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By Mathurin DEREL NOUMEA, May 18, 2024 (AFP) – French Pacific territory New Caledonia was “under siege” Saturday, the mayor of its capital Noumea said, with another person killed in rioting that has left six dead over six days. Anger is still high over a contested voting reform, with Noumea mayor Sonia Lagarde telling news channel BFMTV “we’re far from getting back to calm” even after the arrival of hundreds of military and police reinforcements. […]
By Mathurin DEREL NOUMEA, May 15, 2024 (AFP) – France ordered troops to guard ports and the international airport in its Pacific territory of New Caledonia as a state of emergency started Thursday after two nights of riots left four dead and hundreds wounded. Turmoil erupted after France’s National Assembly backed disputed changes to voting rolls that Indigenous Kanak leaders say will dilute their vote. President Emmanuel Macron offered to hold talks Thursday with New […]
SYDNEY, Jan 23, 2024 (AFP) – Taiwanese diplomats on Tuesday said they were confident of retaining “a strong bond” with key partner Tuvalu as speculation mounted that the Pacific micronation could soon switch its allegiance to Beijing. The dwindling list of countries that officially recognize Taiwan shrunk earlier this month when Nauru abruptly severed diplomatic ties in favor of Beijing. With Tuvalu heading to the polls on Friday, some Pacific watchers have questioned whether Beijing […]
SYDNEY, Dec 7, 2023 (AFP) – Australia clinched a security deal with Papua New Guinea on Thursday, bolstering ties to a key Pacific neighbour that has been courted persistently by China. Canberra pushed for a more substantive treaty earlier this year, but Papua New Guinea baulked because leaders feared it undermined the country’s “sovereign rights”. The salvaged agreement focuses on Papua New Guinea’s domestic security, as stretched police struggle to stamp out arms trafficking, drug […]
WASHINGTON, Sept 25, 2023 (AFP) – President Joe Biden said the United States officially recognized the Pacific nations of Cook Islands and Niue Monday, as he hosted regional leaders in a bid to wrest influence from China. The announcement came at the start of a summit with the 18-member Pacific Islands Forum, where US officials said the president was announcing a more assertive American stance in the region. Biden said in statements that Washington recognized […]
BRISBANE, Australia, July 28, 2023 (AFP) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin visited Australia Friday on the final leg of a Pacific tour designed to reinforce Washington’s standing in the region. The United States has been ramping up efforts to re-engage in the South Pacific, where China has emerged as a rising diplomatic and military power. Blinken’s trip to Brisbane caps a diplomatic blitz in which he has also […]
SYDNEY, May 19, 2023 (AFP) – A tsunami warning in the Pacific has been lifted after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck on Friday, sending many islanders fleeing coastal areas. The quake hit at 0257 GMT, prompting people on multiple South Pacific islands to race to higher ground as sirens warned of possible hazardous waves. “Based on all available data the tsunami threat from this earthquake has now passed,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a […]
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday praised the “very high level” of military drills in the Pacific as Moscow seeks closer ties with China amid a stand-off with the West. The surprise drills announced last week come as Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu is in Russia on a visit which will last until Wednesday. Putin received Chinese leader Xi Jinping last month in Moscow for a summit showing the nations’ united front against the West. During […]
by Shaun Tandon and Sebastian Smith Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Joe Biden’s administration on Wednesday rolled out the red carpet for Pacific Island leaders in the face of rising Chinese influence in the region and said it expected a united front, despite friction with one nation — the Solomon Islands. In a first-of-a-kind summit in Washington, the United States promised greater aid and diplomatic engagement on issues from maritime security to […]
NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga (AFP) — A volcano north of Tonga’s main island has erupted eight times in the past 48 hours, according to the Pacific nation’s geological service, which has warned mariners to keep their distance Tuesday. The Home Reef volcano has been erupting for the past 10 days, oozing molten lava and shooting steam and ash at least three kilometers (almost two miles) into the air. Home Reef’s eruption currently poses a low risk to […]
SUVA, Fiji (AFP) — The United States launched a major push into the Pacific Wednesday as it seeks to hold off China’s advances in the region, with Vice President Kamala Harris announcing the opening of new embassies in Tonga and Kiribati at a key regional summit. Washington will also appoint its first-ever envoy to the Pacific, Harris said as she pledged $600 million in funding for the region in her address to the Pacific Islands […]
China and Papua New Guinea held talks on a free-trade deal Friday, as Beijing’s foreign minister wrapped up a landmark tour of the Pacific Islands with a stop in the resource-rich nation. Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape said discussions in the capital Port Moresby had focused on economic cooperation and a long-mooted trade agreement. China is already a major investor in Papua New Guinea and buys much of the country’s gas, minerals, timber […]
