In his statement to the Solomon Islands parliament on the draft security agreement between his country and Beijing, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare stridently but disingenuously denied ‘pitching into any geopolitical power struggle’. Despite the shared …
Unless some last-minute dramatic event occurs, the unravelling of the Pacific Islands Forum will begin its final stage sometime in the next week when the first of the five Micronesian members is expected to complete …
Karl Marx claimed, ‘History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce’, suggesting that failing to learn from experience tells something about those in power. At the first repeat, all the ensuing misfortunes are tragic …
The Pacific Islands Forum states have made a bold claim to be the authentic custodians of the Pacific Ocean’s marine resources and health through the forum’s ‘Blue Pacific’ strategy. In essence, the PIF members have …
A new ASPI special report, Sliding-door moments: ANZUS and the Blue Pacific, released today, canvasses important lessons from the 70-year history of ANZUS in the Pacific Island region* and how those lessons bear on Australia’s …
The dramatic creation of AUKUS has focused attention on the military response to China’s increasing capacity to project force across the Indo-Pacific. The furore it sparked, highlighted by the predictably strong Chinese claims of retaliation, …
A federal parliamentary joint committee inquiry is examining the potential for new members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP, and is assessing each individual case for accession against Australia’s national interests. The …
President Joe Biden’s two-day climate change summit, which was timed to coincide with Earth Day in the US and continues tomorrow, is intended to rebuild bridges with most of world that were damaged by four years of …
Sometimes what appears to be a mistake is just prescience waiting for events to catch up. This may be the case with the ‘slip of the pen’ in the Federated States of Micronesia’s note verbale …
There are many ways to respond to a serious crisis, but hyperbole and panic should not be among them. Some commentators have elevated the leadership controversy within the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) to an existential …
When the Mamas and Papas sang ‘The darkest hour is just before dawn’, they referenced an age-old belief that dire events appear bleakest just before they improve. Certainly, the rise in Covid-19 deaths and cases …
Is the Covid-19 pandemic about to tear Solomon Islands apart? The sensible answer is, probably not. But the consequences of the pandemic, including jostling among China, Taiwan and even the US, certainly have the potential …