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U.S. Aid Freeze Creates New Opening for China in the South Pacific

Donald Trump's foreign aid freeze has halted vital projects in the South Pacific, aid workers, and analysts say, risking lives and hurting U.S. efforts to woo the region. Disaster-prone, isolated, and threatened by rising seas, tropical Pacific island states are some ...

Australia to Spend $385 Million on Papua New Guinea Rugby League Team With Eye on China

Australia will spend $385 million to establish a team from Papua New Guinea in its rugby league competition, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday, a move designed to help ward off China. Papua New Guinea has long lobbied for a side ...

Xi Says ‘Saddened’ by PNG Landslide, Offers Assistance

China's President Xi Jinping said Monday he was "saddened" to learn of a landslide disaster in Papua New Guinea and offered help to the Pacific island nation. Papua New Guinea's authorities say more than 2,000 people have been buried in a ...

Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands Illustrate Striking Divide in South Pacific Country Allegiances

Leaders from Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands are making it clear where their loyalties lie as China and the West jockey for influence in the strategically important South Pacific. Papua New Guinea signed a defense agreement with the U.S. ...

Three Pacific Islands Leaders to Skip Annual Bloc Summit Amid China-U.S. Rivalry

The leaders of Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands will not attend this week's annual Pacific Islands Forum, hampering the consensus-based group’s efforts to project unity as China and the United States jockey for influence in the region. The three ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

BRICS Announces Numerous New Initiatives

The BRICS group wrapped up its two-day leaders’ summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday. The summit’s final communique is a 16,000-word doorstop that covers numerous issues from economics to education.
The communique avoids any direct mention of the United States, and references to “unilateralism” and other coded criticism are also relatively scarce. Rather, the communique keeps the focus on the BRICS’ vision of the strengthening and reform of the global multilateral system ...

Xi’s Speed Diplomacy on the Sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum

Xi Jinping’s presence at the Belt and Road Forum was dominated by his keynote address during which he announced a raft of new initiatives. However, he also engaged in speedy rounds of bilateral meetings and hosted a banquet on Tuesday night. ...

Papua New Guinea, Micronesia to Sign Agreement With U.S. as Pacific Island Countries Increasingly Take Sides in Great Power Rivalry

Pacific Island Countries (PIC) are the current focal point in the escalating competition for influence between the United States and China around the world. Both Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Micronesia signed defense agreements with the United States on Monday during ...

Biden’s Canceled Trip Framed as All About China

U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to cut his Asia-Pacific trip short to deal with debt ceiling negotiations with Republican counterparts is drawing criticism. After attending the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, Biden would have been the first U.S. president to visit Papua New ...

Domestic U.S. Politics Undermine Washington’s Ability to Challenge China’s Influence in Asia-Pacific

U.S. President Joe Biden will leave for Japan on Wednesday to attend a G7 leaders summit in Hiroshima, but rather than continue on to Australia and what would have been a landmark visit to Papua New Guinea (PNG), he'll head straight back to Washington instead.