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Pacific Leaders Agree New Summit Rules After China, Taiwan Bans

By Ben Strang Pacific Island leaders agreed on Friday to a new framework that would allow nations to join a key regional forum as strategic partners, after accusations that China was influencing regional decision-making. The ...

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China is the ‘Elephant in the Room’ at Fraught Pacific Islands Summit

By Ben Strang Pacific Islands leaders are meeting in the Solomons this week for an influential summit clouded by differences over China's mounting influence in the region that risks scuppering regional cooperation. Alongside its 18 ...

China Says No Ambition to Build South Pacific Military Base

China's embassy in Fiji has insisted Beijing is not seeking a military base in the South Pacific, saying aid pledged to developing island nations came with "no political strings attached". Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka warned this week against any Chinese ...

Fiji PM Says Chinese Base Is Not Welcome

Fiji opposes the idea of a Chinese military base in the Pacific Islands, Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said on Wednesday. He told the National Press Club in Sydney that the island countries are navigating Chinese power and that Beijing knows he would lobby other countries in ...

With an Eye on China, U.S. Moves to Ramp up Military Engagements With Fiji

The United States and Fiji have started work on a key agreement that could see American troops ramp up their presence in the Pacific nation, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said Saturday. Austin is the first sitting U.S. defense secretary to set ...

Wang Yi Holds Talks With Senior Political Leaders From Pacific Island Countries

A delegation of senior political leaders from Pacific Island countries wrapped up a week-long visit to Beijing on Friday with a meeting with Wang Yi, the Chinese Communist Party's most senior foreign policy official. Wang, who also serves as Foreign Minister, met ...

Big Polluters Urged to Pay as Key Pacific Summit Opens in Tonga

By Steven Trask Emissions-belching nations were challenged to stump up for climate-related damage as a key Pacific islands summit opened on Monday, with low-lying Tuvalu declaring: "If you pollute, you should pay." The Pacific Islands ...

China’s Xi Promises Stronger Fiji Ties in World of ‘Turmoil’

Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to strengthen ties with Fiji in a world beset with "turmoil" as he met the Pacific island's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka in Beijing on Tuesday. China has stepped up its courtship of South Pacific nations in ...

After a Setback in Honduras, Taiwan’s Diplomacy Gets a Small Boost in the South Pacific

The Fijian government allowed Taiwan to reinstate the old name of its representative office in the South Pacific island country to include its official moniker "The Republic of China." While a simple name change may not seem like a big deal, in ...
U.S. Struggling to De-Risk Congo’s ‘War Zone Minerals’ Even After Pact, Sources Say
File image of an artisanal miner carrying raw ore at Tilwizembe, a former industrial copper-cobalt mine, outside of Kolwezi, the capital city of Lualaba Province in the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. REUTERS/Kenny Katombe/File Photo
By Maxwell Akalaare Adombila and Ange Kasongo The U.S. has made progress in its push to prise Congo's strategic minerals from China's orbit, but conflict, contested licences and compliance demands are still slowing Washington's advance into a region its rival dominates, diplomats and ...
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