this week in Fiji (PACNEWS)

• Q&A: The issues facing Kiribati as it prepares for elections (RNZ)

• US Missile Defense Agency eyes lease agreements with property owners around Guam missile defense sites (Pacific Island Times)

• NZ deputy prime minister leads mission to Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau (TP+)

• Ocean of peace concept to be discussed at PIF Leaders Meeting: Fiji PM (FBC News)

• PNG PM welcomes Supreme Court dismissal of vote-of-no-confidence case (PNG Haus Bung)

• France ‘decides on who enters’ New Caledonia: French diplomat on Pacific leaders request (RNZ)

• New Zealand PM welcomes Vanuatu PM (RNZ)

• EU and Pacific boost ties under Samoa Agreement (PACNEWS)

• Tonga PM rejects foreign affairs stand off claims (Kaniva Tonga/RNZ)

People-Centered Development

• Report reveals high rates of child labor in Solomon Islands (Tavuli News)

• Women in business leadership make gains but disparities persist in the Pacific (RNZ)

• PNG national census officials quit over lack of support (PNG NBC)

• UNPF boosts efforts to prevent cervical cancer in Marshall Islands (Marshall Islands Journal)

• COFA citizens now eligible for US federal disaster assistance programs (Pacific Island Times)

• Fiji PM: Govt starts work to amend 2013 Constitution (Fiji Sun)

• East Sepik police arrest 189 suspects in relation to PNG riot (PNG Haus Bung)

• ‘Our hearts are broken’: Family of helicopter pilot killed in Papua speak out (RNZ)

• FSM’s Pohnpei State legislates paternity leave for women (ABC Australia)

• Tonga seeks World Bank funding for healthcare resiliency project (Talanoa ?o Tonga)

• Melanesian Spearhead Group and SPC sign project to support women’s rights, gender equality (Fiji One News)

• Papua New Guinea presents naturalization citizenship to 143 West Papuans (PNG Post-Courier)

• Guam governor seeks authority over Guam Dept. of Education until early 2027 (Guam PDN)

• ‘Language starts at home’: Cook Islanders launch week of cultural celebration (PMN)

• Drug Control Board proposed in Samoa (Samoa Observer)

Climate Change and Disasters, Ocean and Environment

• Migration with dignity? Kiribati swaps escape to purchased Fiji plot for sea walls to save their land (Talanoa ?o Tonga/CNA)

• Hawai?i governor announces historic $4 billion settlement as Maui wildfire anniversary nears (HNN)

• Indigenous youth are at the center of major climate lawsuits. Here’s why they’re suing. (Grist)

• University of the South Pacific launches new research hub for climate change (RNZ)

• Pacific’s largest locally-led climate adaptation project launched in Solomon Islands (SIBC)

• Pacific Islands gather in Funafuti, Tuvalu for first-ever plastic dialogue (SPREP)

• Strengthening coordination for improved response to early warnings in Kiribati (SPREP)

• Kiribati endorses Michael Lodge for Int’l Seabed Authority SG, emphasizes sustainable ocean resource management (PACNEWS)

• Vanuatu govt advances blue-economy, eyes deep-sea mineral exploration (Vanuatu Daily Post)

• US Office of Insular Affairs hosts Territorial Climate and Infrastructure Workshop (Samoa News)

• Fiji and US unite to tackle sustainable development challenges at Indo-Pacific Environmental Security Forum (PACNEWS)

• New SIRA-WWF partnership signed to help conserve natural resources in Solomon Islands (In-Depth Solomons)

• Survey shows decline in trochus population in Palau (Pacific Island Times)

• India reaffirms commitment to climate action at Fiji Parliament (Pasifika Environews)

• Ha?apai representatives in Tonga concerned about govt delays in building foreshores (Talanoa ?o Tonga)

Resources and Economic Development, Technology and Connectivity

• A lawsuit promises justice for Rio Tinto’s mining disaster in Bougainville. Some say it’s a cash grab. (Islands Business/OCCRP)

• Starlink internet services now available in 102 countries, including Tonga (Talanoa ?o Tonga)

• Why are Australian banks getting out of the Pacific? (ABC Australia)

• Australia urges China to be ‘more transparent’ with Pacific aid (In-Depth Solomons/CNA)

• Pacific resilience fund needs $380m in 2 years to reach half-billion dollars goal (RNZ)

• Solomon Islands finance minister expresses concerns over economic growth and corruption (In-Depth Solomons)

• China launches first batch of satellites in major step towards its own ‘Starlink’ network (Talanoa ?o Tonga)

• Pacific Islands Forum Economic Ministers address correspondent banking challenges (PACNEWS)

• JICA supports Palau Public Utilities Corporation with energy transition, decarbonization (Island Times)

• Fiji and Japan strengthen fisheries sector with new development assistance project (Fiji Village)

• Air Vanuatu to resume domestic flights through scheduled charters, says liquidator (Vanuatu Daily Post)

• ‘Enra’ universal compensation scheme rollout in December, says RMI president (Marshall Islands Journal)

• Solomon Islands finance minister warns against unloading of imports at illegal seaports (Solomon Star)

• American Samoa receives $780,212 in maintenance grants from US Office of Insular Affairs (Samoa News)

• Japan rebuilds primary school and water supply system in Samoa (Talamua)

Call for Submissions: Visions & Voices Quarterly Publication

The Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP) invites students, scholars, researchers, and professionals to submit work to Visions & Voices, a quarterly publication dedicated to the Pacific Islands region.

Submissions of essays, articles, commentaries, and concise pieces that pertain to the Pacific Islands are welcomed. Next deadline: September 30.

For detailed submission guidelines, please visit the Pacific Islands Report website.

The Pacific Islands Report (PIR) is a project of the Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP) at the East-West Center and?the Center for Pacific Islands Studies (CPIS) at the University of Hawai?i at Mānoa.

This non-exhaustive news roundup is organized with the thematic areas of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and its implementation plan.

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