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The Pacific Islands Forum, or PIF, endorsed the Pacific Policing Initiative, a $271 million initiative to establish four regional police training centers in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Micronesia over five years, Nikkei Asia reported on Aug. 28.

Australia, Pacific Islands: Summit Produces Regional Policing Agreement

United States

Japan

Austria

Economics

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

Capping the 10th triennial Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting, the 18-member Pacific Island Forum, or PIF, and Japan issued a declaration centered on climate change, maritime defense, trade and technology cooperation, Nikkei Asia reported on July 18.

Japan, Pacific Islands: Summit Produces Declaration on Maritime Security, Trade and Climate Cooperation

The United States is backing the construction of the Central Pacific Cable, a planned undersea internet cable covering thousands of miles that will link U.S. territories American Samoa and Guam before extending to 10 Pacific Island countries and territories, Reuters reported on Sept. 27.

U.S., Pacific Islands: Washington Backs New Undersea Cable Network in Pacific

Security

U.S.-China Relations

Asia-Pacific: Among Great Powers

All bids have been denied and no contract awarded for a World Bank tender for the East Micronesia Cable system of undersea communications cables to Kiribati, Nauru, and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) amid U.S. warnings of Chinese security threats, Reuters reported June 17. 

Pacific Islands: Undersea Cable Project Delayed Amid U.S. Concerns of Chinese Interference

Palau announced that it will leave the regional Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) group, citing dissatisfaction with the PIF's recent secretary-general appointment process, the Guardian reported Feb. 4. 

Palau: Island Nation Terminates Membership in Pacific Island Forum

Taiwan

China in Transition

Five Pacific island nations -- the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru and Palau -- have issued a joint communique calling for the equal diplomatic treatment of China and Taiwan, Taiwan News reported Feb. 26.

China, Taiwan: Pacific Island Nations Call for Equal Diplomatic Treatment for Beijing and Taipei

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After two weeks of negotiations, representatives of nearly 200 countries have approved the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit the extent of climate change in the coming decades, The Telegraph reported Dec. 12.

France: Delegates Approve Paris Climate Change Deal

Economics and Finance

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Assessments

The flags of Australia, the Solomon Islands, Nauru and Papua New Guinea clockwise starting from the upper left. Canberra will have to fulfill its commitments to keep Beijing's influence at bay as island countries play the two off each other.

Canberra will have to fulfill its commitments to keep Beijing's influence at bay as island countries play the two off each other. 

Australian Efforts to Counter China in the Pacific Will Require Follow-Through

Israel

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France

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky holds a flag during a ceremony on Ukraine's Independence Day on Aug. 24, 2023, in Kyiv, Ukraine. 

Israel-Hamas Conflict

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Gaza Cease-Fire Talks Resume, Ukraine Observes Third Post-Invasion Independence Day

Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marapeand, the Cook Islands' Prime Minister Mark Brown, U.S. President Joe Biden and Kiribati's President Taneti Maamau at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) as part of the U.S.-PIF summit at the White House on Sept. 25, 2023, in Washington, D.C.

Despite Washington's desire to strengthen ties with Pacific island nations, political constraints may leave a regional void that China is happy to fill.

Strategic Goals and Political Hurdles in the U.S. Play Tug-of-War Over the Pacific Islands

Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (left) and Fiji's prime minister Frank Bainimarama attend a joint press conference in Fiji's capital of Suva on May 30, 2022.

The U.S. and the Balance of Power

China, the U.S., and Australia will need to adapt their traditional engagement with the island nations to secure influence in the strategic maritime region.

The Pacific Islands Emerge as the Next Theater for Great Power Competition 

As U.S. focus turns away from the Pacific islands, other powers are starting to pay attention.

Tracking U.S. Naval Power

Countries like the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau enjoy a close treaty relationship with the United States, but the strategically located states are now on China's radar too.

China Sets a Course for the U.S.'s Pacific Domain

Columns

On the Road

The Geopolitics of the Cook Islands

Environmental Issues

Globalization

In the remote Pacific islands, the world's crises are dulled by distance. But the plight of the Cook Islands -- a grouping of 15 islands at the heart of the South Pacific is a tiny segment of a sweeping arc that sprawls across the Pacific from the Marianas to Polynesia -- is dire. In spite of the fantasies of travelers over the centuries, these islands are not pristine utopias.

A Place Where Geopolitics Fades

Media

Graphics

Paris Agreement Emphasizes Shift Away From Oil

The pace of the transition will be decided by how quickly new technologies reach the developing world.

Delegates attend a plenary session at the U.N. climate change summit in Paris on Dec. 9.

The agreement signed Dec. 12 in Paris is just a small part of a broader energy transition driven by technological change.

Climate Agreement Will Only Hasten Transition Beyond Oil

_Energy

SITUATION REPORTS

Australia, Pacific Islands: Summit Produces Regional Policing Agreement

Japan, Pacific Islands: Summit Produces Declaration on Maritime Security, Trade and Climate Cooperation

U.S., Pacific Islands: Washington Backs New Undersea Cable Network in Pacific

Pacific Islands: Undersea Cable Project Delayed Amid U.S. Concerns of Chinese Interference

Palau: Island Nation Terminates Membership in Pacific Island Forum

China, Taiwan: Pacific Island Nations Call for Equal Diplomatic Treatment for Beijing and Taipei

France: Delegates Approve Paris Climate Change Deal

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