Solomon Islands
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Oceania
Australia deepens engagement in Solomon Islands amid geopolitical tensions
Peter Parson Australia is expanding its engagements in Solomon Islands with an array of medical, public health and maritime security initiatives, reaffirming its commitment to regional stability as Beijing’s attempts to gain influence raise concern. Canberra’s nine-year, $73 million Health Sector Support Program is bolstering the Pacific island country’s capabilities in areas including malaria control, maternal and child health, water…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Australia announces $118 million deal to enhance policing in Solomon Islands
The Associated Press Australia will pay for more police in Solomon Islands and create a police training center in the South Pacific island nation’s capital, Honiara. The $118 million package will provide support and training for Royal Solomon Islands Police Force recruits and “reduce any need for outside support,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced in mid-December 2024. “My government…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Fake news, nonexistent journalists part of Beijing’s information manipulation scheme
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS When United States diplomat Kurt Campbell traveled to the Solomon Islands to counter the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) influence in the South Pacific country, he saw just how far Beijing would go to spread its message. Campbell, now the U.S. deputy secretary of state, woke up one morning in 2022 to a long article in the local…
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Conflicts - Tensions
Australian, New Zealand defense forces supporting Solomon Islands elections
Tom Abke International partners including Australia, New Zealand and the United Nations are providing security, logistical and other assistance to support the Solomon Islands conduct national elections in April 2024. In addition to defense and police personnel, Pacific neighbors are contributing financial assistance to the island nation. Almost 150 of the nearly 1,000 islands, atolls and reefs that comprise the…
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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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Global Commons
USNS Mercy delivering medical care, humanitarian assistance to Pacific islands
FORUM Staff The United States Navy hospital ship USNS Mercy is bringing doctors, dentists and other medical experts, as well as engineers and disaster response personnel, to the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau and the Solomon Islands. The deployment kicks off Pacific Partnership 2024, which began when USNS Mercy left its home port in San Diego, California, in October 2023 —…
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Conflicts - Tensions
PRC buys ‘goodwill’ with Solomon Islands newspaper contribution
FORUM Staff The cost of a new printer and radio broadcast tower has bought the People’s Republic of China (PRC) a promise of favorable coverage in the Solomon Islands’ leading newspaper, an investigation has found. The deal follows a secretive security pact signed by the countries in 2022 and the island nation switching its diplomatic allegiance from self-governed Taiwan to…
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Oceania
Fiji investigates allegations of Chinese spying
VOICE OF AMERICA Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka vowed to investigate whether the Chinese Communist Party spied on a senior Pacific leader while he visited the island nation. David Panuelo, outgoing president of the Federated States of Micronesia, alleged to his country’s legislature that Chinese agents followed him in Fiji. An outspoken Beijing critic, he also has accused the People’s…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
USINDOPACOM Commander: U.S. will defend Indo-Pacific freedoms
The Associated Press United States Navy Adm. John Aquilino, pictured, Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said in March 2023 that Washington does not seek to contain the People’s Republic of China (PRC), nor seek conflicts in the region, but it would take action to support the region against coercion and bullying by authoritarian regimes. Speaking at a lecture in Singapore,…
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Key Issues
U.S. Pacific strategy heralds new engagement in region
The Associated Press The United States in late September 2022 unveiled a Pacific strategy to bolster U.S. engagement with more than a dozen island nations on issues including climate change and maritime security, while pledging to expand its diplomatic presence in the region. U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration released its strategy, as well as plans for U.S. $810 million in…
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