Palau
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Oceania
Allies and Partners boost deterrence, resilience in Palau
FORUM Staff Palau’s renewed Compact of Free Association with the United States in 2024 secured $890 million in economic assistance for the Blue Pacific nation, which has seen its tourism industry shrink due to economic coercion by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Equally important, the renewal reinforced the agreement on the joint use of ports, airfields and other sites…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Taiwan president strengthens diplomatic support among Blue Pacific nations
FORUM Staff Taiwan President Lai Ching-te sought to bolster support for the island and its democratic government on a tour of Blue Pacific nations. Lai visited the Marshall Islands, Palau and Tuvalu and also made stops in Hawaii and Guam, a United States territory, on the weeklong trip that began November 30, 2024. A dozen nations, including the Marshall Islands,…
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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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Conflicts - Tensions
Palau’s upcoming election triggers concern over PRC manipulated information
Jessica Caterson Palau, a Blue Pacific nation of 22,000 people, will hold its presidential election in November 2024. It comes amid increasing influence attempts by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and a potential manipulated information campaign aimed at swaying results, a frequent strategy of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Palau, in conjunction with Taiwan and the United States, began…
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Global Commons
Palau-U.S. defense projects boost air domain awareness, operational flexibility
Tom Abke The island nation of Palau and the United States are partnering to increase air domain awareness and enhance operational flexibility and airpower projection in the Indo-Pacific, officials and analysts say. Collaborative defense infrastructure projects in Palau include construction of an uncrewed tactical multi-mission, over-the-horizon radar (TACMOR) facility on Babeldaob Island, and the restoration and recertification of a military…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Expanded Valiant Shield 2024 highlights advanced warfighting capabilities in Indo-Pacific
FORUM Staff A series of firsts marked Valiant Shield 2024. The 12-day biennial exercise in Guam, Japan, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau and other Indo-Pacific locations allowed the United States and Allies and Partners to focus on interoperability in a multidomain environment. The exercise prepared forces to rapidly respond to crises and contingencies across a spectrum of operations from humanitarian…
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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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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
Long-standing shiprider agreements boost Free and Open Indo-Pacific, protect EEZs
FORUM Staff The shiprider program, the successful multilateral fisheries surveillance and law enforcement effort in the Indo-Pacific, traces its origins to the late 1980s when the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency recommended member countries develop a reciprocal enforcement agreement. The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Harriet Lane partners with local police, fisheries agencies and other officials in Fiji,…
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Oceania
U.S. bolsters partnerships with Pacific island nations
Benar News Renewal of close United States ties with the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Marshall Islands and Palau will strengthen regional security, leaders said after U.S. President Joe Biden signed a bill that includes $7.1 billion for the three Pacific allies. “The FSM and the U.S. reached an agreement with an outcome that I am confident will benefit…
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Global Commons
Pacific Partnership 24-1 wraps final mission stop building humanitarian, disaster response
FORUM Staff The numbers are impressive: 7,667 pairs of prescription glasses and at least 7,440 pairs of sunglasses distributed; more than 6,847 dental procedures completed; nearly 4,000 hours of construction project labor provided; 300 surgeries conducted; and 38 concerts performed. That is the final tally of Pacific Partnership 24-1, which ended its five-mission tour in January 2024 in Chuuk, Federated…
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