China and the Pacific
Pacific Engagement Visas: New developments but quotas unknown
Australia is surprisingly low-key about the recent launch of its new subclass 192 Pacific Engagement Visa lottery that aims to welcome 3,000 new permanent migrants …
Solomon Islands: Democracy on the ballot
With a week to go before voters take to the polls on 17 April, election campaigns in Solomon Islands are in full swing with 334 candidates vying for 50 seats (only 21 candidates…
A “climate defence force” for the Pacific
During the summer political slumber, Australian Defence Personnel Minister Matt Keogh indicated that Canberra was considering permitting recruitment from Pacific Island Countries …
Geopolitics, but what of other Pacific players?
A new Lowy Institute policy brief, Geopolitics in the Pacific Islands: Playing for advantage, by Meg Keen and Alan Tidwell argues for better coordination between Australia, the…
Nauru’s diplomatic switch to China – the rising stakes in Pacific geopolitics
Nauru’s decision to switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China has nothing to do with Australia. It reflects the intense geopolitical competition in the Pacific and the…
Digital dominoes: Australia’s strategic play in the Pacific
Pacific Island countries, with their sprawling geography, have been caught in a digital divide. Lack of critical, digitally enabling infrastructure slows down development progress…
Infrastructure for influence: Pacific Islands building spree
There is a building spree going on in our neighbourhood as Pacific Island countries leverage geopolitical rivalries to fill a huge gap. A rough estimate is that the region needs…
Japan risks its reputation in Oceania with Fukushima discharge
Japan’s decision last month to begin discharging treated radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean from its destroyed Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is fairly unpopular…
US under pressure to conclude compact agreements in the North Pacific
Little information has emerged about how negotiations for the renewal of the Compact of Free Association (COFA) between the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and the United…
A Pacific power play could prove the Quad’s relevance
Last December, I trekked around some of the most remote corners of the Solomon Islands province of Malaita. The communities that hosted me – small villages littered with colourful…