Eyes on Pacific as new Australian spy alliance floated Australia should step up its intelligence-gathering capabilities in the Pacific by spearheading a new regional spy alliance, a think tank says. AAP · Oct 21, 2025
Pacific Islands Forum: climate crisis tops agenda as China exclusion casts shadow over leaders meeting Pacific Islands Forum 2025 faces bumpy start with China, the US and Taiwan uninvited from discussions, as Pacific leaders gather in Solomon Islands The Guardian - AU · Sep 8, 2025
Climate finance crunch time at Pacific leader talks The existential threat of climate change and ever-intensifying regional rivalries will loom large over Pacific leader talks in Honiara. AAP · Sep 7, 2025
PM leans on friends in uncertain world ahead of talks As the world becomes a more uncertain place, Australia needs friends it can rely on, the prime minister has said during a visit to a key Pacific partner. AAP · Jun 12, 2025
Australia-Pacific ties enhanced by Labor's election win Improved relations with Solomon Islands and Vanuatu could be a goal of Labor's second term, with a huge step-up with Papua New Guinea already assured. AAP · May 7, 2025
New Vanuatu PM says he will ‘revisit’ 2022 security agreement with Australia Exclusive: Jotham Napat said pact must be taken ‘back to the drawing board’ and should reflect climate change as security issue The Guardian - AU · Mar 12, 2025
Cook Islands gives some detail of its China deal that has upset close partner New Zealand The South Pacific country of Cook Islands has unveiled the details of a deal with China to boost cooperation after the pact provoked a rare diplomatic clash with the nation’s chief benefactor, New Zealand, and protests at home The Independent UK · Feb 18, 2025
Australia announces $118 million deal to enhance policing in Solomon Islands Australia has announced it will pay for more police in Solomon Islands and create a police training center in the South Pacific island nation’s capital Honiara, where Chinese law enforcement instructors are already based under a bilateral security pact with Beijing The Independent UK · Dec 20, 2024
Pacific Islands leaders back Australia-funded joint policing plan The region-wide plan involves the establishment of four training centres across the Pacific with a hub in Brisbane. Al Jazeera · Aug 28, 2024
Kiribati's pro-China government bars foreign officials from visiting until 2025, citing elections The government of Kiribati is suspending all diplomatic visits to the Pacific Island nation until next year, citing its current election process, according to an official in the Foreign Ministry The Independent UK · Aug 23, 2024
Palau's president says China is weaponizing lucrative tourism over his refusal to break Taiwan ties Palau's President Surangel Whipps Jr. says Beijing weaponizes tourism to the Pacific Island archipelago in an effort to force it to sever ties with Taiwan The Independent UK · Aug 16, 2024
China's Pacific push to 'support Taiwan reunification' China is seeking to exert diplomatic influence in the Pacific to garner support for any eventual effort to "reunify" Taiwan under Beijing's rule, experts say. AAP · Aug 5, 2024
Solomon Islands bids farewell to a polarising PM who became the Pacific’s most China-friendly leader Although Manasseh Sogavare’s time as prime minister of Solomon Islands is finished, his country’s relationship with China may still have some way to run The Guardian - AU · Apr 30, 2024
Solomons election a test of China's Pacific inroads The upcoming election in the Solomons looks set to be a test of China's influence in the Pacific and for the island nation's pro-Beijing prime minister. AAP · Apr 12, 2024
The Guardian - AU · Jan 25, 2024 Tuvalu election: what’s happening, and what could it mean for Taiwan, China and the Pacific? The Pacific island has a population of just 11,000 but its political leadership could decide whether Taiwan loses another critical ally in the Pacific
The Independent UK · Dec 7, 2023 Australia pushes against China's Pacific influence through a security pact with Papua New Guinea The Australian government has signed a security pact with its nearest neighbor Papua New Guinea that strengthens Australia’s place as the preferred security partner in a region where China’s influence is growing
ABC News · May 16, 2023 United States and Federated States of Micronesia renew strategic pact in bid to counter China Renewing the agreements has become a key part of US efforts to push back against China's bid to expand its influence in the Pacific.
Al Jazeera · Dec 15, 2022 Fiji’s opposition lodges complaint over election results Move comes after Fiji authorities took down a provisional tally that showed the opposition holding a very early lead.
ABC News · Nov 3, 2022 China to gift water cannon trucks, vehicles to Solomon Islands police days after Australian donation At a special ceremony in Honiara, the Chinese ambassador will give two water cannon trucks and a number of vehicles to the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force as competition between Australia and China intensifies.
Reuters · Sep 2, 2022 Unpredictable Solomon Islands fuels U.S. concern as China's influence grows (Corrects paragraph 17 to show Solomon Islands recognised Beijing, not Taiwan)
The Guardian - AU · Jul 26, 2022 Papua New Guinea election violence: what has caused it and what can be done? The massacre of 18 people in the Highlands confirmed fears that an outdated electoral roll and lack of security could lead to trouble
The Guardian - AU · May 3, 2022 Pacific nations walk geopolitical tightrope over Ukraine war, as nuclear legacy looms Pacific leaders have broadly lambasted the Russian assault, but some countries have resisted outright condemnation of the superpower
Al Jazeera · Apr 4, 2022 In Solomon Islands, Australia’s largesse faces China challenge Canberra is facing questions about the limits of its economic diplomacy as Pacific neighbour boosts ties with Beijing.