A former Vanuatu prime minister says praise heaped on the late Sir Michael Somare as a supporter of political freedom in the region is misplaced. Barak Sope’s comments strike a contrasting tone to the many regional tributes since the passing…
Robert Underwood, For Pacific Daily News USA TODAY Network There has been a Micronesian revolt which hasn’t fully caught our attention in Guam despite our perceived status as the cross-roads of Micronesia. The FSM, Palau, Marshall Islands, Nauru and Kiribati have…
Sir Michael died last Friday following a short illness aged 84. Frank Bainimarama said he was saddened at the loss of his friend and Pacific iconic leader. Bainimarama said there has been a great mourning across PNG and the Pacific…
Micronesian sub-grouping walks out over selection of new secretary-general The Pacific Islands Forum – the Pacific’s most influential regional body – is in disarray after nearly one-third of its member countries quit en masse. The countries of the Micronesian sub-grouping – Palau,…
The decision by Micronesian countries to leave the PIF will have major strategic implications. By Cleo Paskal, The DIPLOMAT Five countries just pulled out of the Pacific Islands Forum. This is geopolitically more important than it might seem. It is a very serious strategic…
Pacific diplomacy hinges on in-person discussion but web-only meetings have fed a growing dispute over the forum’s leadership and purpose In the Pacific, it is all about the talanoa: the conversation and the consensus. For the 50 years of the Pacific Islands…
Five nations from the region have nominated candidates for the position of Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Secretariat to replace the incumbent, Papua New Guinea’s Dame Meg Taylor, whose contract ends in January 2021. The holder of…
Oct 20, 2020, Vanuatu Daily Post The Governments of the Republic of Vanuatu and Australia are pleased to be working in partnership to establish the Pacific Fusion Centre permanently in Port Vila. The Pacific Fusion Centre will build regional capacity…
The Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum and Prime Minister of Tuvalu, the Honourable Kausea Natano, has reaffirmed the importance of open and constructive dialogue on the human rights situation in West Papua (Papua). In line with the Forum Leaders…
The Melanesian Spearhead Group’s secretariat is holding discussions on a ‘Melanesian Bubble’ initiative. Talks at the secretariat in Port Vila come as MSG member states struggle with economic strains caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. For the MSG’s five full members…
