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United States

China

Marshall Islands

Solomon Islands

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosts a working lunch with Pacific Island countries in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 28, 2022.

Military & Security

Politics

The success of the regional partnership will largely hinge on Washington’s ability to balance its own security objectives against island nations’ climate and economic priorities. 

The U.S. Reasserts Itself in the Pacific Islands With a Historic Pact

U.S.-China Relations

Media

Samoa

Graphics

A P-3K2 Orion aircraft flying over Tonga's Nomuka island shows heavy ash fall from the recent volcanic eruption within the Tongan Islands on Jan. 17. 

Samoa's critique of the Solomon Islands' recent security agreement with China signals a regional desire to rely more on other Pacific Island nations instead of external powers.

Pacific Islands Push Against Great Power Competition

Australia

Federated States of Micronesia

Fiji

Nauru

New Zealand

Papua New Guinea

Tonga

Tuvalu

Vanuatu

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.

Economics

The U.S. and the Balance of Power

China in Transition

Asia-Pacific: Among Great Powers

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 

Security

Columns

On Geopolitics

Chinese President Xi Jinping talks with Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare (not pictured) during a meeting in Beijing on Oct. 9, 2019. 

China's new security deal with the island nation is the latest in a series of moves by Beijing to normalize its military's expanding international role.

In the Solomon Islands, China Seeks to Normalize Its Global Security Presence

Modernizing China’s Military

A frame grab from video footage shows Australian Federal Police officers and local police monitoring a crowd in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, on Nov. 26, 2021. 

The controversy over Australian forces helping a perceived pro-China government quell protests shows how local issues in the Pacific Islands are so often intertwined with great power competition. 

The Solomon Islands Intervention Reveals the Challenges Australia Will Face in Securing Its Backyard

2020 Second-Quarter Forecast

Centered on the western rim of the Pacific Ocean, the Asia-Pacific region includes the easternmost countries of continental Asia as well as the archipelagos that punctuate the coast. 

Asia-Pacific

<p>The Asia-Pacific is home to more people than any other region. Centered on the western rim of the Pacific Ocean, this region includes the easternmost countries of continental Asia as well as the archipelagos that punctuate the coast. Several of these countries, most notably China, experienced rapid economic growth in the second half of the 20th century, giving the region a new sense of global economic relevance that continues today. That relevance, however, depends largely on China, a power in transition whose rise is testing the network of U.S. alliances that have long dominated the region. How effectively Beijing manages its transition will shape the regional balance of power in the decades to come.</p>

2020 Annual Forecast

2019 Fourth-Quarter Forecast

2019 Third-Quarter Forecast

The extremely secluded resort island of Wakaya, Fiji. 

As Beijing increases its ties in the Pacific subregion of Melanesia, Australia is forced to reckon with a more permanent Chinese presence on its doorstep. 

China Encroaches on Australia's Backyard

The New Silk Road

2019 Second-Quarter Forecast

Kiribati

Palau

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

Australian and Chinese defense officials met formally for the first since 2019 in Canberra, Australia, with each side reporting constructive dialogue, Reuters reported on March 22, and the two countries separately agreed to revive Australian timber exports to China.

China, Australia: Cooperation and Competition Simultaneously on Display

The Solomon Islands' Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele told reporters that his country only signed the U.S. Pacific Partner Strategy, which aims to increase cooperation between the United States and Pacific Island nations, once Washington removed indirect references to China, Benar News reported Oct. 4.

Solomon Islands: Honiara Signed U.S. Pact After the Removal of Indirect References to China

The Solomon Islands informed fellow Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) members via a diplomatic note that it will not sign the 11-point summit joint declaration with the United States at this week's summit, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported Sept. 28.

Solomon Islands: Prime Minister Refuses to Sign Joint Declaration Ahead of White House Summit

United Kingdom

The U.S. coast guard vessel Oliver Henry was unable to conduct a scheduled port call to refuel in the Solomon Islands while taking part in Operation Island Chief, an operation aimed at stopping illegal fishing in the region, after its requests to enter Solomon Islands territory went unanswered, Reuters reported Aug. 26.

Solomon Islands: U.S. and U.K. Vessels Could Not Complete Scheduled Refueling

Environment, Science & Technology

The Solomon Islands signed a $66 million deal for Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei to build 161 cellphone towers, the Financial Times reported Aug. 19.

China, Solomon Islands: Honiara Inks Deal With Huawei to Build 161 Telecom Towers

Japan

Taiwan

The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSD) announced it had conducted its first-ever maritime exercises with the Solomon Islands on Aug. 8, Kyodo News reported Aug. 9.

Japan: Self-Defense Force Conducts Drills, Think Tank Creates Taiwan Conflict Simulation

Guardian-class patrol boats worth $1.4 billion that Australia is gifting to several Pacific Island nations were found to have significant structural faults, The Straits Times reported July 1.

Australia: Naval Vessels Gifted to Pacific Islands Have Significant Faults

Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa said the Pacific Islands should look inward for security agreements instead of solely relying on external powers at the upcoming Pacific Islands Forum, The Straits Times reported June 17.

Pacific Islands: Region Pushes Against Great Power Competition, Focuses on Climate Change

Afghanistan

Algeria

Antigua and Barbuda

Luxembourg

South Sudan

A view of the Register in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Angola

Argentina

Armenia

Bahrain

Lithuania

Covering an area that spans the entire width of the continent beginning at the Sahara Desert and ending at the southernmost tip of South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa is home to countless cultures, languages, religions, plants, animals and natural resources.

Barbados

Benin

Egypt

Maldives

Malta

Ukraine

Belize

Botswana

Brunei Darussalam

India

Iran

North Macedonia

Tajikistan

Bhutan

Bolivia

Burkina Faso

Cambodia

Germany

Iraq

The President palace in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

The administrative center of the Gakh region of Azerbaijan, located at the foot of the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus, on the river Kurhumchai.

Brazil

Burundi

Finland

Israel

Nepal

Cameroon

Canada

Georgia

Jordan

Pakistan

Mir Castle in the Minsk region of Belarus.

Cabo Verde

Chile

Kuwait

Liechtenstein

Sri Lanka

Central African Republic

Colombia

Latvia

Lebanon

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Chad

Costa Rica

Indonesia

Libya

Russia

Comoros

Cuba

Czech Republic

A horse grazes in front of Kara-Kul lake in the Chon-Ak-Suu valley, 300 kilometers southeast of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

SITUATION REPORTS

China, Australia: Cooperation and Competition Simultaneously on Display

Solomon Islands: Honiara Signed U.S. Pact After the Removal of Indirect References to China

Solomon Islands: Prime Minister Refuses to Sign Joint Declaration Ahead of White House Summit

Solomon Islands: U.S. and U.K. Vessels Could Not Complete Scheduled Refueling

China, Solomon Islands: Honiara Inks Deal With Huawei to Build 161 Telecom Towers

Japan: Self-Defense Force Conducts Drills, Think Tank Creates Taiwan Conflict Simulation

Australia: Naval Vessels Gifted to Pacific Islands Have Significant Faults

Pacific Islands: Region Pushes Against Great Power Competition, Focuses on Climate Change

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