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  • 11 May 2023
    • China
    • Pacific Islands
    • Solomon Islands

    The disproportionate attention on the Solomons-China security pact

    Ilan Kiloe
    A tendency to “securitise” problems via a geopolitical lens only downplays legitimate aspirations of local communities.
  • 4 May 2023
    • Global Issues
    • Sustainability
    • Pacific Islands

    The cost of crime and corruption on Pacific fisheries

    Jade Lindley
    The need for a well-funded response to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing has never been greater.
  • 4 May 2023
    • Australian Defence Force
    • Defence & Security
    • Pacific Islands

    The case for opening the ADF to citizens of Pacific Islands nations

    David Van
    The potential benefits in a contested region extend far beyond a military need.
  • 27 Apr 2023
    • Pacific Islands

    Bringing the Blue Pacific and Indo-Pacific narratives together

    Sandra Tarte
    More than a distraction, geopolitical competition shapes the regional security agenda – and that carries opportunity.
  • 20 Apr 2023
    • Aid & Development
    • Australia
    • Pacific Islands
    • Solomon Islands

    Questions about Australian aid to fund the Pacific Games

    Stephen Howes
    Australia is backing a sports tournament over urgent development needs, and doing so may break international aid rules.
  • 18 Apr 2023
    • Pacific Islands
    • China and the Pacific
    • Melanesia
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Solomon Islands
    • United States

    Not the Indo-Pacific: a Melanesian view on strategic competition

    Patrick Kaiku
    The states of the southwest Pacific are not interested in a zero-sum contest between the United States and China.
  • 14 Apr 2023
    • Australia
    • Diplomacy
    • Climate change
    • Multilateral Institutions
    • United Nations
    • Pacific Islands

    A strategy for engaging for small developing states

    Hamish Fejo
    If Australia is serious about climate change, it needs better relationships with island nations – near and far.
  • 11 Apr 2023
    • France
    • Pacific Islands
    • New Caledonia

    France tightens the screws in New Caledonia

    Denise Fisher
    Pro-independence leaders believe time is on their side, but the French government sees little room for compromise.
  • 31 Mar 2023
    • Climate change
    • Pacific Islands

    Climate change: We know what to do, the Pacific needs us to act, now

    Meg Keen , Hamish Fejo
    Pacific Island nations are taking legal action as the latest IPCC report reveals things are still getting worse.
  • 30 Mar 2023
    • Pacific Islands
    • Fiji
    • Review

    Fiji: lessons under a dictator’s heel

    Ariela Zibiah
    Laisenia Qarase’s prison memoir after he was deposed in a coup tells a national story to cherish freedoms.
  • 23 Mar 2023
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea

    Papua New Guinea: media under threat

    Thierry Lepani
    A new draft government policy is set to put journalistic freedoms to the test.
  • 20 Mar 2023
    • Australia
    • Defence & Security
    • Pacific Islands

    AUKUS in the Pacific: Calm with undercurrents

    Meg Keen
    Pacific neighbours understand the drivers behind Australia’s bid for nuclear-powered subs, but still harbour concerns.
  • 8 Mar 2023
    • Asia
    • Pacific Islands
    • Sex and Gender

    “Amplify their voice”: Promoting gender equity in Asia and the Pacific

    Daniel Flitton
    The regional head of UN Women has a simple but crucial message on this International Women’s Day.
  • 27 Feb 2023
    • Australia and the Pacific
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea

    Answers needed on the Pacific Engagement Visa

    Akka Rimon , Michael Kabuni , Jope Tarai , Natasha Turia-Moka
    Beyond practicalities, it’s unclear whether this is a genuine “Pacific family” partnership or geopolitical convenience?
  • 30 Jan 2023
    • Aid & Development
    • Pacific Islands

    Getting it together: Pacific engagement still lacks coordination

    Meg Keen
    Showing collective action across countries and sectors is essential to Pacific development and winning friends.
  • 25 Jan 2023
    • Aid & Development
    • China – Belt and Road Initiative
    • Development Assistance
    • Australia and the Pacific
    • Australian Foreign Aid
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Solomon Islands

    Chinese aid to the Pacific: decreasing, but not disappearing

    Alexandre Dayant , Meg Keen , Roland Rajah
    With fewer Chinese finances available and less demand from Pacific countries, geopolitical competition is opening up.
  • 19 Jan 2023
    • Australia and the Pacific
    • Pacific Islands
    • China and the Pacific
    • Solomon Islands

    Weaving webs of statecraft in the Pacific Islands

    Joanne Wallis , Henrietta McNeill , Alan C. Tidwell , Czeslaw Tubilewicz
    Gaining influence in the region is about tools and techniques, not just the actors.
  • 19 Jan 2023
    • Climate change
    • International law
    • Pacific Islands

    The acid test: legal moves to force action on climate change

    Donald R Rothwell
    Small island states are now adopting a determined strategy of “lawfare” to bring attention to environmental threats.
  • 27 Dec 2022
    • China
    • Australia
    • Pacific Islands
    • Solomon Islands

    How to Interpret 2022: Solomon Islands strikes a deal

    Clare Caldwell
    Honiara’s foreign policy caused ripples across the region, as we round up highlights of the year from The Interpreter.
  • 20 Dec 2022
    • Pacific Islands
    • Fiji

    Fiji’s coalition of convenience: what’s next?

    Meg Keen
    A focus on recovery from the pandemic makes international support essential, whichever coalition forms government.
  • 16 Dec 2022
    • Aid & Development
    • Coronavirus
    • Pacific Islands

    A changing aid landscape in the Pacific

    Alexandre Dayant , Roland Rajah , Riley Duke
    Budget support was favoured during the pandemic, with loans — which must be repaid — also overtaking grants.
  • 25 Nov 2022
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Solomon Islands
    • Vanuatu

    Riots serve an unexpected lesson in the Pacific

    Anouk Ride
    A new report on civil unrest in the region calls for a longer and wider lens in analysing reasons and rationales.
  • 21 Nov 2022
    • Pacific Islands
    • United States

    Will the new US Congress still pay for its Pacific promises?

    Jessica Collins
    The Biden administration has staked $810 million on a regional strategy and now must ensure bipartisan support.
  • 18 Nov 2022
    • Climate change
    • Environment
    • Migration
    • Pacific Islands
    • Tonga
    • Vanuatu

    Strengthening disaster resilience in the Pacific

    Sam Quinn
    The aftermath of Tonga’s massive volcanic eruption holds valuable lessons as climate change risks also grow.
  • 9 Nov 2022
    • Aid & Development
    • China
    • Pacific Islands

    An explanation for the decline of China’s aid in the Pacific

    Jia Deng
    A drop in Chinese funding may be a sign of belt tightening in an effort to tackle Beijing’s own domestic debt problem.
  • 31 Oct 2022
    • Pacific Islands
    • China and the Pacific

    China’s influence as a Pacific donor

    Denghua Zhang
    Beijing has taken steps to increase its influence in the island region at the same time as its aid levels decline.
  • 21 Oct 2022
    • China
    • Australia
    • Pacific Islands

    Waiting for the thaw: the Pacific hopeful on Australia-China reset

    Shailendra Bahadur Singh
    The island countries stand to benefit from any improvement in relations between two big development partners.
  • 11 Oct 2022
    • Aid & Development
    • Australia and the Pacific
    • Australian Development Assistance
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea
    • United States

    The Global Fragility Act in PNG: can the US succeed?

    Jessica Collins
    A seemingly radical approach that relies on prevention and relinquishing control may be a foreign policy game-changer.
  • 10 Oct 2022
    • Australia
    • Pacific Islands
    • Public Opinion

    Australia and Pacific Islands: Polls apart?

    Meg Keen
    Without a comprehensive public opinion survey of Pacific people, common attitudes can be challenging to identify.
  • 3 Oct 2022
    • Diplomacy
    • Pacific Islands
    • United States

    “See it through my lens”: the optics of fashion diplomacy

    Kate Clayton , Henrietta McNeill
    Sunglasses are a staple in the US President’s diplomatic style but not every leader can share the benefit.
  • 27 Sep 2022
    • Pacific Islands

    The president vs the judge: How Kiribati came to a constitutional standoff

    Anna Dziedzic
    Judicial independence and access to justice is at risk as judges face deportation and suspension from office.
  • 13 Sep 2022
    • Asean
    • Indonesia
    • Pacific Islands
    • Fiji
    • Solomon Islands
    • Vanuatu

    Why Indonesia’s engagement with Pacific countries matters

    Aristyo Rizka Darmawan
    Sovereignty, trust and mutual benefit are all at stake when so many regions come together under the Indo-Pacific banner.
  • 8 Sep 2022
    • Aid & Development
    • Australia
    • Australia's Economy
    • Migration
    • Pacific Islands

    Economic diplomacy: Nation building at home and abroad

    Greg Earl
    A jobs summit highlighted the challenges in crafting a foreign policy for the middle class and balanced development aid.
  • 20 Aug 2022
    • Pacific Islands
    • United States

    Next steps for American engagement with the Pacific Islands

    Alan C. Tidwell
    Stronger local ties will help the United States play catch-up in its quest to effectively compete with China.
  • 16 Aug 2022
    • Pacific Islands
    • New Zealand
    • Sex and Gender

    Wrong balance of power in Pacific

    Elzanne Bester
    New Zealand can bolster the international rules-based order by working towards Pacific women’s political representation.
  • 28 Jul 2022
    • China
    • Australia
    • Trade
    • Pacific Islands

    Economic diplomacy: The Pacific reset needs real commercial investment

    Greg Earl
    The language of geopolitics is trickling down to unexpected corners of the economy with wide-ranging long-term impact.
  • 27 Jul 2022
    • Pacific Islands

    What happened at the Pacific Islands Forum

    Jessica Collins
    A historic hugs and dialling-down regional rivalries. How a week of Pacific diplomacy unfolded.
  • 27 Jul 2022
    • Trade and Investment in the Asia Pacific
    • Timor-Leste
    • Asean
    • Japan
    • Australia
    • Australian trade, investment & economy
    • Trade
    • Pacific Islands

    Economic diplomacy: The Pacific beats ASEAN for nervous investors

    Greg Earl
    Abe Shinzo’s passing and the Timor oil spy case dismissal reveal new thinking about what national security means.
  • 26 Jul 2022
    • Australia
    • Sustainability
    • Pacific Islands

    Support Pacific neighbours by strengthening indigenous food systems

    Essam Yassin Mohammed
    Unique knowledge was usurped by colonialism and imported production. Time to build resilience, from the shore up.
  • 26 Jul 2022
    • Diplomacy
    • Pacific Islands

    Pacific Islands Forum meeting: the black cloud returns

    Jessica Collins
    A continued dispute over the Secretary General position has challenged unity of the Pacific family.
  • 25 Jul 2022
    • Aid & Development
    • Australia
    • Pacific Islands
    • International law

    Engaging with the Pacific: the legal angle

    Sarah McCosker , Joanne Wallis , Melissa Conley Tyler
    The often complex and transnational legal challenges facing the region are an opportunity to foster cooperation.
  • 30 Jun 2022
    • China – Belt and Road Initiative
    • Australia
    • Pacific Islands
    • Global Economy

    Economic diplomacy: Names trump numbers in the new BRI debt battle

    Greg Earl
    As G7 leaders talk up infrastructure spending, Australia’s Pacific family members contemplate how much they can take.
  • 10 Jun 2022
    • Pacific Islands
    • Australia
    • Sex and Gender

    Penny Wong dives deep into the audacity of the Oceanic Pacific

    ‘Ofa-ki-Levuka (‘Ofa) Guttenbeil-Likiliki
    Nurturing relationships is paramount to break down unequal power dynamics ­– especially in working for women rights.
  • 3 Jun 2022
    • Asia
    • Pacific Islands
    • Multilateral Development Banks
    • Asean
    • Australia
    • Energy

    Labor should create a “Regional Carbon Bank” for ASEAN and the Pacific

    Peter McCawley
    An urgent demand for clean electricity infrastructure requires needs a dedicated, multilateral agency in support.
  • 1 Jun 2022
    • Pacific Islands
    • Australia
    • China

    Competing with China in the Pacific will backfire

    Miranda Booth
    Co-operation, not competition, provides the best chance for Australia to enhance ties with Pacific Island countries.
  • 1 Jun 2022
    • Asia
    • Pacific Islands
    • Sustainability

    Water torture: Asia‑Pacific’s “WASH” crisis in need of solutions

    JJ Rose
    Access to clean water is not only a development challenge but one for geopolitics, too.
  • 1 Jun 2022
    • Global Economy
    • Pacific Islands
    • IMF

    Don’t saddle Pacific Islands with disaster debt

    Luke Fletcher
    It would be immoral for high-emitting countries to put an extra burden on nations suffering more extreme weather events.
  • 30 May 2022
    • Pacific Islands
    • Australia

    Would China? Australia’s chance to back women police in the Pacific

    Melissa Jardine
    Promoting gender equality and enhancing maritime law enforcement will ensure Australia stands apart.
  • 30 May 2022
    • Pacific Islands
    • Australia
    • New Caledonia
    • France

    Australia can’t stay silent on decolonisation in the Pacific

    Nic Maclellan
    As Canberra and Paris repair ties, presenting France as a “Pacific country” would undermine regional independence.
  • 27 May 2022
    • Pacific Islands
    • Australia
    • Australia and the Pacific

    Labor’s Pacific plan: ticking the economic box

    Jessica Collins
    Tightening up on fees charged for remittances will ensure millions of dollars get to households across the region.
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