CHINA
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Apia, SAMOA — The Samoa Ministry of Health has confirmed that two Samoan sailors are in quarantine for 14 days at the Faleolo District Hospital amid fears they might be carrying China's coronavirus.
According to the Samoa Observer, the two have been at the hospital, which has been converted into a...
Nuku'alofa, TONGA — A New Zealand-based Tongan lawyer, Nalesoni Tupou, is questioning China's claim it could speak for or represent Tonga at the United Nations (UN).
That comes after Tonga lost its right to vote because of outstanding fees.
Those fees have since been repaid with Tonga's chief...
BANGKOK (AP) — Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Tuesday the U.S. will invest and trade more in Asia as it rolls out an American plan to support “sustainable” projects in Asia as a counterpoint to China’s multibillion-dollar “Belt and Road” infrastructure initiative.
Ross is leading a high-...