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CHINA

What’s happening in Tonga is a microcosm of China’s expanding global influence and illustrates why the United States is losing ground fast in the Pacific. That is the lead-line to an article published this week in Politico Magazine. Datelined Nuku’alofa it begins saying, “August 2016 was a sun-...
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Washington, D.C. — The United States and the Federated States of Micronesia have agreed on a plan to build a military base in the Pacific island nation. The Pacific Islands Times report the move is in line with the Pentagon's strategic ambition to increase its footprint in the Indo-Pacific region...
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Hong Kong, SAR — China is planning to redevelop a remote, but strategically located airstrip on one of the Kiribati islands, a plan that has raised alarms with the United States and Australia. Kiribati resumed diplomatic relations with China in 2019, while Chinese State Councilor and Foreign...
Antony Blinken
Washington, D.C. — The US Secretary of State has warned Pacific leaders about increasing threats and coercion in the region, in a veiled swipe at China's growing influence. Antony Blinken told a virtual summit of leaders and delegates from 11 Pacific countries that economic coercion across the...
Fiame Naomi Mataafa
Apia, SAMOA — Samoa's expected new prime minister has pledged to shelve a $US100 million ($NZ139m) Beijing-backed port development, calling the project excessive for the small Pacific island that is already heavily indebted to China. Fiame Naomi Mataafa, the opposition leader set to become Samoa's...
A Chinese fishing vessel under control of Argentine navy
Washington, D.C. — Chinese fishing boats’ illegal overfishing in the South Pacific has been devastating some island economies. According to two former U.S. officials, “illegal, unregulated fishing by Chinese vessels has become common in American Samoa and Guam and as far east as Hawaii.” American...
Tupua Tamasese Meaole National Hospital
Apia, SAMOA — The backlog of deceased awaiting autopsies in Samoa may soon get relief with an offer of assistance from the Chinese Embassy. The Samoa Observer newspaper reported some 18 bodies, including those of children, were lying at the Tupua Tamasese Meaole National Hospital mortuary waiting...
Sandra Oudkirk,
Washington. D. C. — Washington alleges China's "aggressive" behaviour is threatening the region's stability and the sovereignty of some nations. Sandra Oudkirk, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said there had been a range of increasingly problematic...
The Sentinel-class fast response cutter
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The U.S. National Security Advisor Robert C. O’Brien has signaled that in an effort to bolster U.S. capacity and presence in the Indo-Pacific region, in Fiscal Year 2021, the US Coast Guard plans to evaluate the feasibility of basing Fast Response Cutters in American...
President Tommy Remengesau
Ngerulmud, PALAU — Palau has urged the United States military to build bases there - in a region where Washington is pushing back against growing Chinese influence. US Defence Secretary Mark Esper visited the island nation last week and accused Beijing of "ongoing destabilising activities" in the...

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