Pacific Islands News Roundup – July 12-18, 2024

Political Leadership, Regionalism, Peace and Security

• Japan PM and Pacific leaders announce PALM10 Joint Action Plan (Samoa Observer)

• Pacific Islands Forum chair highlights PALM’s strategic role (PACNEWS)

• Solomon Islands PM’s visit to China showcases balancing act of Pacific politics and regional security (ABC Australia)

• U.S. Indo-Pacific commander leads US interagency delegation to Papua New Guinea (PNG Post-Courier)

• United States to open embassy in Vanuatu on July 19 (Vanuatu Daily Post)

• Vanuatu and China governments sign 13 MOUs in Beijing (Vanuatu Daily Post)

• Papua New Guinea PM visits Jakarta for PNG-Indonesia Annual Leaders’ Dialogue (PNG Haus Bung)

• Kiribati marks 45 years of independence, as nation prepares for polls (RNZ)

• Melanesian Spearhead Group calls for fresh New Caledonia independence referendum (Benar News)

• Melanesian Spearhead Group calls on France to allow monitoring missions into New Caledonia (Islands Business)

• Yap State voters’ decision internationally misreported: Political Status Commission measure did not pass (Kaselehlie Press)

• New shipment of armored vehicles and firetrucks arrives for police, firemen in New Caledonia (RNZ)

• RIMPAC military leader talks disaster response as mock disaster hits Pacific (HNN)

People-Centered Development

• Global committee on eliminating discrimination and violence against women to hold regional session in the Pacific for the first time (SPC)

• Australian govt’s Indo-Pacific Broadcasting Strategy aims to boost media development, partnerships in region (ABC Australia)

• ‘Ice’ cold reality | Fiji Archbishop: People in are dying from drug abuse (Fiji Times)

• University of the South Pacific boss terminates union leader work contract after speaking out (Islands Business)

• Palau’s president proposes $3.4 million supplemental budget to address healthcare shortfall (Island Times)

• Australia to fix Palau’s national hospital pending plans to build a new medical facility (Pacific Island Times)

• Majority of specialist doctors in Solomon Islands continue to work despite contracts having expired (Solomon Star)

• American Samoa embraces partnership with US federal govt to strengthen suicide prevention (Samoa News)

• HIV in Fiji: Testing should not scare anyone – Tuberi (Fiji One News)

• ‘We slept in the open,’ say evicted widows who bought Bush Wara land in Papua New Guinea (The National)

• Tongan students graduate from various universities in China (Matangi Tonga)

• Going for gold: Team Pacific at the Paris Olympics (PMN)

• Causes-of-death analysis to be shared amongst Pacific countries in SPC-supported pilot (SPC)

Climate Change and Disasters, Ocean and Environment

• Pacific leaders and Japan reach consensus on controversial nuclear wastewater discharge (PACNEWS)

• PALM10 addresses Fukushima reconstruction (Inside PNG)

• Tuvalu PM urges global action as rising seas threaten nation’s survival (PACNEWS)

• Green Climate Fund approves $22.66 million grant for Tonga’s coastal resilience project (Talanoa ?o Tonga)

• USAID announces $3.5 million in disaster preparedness assistance for Papua New Guinea (The National)

• Solomon Islands commits to gender-sensitive development strategies to combat climate vulnerability (SIBC)

• Niue premier highlights the critical role of ocean education in Tokyo (PACNEWS)

• New Zealand deputy prime minister says he wants more rational debate on deep sea mining, not ‘virtue signaling’ (RNZ)

• Concerns over oil leaks from WW2 shipwrecks polluting Micronesian waters (ABC Australia)

• Guam’s conservation efforts for endangered Slevin’s Skink get a boost (Pacific Island Times)

Resources and Economic Development, Technology and Connectivity

• More than $400 million in US grants awarded to Marshall Islands and Palau since COFA aid renewals (Pacific Island Times)

• Papua New Guinea PM highlights $2 billion annual trade between Japan and PNG (PNG Post-Courier)

• FSM hosts inaugural Energy Forum to chart a sustainable and affordable energy future (Kaselehlie Press)

• Solomon Islands MP calls for PM to shed light on country’s $30 million budget rescue package from China (ABC Australia)

• Fiji’s airports to receive $15 million boost from Japan to improve services (Fiji Village)

• Vanuatu PM requests People’s Bank of China to establish branch in Port Vila (Vanuatu Daily Post)

• US Department of Interior announces more than $1 million in technical assistance grants for FSM (Marianas Variety)

• Cook Islands and Asian Development Bank discuss continued partnership for development goals (Cook Islands News)

• Guam economy forecasted to grow with military construction and tourism (KUAM News)

• Air Niugini airfare changes deferred until further notice (The National)

• Tongans without internet for more than two weeks petition government for Starlink access (RNZ)

• Tonga government pushing to complete construction of houses for PIFLM53 in August (RNZ)

Call for Submissions: Visions & Voices Quarterly Publication

Final Call: In response to feedback from prospective contributors, we are pleased to announce that the deadline for submissions has been extended to July 19.

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.

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.

Subscribe to get our news roundups delivered to your email inbox and explore our archives at pireport.org.

We value your feedback.