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The United States pledged $60 million to the Pacific island region under its 2022 U.S.-Pacific Partnership, and China secured a $651 million development deal with Nauru, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported on Aug. 13. 

Pacific Islands: Influence Competition Heats Up Ahead of Summits

South Sudan

Angola

Benin

Burkina Faso

Cameroon

Cabo Verde

Cote d'Ivoire

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Djibouti

Ethiopia

Gabon

Gambia

Ghana

Liberia

Malawi

Niger

Nigeria

Sao Tome and Principe

Senegal

Tanzania

Uganda

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Antigua and Barbuda

Dominican Republic

Saint Lucia

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Egypt

Syria

Cambodia

Tonga

Tuvalu

Kyrgyzstan

Bhutan

The U.S. State Department issued a memo giving 36 countries 60 days to meet new department requirements or be added to a travel ban implemented on June 9, The Washington Post reported on June 14.

U.S.: Trump Administration Considers Adding 36 More Countries to Travel Ban

Samoa

Federated States of Micronesia

Fiji

Kiribati

Marshall Islands

New Zealand

Palau

Solomon Islands

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

Vanuatu's parliament elected Sato Kilman as prime minister after ousting his predecessor Ishmael Kalsakau in a no-confidence vote, Reuters reported Sept. 4. 

Vanuatu: New Prime Minister Could Shake Up Pacific Island Diplomacy

France

U.S.-China Relations

French President Emmanuel Macron denounced "new imperialism" in the Pacific region during a visit to Vanuatu, Euronews reported on July 27.

Pacific Islands: Flurry of Visits Highlights Region's Growing Strategic Importance

Environmental Issues

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

The island nation of Vanuatu declared a climate emergency and estimated that it needs $1.2 billion to mitigate climate effects, Phys.org reported May 28.

Vanuatu: Pacific Island Nations Prioritize Climate Change

Ecuador

Asia-Pacific

Belarus

China in Transition

Asia-Pacific: Among Great Powers

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) announced that it approved four new members to join -- the Cook Islands, Vanuatu, Belarus and Ecuador-- China Daily reported Dec. 19. 

China: Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Expands Membership

Sub-Saharan Africa

Botswana

Burundi

Central African Republic

Chad

Comoros

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Guinea

Guinea Bissau

Kenya

Lesotho

Madagascar

Mali

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mozambique

Namibia

Republic of the Congo

Rwanda

Seychelles

Sierra Leone

Somalia

South Africa

Sudan

Eswatini

Togo

Americas

Argentina

Barbados

Belize

Bolivia

Brazil

Canada

Chile

Colombia

Costa Rica

Cuba

Dominica

El Salvador

Grenada

Guatemala

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Mexico

Nicaragua

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Suriname

Bahamas

Trinidad and Tobago

Uruguay

Venezuela

Greenland

Jamaica

Brunei Darussalam

Timor-Leste

Indonesia

Japan

Laos

Malaysia

Eurozone

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

Energy

Assessments

Israel

Palestinian Territories

Ukraine

Russia

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.

Security

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 

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

Columns

On the Road

The Geopolitics of the Cook Islands

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

Pacific Islands: Influence Competition Heats Up Ahead of Summits

U.S.: Trump Administration Considers Adding 36 More Countries to Travel Ban

Australia, Pacific Islands: Summit Produces Regional Policing Agreement

Vanuatu: New Prime Minister Could Shake Up Pacific Island Diplomacy

Pacific Islands: Flurry of Visits Highlights Region's Growing Strategic Importance

Vanuatu: Pacific Island Nations Prioritize Climate Change

China: Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Expands Membership

France: Delegates Approve Paris Climate Change Deal

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