Published daily by the Lowy Institute

Pacific links: “You’re my best friend”

Scott Morrison on an island escapade, leaders serenade, and links and stories from the Pacific Islands region.

Photo: Taiwan presidential office/Flickr
Photo: Taiwan presidential office/Flickr

  • Prime Minister Scott Morrison makes a historic visit to Fiji and Vanuatu this week amid concerns over Chinese influence in the region and a diplomatic hiccup around terrorist Neil Prakash.
     
  • On Prakash, Shannon Molloy explains this case of the Aussie-born terrorist and his citizenship saga, which has set an unfortunate backdrop for Morrison’s visit.
     
  • Interested in understanding the different concerns about Chinese influence in the Pacific? Have a look at the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative map from CSIS.
     
  • In this Devpolicy Blog, a group of Solomon Islands health staff share their strategies to prevent implementation of projects from being overwhelmed by planning.
     
  • Guam has set a world record with a government composed of 67% women.
     
  • Fiji is turning to coral gardening to save its lucrative South Pacific reefs from bleaching, in order to keep attracting tourists.
     
  • In this “Daughters of the Migration” episode, the Coconet TV follows the story of Judge Ida Malosi, the first Pacific female justice in New Zealand.
     
  • Domestic violence has always been an issue in PNG. However, things are changing. Stephanie Copus-Campbell retraces the progress that PNG has made over the years, and underlines what else can be done to improve the situation for women in the country.
     
  • Finally, while visiting Taiwan, Nauru President Baron Waqa played Don Williams’ “You're My Best Friend” with the ukulele given to him as a gift by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen.

    Pacific Research Program



    You may also be interested in