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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 ...

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 ...

Solomon Islands Says China Not Influencing Diplomatic Decisions

By Ben Strang Solomon Islands defended its move to bar some partners from an influential summit of South Pacific leaders, brushing aside claims on Thursday of a looming split or that China is influencing its decisions.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Says ‘Outsiders’ Meddling in Regional Summit

By Ben Strang New Zealand's foreign minister said Thursday that foreign influence was threatening to split an upcoming annual summit of South Pacific leaders. Foreign Minister Winston Peters sounded the warning as the region's top ...

Solomon Islands Bars China and Taiwan From Top Pacific Summit

Pacific nation Solomon Islands has said it would exclude non-member nations from a key regional summit in September, a group that includes China, Taiwan, and the United States. Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele said earlier this week he would defer a meeting ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Weighing the Value of “Values”

I was in Berlin this week for a conference on the EU’s relationship with Africa in the context of the continent’s growing ties with external actors, many of whom Europe finds acutely worrying.
The conference eerily landed on the second anniversary of the October 7 attack in Israel. I was in Berlin two years ago as well. In the weeks after the attack, one could see how Western powers’ ...

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 ...

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 ...
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