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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

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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

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

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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

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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.

Economics

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

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The Geopolitics of the Cook Islands

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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

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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

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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