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Politics

The United States promised members of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) key development and infrastructure aid packages of $200 million at their second annual summit in Washington, D.C., BenarNews reported on Sept. 25.

U.S., Pacific Islands: Washington Promises More Aid at Second Annual Summit

Australia

Military & Security

U.S.-China Relations

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare opened his country's embassy in Beijing, China, and upgraded bilateral ties with China to a "comprehensive strategic partnership," Bloomberg reported on July 10.

China, Solomon Islands: Countries Upgrade Ties to 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership'

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

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

Assessments

Samoa

Federated States of Micronesia

Fiji

Kiribati

Marshall Islands

Nauru

New Zealand

Palau

Papua New Guinea

Tonga

Tuvalu

Vanuatu

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

South Korea

Europe

Maldives

EU Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis speaks March 16, 2023, in Brussels.

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

The Weekly Rundown: The U.S.-Pacific Islands Forum Summit, China-Japan-South Korea Talks

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

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

Media

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

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.

Security

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 

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. 

Modernizing China’s Military

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

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

The extremely secluded resort island of Wakaya, Fiji. 

The New Silk Road

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

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

On the Road

Timor-Leste

Indonesia

Malaysia

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

Sub-Saharan Africa

South Sudan

Angola

Benin

Botswana

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cameroon

Cabo Verde

Central African Republic

Chad

Comoros

Cote d'Ivoire

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Djibouti

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Ethiopia

Gabon

Gambia

Ghana

Guinea

Guinea Bissau

Kenya

Lesotho

Liberia

Madagascar

Malawi

Mali

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mozambique

Namibia

Niger

Nigeria

Republic of the Congo

Rwanda

Sao Tome and Principe

Senegal

Seychelles

Sierra Leone

Somalia

South Africa

Sudan

Eswatini

Tanzania

Togo

Uganda

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Americas

Antigua and Barbuda

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Bolivia

Brazil

Canada

Chile

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El Salvador

Grenada

Guatemala

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Mexico

Nicaragua

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Saint Lucia

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Suriname

Bahamas

Trinidad and Tobago

Uruguay

Venezuela

Greenland

Jamaica

Asia-Pacific

Brunei Darussalam

Cambodia

Laos

Paris Agreement Emphasizes Shift Away From Oil

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

Energy

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 Promises More Aid at Second Annual Summit

China, Solomon Islands: Countries Upgrade Ties to 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership'

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

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