Pacific Island Countries/PICs
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Conflicts - Tensions
Australian, island nations’ police to respond to Blue Pacific emergencies
FORUM Staff A new multinational police force based in Australia will provide security for Blue Pacific nations while also serving as a deterrent to the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) push to embed itself with law enforcement agencies in the region. The $271 million Pacific Policing Initiative, underwritten by Australia, includes a new training facility in Brisbane and up to…
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Global Commons
Royal Australian Navy’s new missile bolsters defense capabilities, deterrence
FORUM Staff The Royal Australian Navy has successfully test-fired the Standard Missile-6 (SM-6), an advanced long-range missile with multiple capabilities that reflects the Australian government’s commitment to enhancing deterrence. Sailors aboard the Australian destroyer HMAS Sydney launched the versatile weapon during exercise Pacific Dragon near Hawaii in August 2024. Adding the SM-6 to the Navy’s arsenal is a “significant milestone”…
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Features
Partners For Progress
Dr. Ganeshan Wignaraja/Gateway House Sri Lanka is among developing Indo-Pacific countries contending with crippling debt that can quash decades of poverty reduction efforts, strain social stability and aggravate security threats. Colombo’s debt threatens its economic prosperity and poses challenges for regional security, but domestic adjustments and external partnerships are having positive effects. Its location makes it a good place for…
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Features
The Pacific Way
FORUM Staff Mutual respect, dialogue and consensus are hallmarks of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and distinguish the organization among enduring partnerships worldwide. Sixteen nations and two French territories, with populations ranging from Australia’s 27 million to Niue’s 2,000, address matters affecting the region, which comprises nearly 20% of Earth’s surface. The PIF began as a consortium of seven island…
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Oceania
U.S. delegation’s Papua New Guinea visit reinforces growing bilateral relationship
FORUM Staff A host of United States military and civilian officials visited Papua New Guinea (PNG) in July 2024 to reinforce the nations’ Defense Cooperation Agreement. The three-day stay assured PNG of the U.S. commitment to help bolster its economy, humanitarian endeavors and defense initiatives, among other efforts. Australia and the U.S. signed bilateral security pacts with PNG in 2023.…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Australia’s Indian Ocean islands considered for U.S. military enhancements
Reuters Remote Australian islands near an Indian Ocean chokepoint are among the possible locations for United States military construction to deter the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The Cocos Islands are listed along with Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Timor-Leste for potential construction projects under the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, designed to enhance U.S. force posture and infrastructure to counter…
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Oceania
Japan, Pacific Island states forge stronger security ties for Free and Open Indo-Pacific
FORUM Staff Japan and Pacific Island nations and territories are bolstering security ties, as well as collaboration on trade and climate issues, to “ensure a peaceful, stable and prosperous” Indo-Pacific. The 18 members of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and Japan announced the initiatives after their three-day triennial summit in mid-July 2024 in Tokyo, and “expressed strong opposition to any…
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Oceania
Papua New Guinea Air Force joins 19 others in Australia’s Pitch Black exercise
Reuters One of the world’s newest air forces took part in exercises alongside stealth fighter jets as the Pacific Island nation of Papua New Guinea (PNG) boosted defense ties with Australia and the United States. PNG trainee pilots queued for takeoff with U.S. F-22 Raptor and Australian Joint Strike Fighter jets in northern Australia in the 20-nation Pitch Black drills.…
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Global Commons
HADR training, exercises with U.S. support PNG’s response to deadly landslide
FORUM Staff Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) and other emergency personnel responding to a devastating landslide incorporated techniques and expertise honed during regular training and exercises with United States military and other partner agencies. Meanwhile, aircraft and other assets from the U.S. and Indo-Pacific Allies and Partners transported disaster management experts, relief supplies and search-and-rescue equipment to the remote…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Allies, Partners continue push against IUU fishing
FORUM Staff Seven years after the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed June 5 the International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, Indo-Pacific Allies and Partners continue to lead the battle against an illicit activity that the U.N. says has “major implications for the conservation and management of ocean resources, as well as the food security…
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