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Developing Nations Face ‘Tidal Wave’ of China Debt: Report

The world's poorest nations face a "tidal wave of debt" as repayments to China hit record highs in 2025, an Australian think tank warned Tuesday in a new report. China's Belt and Road Initiative lending spree of the 2010s has paid ...

China to Host Pacific Island Leaders, Seeking Closer Ties

China's top diplomat will host leaders from Pacific Island nations next week for a summit, Beijing announced on Wednesday, as it seeks closer ties with the strategic region. Leaders and diplomats from 11 Pacific Island nations, including Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Papua ...

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 Agrees Deal to Strengthen Solomons Police

Australia said Friday it had agreed to boost Solomon Islands' police force with a multi-year funding, training and infrastructure package for the Pacific nation, which has fostered close ties with China. However, as a sign of the competition it faced from ...

Solomon Islands Voices ‘Concern’ Over Pacific Police Deal

Solomon Islands on Friday aired reservations about a landmark Pacific policing deal brokered by Australia, saying it should not preclude them from working alongside newfound ally China. "There is one thing that is not so much nagging us, but it's of ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

China-Led Study Proposes Global Energy Network

A globally connected network of solar and wind energy could provide three times the global energy demand by 2050 at a lower cost than independent national power systems. This is the finding of a study led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in collaboration with researchers from the United States and Denmark.
The study focused on how areas with high solar and wind capacity (such as deserts) can be linked ...

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 Props up Solomon Islands’ Budget With $20 Million Injection

The Solomon Islands will prop up its government budget with a $20 million injection from China, the developing Pacific state said Tuesday, as Beijing looks to strengthen its strategic foothold in the region. Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele announced the funding after ...

China Builds New Presidential Palace in Pacific’s Vanuatu

The government of cash-strapped Vanuatu will soon settle into a suite of new buildings funded by China, a move likely to reignite concerns about Beijing's reach in the South Pacific nation. At an official handover ceremony conducted in front of a ...

Australia Pushes Solomons to Rely on Pacific Nations for Security

Australia urged the Solomon Islands to rely on fellow Pacific nations for security assistance Wednesday during a visit by China-friendly Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele. The Solomons leader was visiting Australia as part of a three-nation tour that will also take him ...

Solomons PM to Visit China to ‘Reaffirm’ Ties

The new leader of the Solomon Islands has announced he will visit China to "reaffirm" his commitment to working with Beijing, a relationship viewed with unease in Western capitals. Solomons Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele is heading to China following a week-long ...

Australia Woos Solomon Islands After Pro-China PM’s Exit

Australia touted on Thursday a "much bigger" relationship with the Solomon Islands, further ramping up efforts to woo a Pacific nation that has lurched closer to China in recent years. Foreign Minister Penny Wong arrived in Honiara for talks with new ...

Blinken Says U.S. Delivering for Pacific Islands Despite China’s Reach

The United States, boosted by allies and the private sector, is delivering for Pacific islands even if Washington alone cannot match China's growing footprint, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said late Friday. Blinken spoke after lawmakers in the Solomon Islands, whose ...
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