Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — King Charles III’s first royal visit to Australia begins — his first as monarch, and only the second head of state to step foot on Australian soil.

King Charles and Queen Camilla are undertaking a royal visit to Australia and a state visit to Samoa from October 18-26, squeezing in CHOGM 2024 in the midst of their time in Oceania.

In July, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charle’s first visit to a Commonwealth realm, one of the handful of Commonwealth nations. A state visit to Samoa was also announced, coinciding with CHOGM 2024, where the heads of 56 Commonwealth nations will gather for bilateral meetings.

Despite the fanfare, the palace confirmed that the King and Queen would not be visiting New Zealand this time around owing to the King’s ongoing cancer treatment. The statement read: “In close consultation with the Australian and New Zealand prime ministers, and with due regard for the pressures of time and logistics, it has therefore been agreed to limit the visit to Samoa and Australia only.

“Their Majesties send their warmest thanks and good wishes to all parties for their continued support and understanding.”

Sustainability and biodiversity will be a cornerstone of King Charles’s engagements in Samoa — squeezed in between CHOGM 2024.

Among his engagements are a visit to a national park and a mangrove forest so he can see firsthand the efforts Samoans are taking to protect and restore the ecosystems. At a visit to the Samoa Botanical Gardens, he will plant a tree to mark the opening of The King’s Garden.

Literacy and domestic violence awareness will again be the focus of Queen Consort Camilla’s solo engagements in Samoa.

Among her published engagements are visits to the Samoa Victim Support Group, which provides services to survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse, and an aoga faifeau — a Samoan Pastor’s School — to see how students learn to read and write.

MANAWANUI’S NAVIGATION RECORD BOOK

The crew of a British warship patrolling near the wreck of the HMNZS Manawanui off Samoa have found what could become a crucial piece of evidence in the official inquiry into how the Royal New Zealand Navy survey vessel struck a reef and sank this month.

Royal Navy offshore patrol vessel HMS Tamar was able to recover the Manawanui’s navigation record book, a New Zealand Defense Force (NZDF) spokesman confirmed after Herald inquiries.

News of the discovery of the navigation record book, a log of what happens on the bridge, comes a week after the Defense Force confirmed it had salvaged the black box recorder from the sunken wreck.

“As your questions fall within the scope of the Court of Inquiry into the event, we have no comment to make,” the Defense spokesman said.

e Force spokesman would not comment further on where or how exactly the British sailors were able to recover the log book, saying those details “may fall in the scope of the Court of Inquiry”.

BLUE OCEAN LAW FILES COMPLAINT

A Guam-based law firm has filed charges of human rights abuse against the U.S. military, alleging violations of Chamoru people's indigenous rights to self-determination and a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

The Blue Ocean Law filed the complaint  before the Special Rapporteur on behalf of the community group Prutehi Litekyan: Save Ritidian.

The submission follows an August 2020 complaint filed with Francisco C. Tzay, the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples. In January 2021, in response to that submission, three Special Rapporteurs—including David R. Boyd, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, and Marcos A. Orellana, the Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights—issued a joint allegation letter to the U.S. military expressing serious concerns over its ongoing military buildup of Guam.

In a letter signed by all three UN officials, they said:

“[T]he Chamorro people have not provided their free, prior and informed consent in connection with the ongoing expansion of U.S. military bases and its accompanying increase in personnel on Guam. The military escalation risks increased contamination to the drinking water, loss of wildlife and biodiversity, irreversible damage of their traditional lands, territories, and resources; loss of traditional livelihoods, cultural sites and heritage and threatens the physical and cultural survival of the Chamorro.”

 According to Prutehi, the intervening years have seen the United States only intensify its militarization of Guam, resulting in deepening and increasingly irreparable harm to land and sea as well as the island’s indigenous people.

These actions include installing a new missile defense system in preparation for combat with U.S. adversaries in the region; bringing thousands of new personnel to Guam, resulting in a population increase that the island’s civilian infrastructure is unable to support; constructing and commencing operation of a large-scale live-fire training range complex adjacent to sacred sites, critical habitat, and the island’s only freshwater resource; engaging in dangerous open fire and open burn practices that imperil environmental and human health; and making Guam’s territory available for the storage of Singapore’s fighter jets and other military materials.

“The military has shown deep disdain for the rule of law, and in the process has put our people in grave danger,” said Jessica Nangauta, a board member of Prutehi.

“That is why we have requested the intervention of the Special Rapporteur. That is why we have asked him to come to Guam. He should see for himself the many ways in which the military is proceeding with its buildup to the detriment to our people’s health and wellbeing.”  

PACIFIC ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN FORECAST

 Economic growth in the Pacific is forecasted to drop to 3.6 percent this year, from 5.8 percent in 2023, raising concerns the rate of growth will not return to its pre-pandemic level.

According to the World Bank's Pacific Economic Update, growth in the Pacific is slowing following the Covid-19 recovery boost driven by borders re-opening.

The report said medium-term growth prospects in the region have dropped from an annual average of 3.2 percent from 2000 to 2019 to 2.7 percent in 2020 to 2029.

"This slowdown will make it harder for people in the region to improve their quality of life, with poverty likely to remain high compared to countries with similar incomes," it said.

"Investment growth is projected at just one percent annually in 2020-29, well below the 4.2 percent average from 2010-19."

World Bank economist Eka Vashakmadze said most of the declining growth was expected from the deceleration of the "extraordinary" rebound following COVID-19 pandemic.

"But there are some indications that going forward growth may be lower than it was before the pandemic. That we will observe trend decline in regional growth."

Vashakmadze said global investment was declining, and the Pacific is not unique that it is experiencing less.

She said investment was already slowing even prior to the pandemic.

LEGAL OPINION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Hearings are set to begin at the International Court of Justice on December 12, 2024 on Vanuatu's push for states to clarify their legal obligations to combat climate change and protect vulnerable communities.

For decades, Pacific Island states have experienced the devastating impacts of climate change, including increasingly severe cyclones, rising sea levels, and land degradation.

These disasters, the Vanuatu Government contends, have displaced communities, threatened livelihoods, and eroded local economies.

A record-breaking 100 oral statements are scheduled to be presented, with Vanuatu's arguments.

The Attorney-Generals of Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Tuvalu and Fiji have issued a joint statement in support of the legal push.

Kiribati's Attorney General, Pauline Beiatau, stressed the urgency of climate action: "Kiribati has long been on the frontline of the climate crisis, and the time to act is now.

"With sea temperature rises, storm surges and high winds, erosion, drought and flooding, and climate changes that are exacerbating Kiribati's high burden of disease, the continued existence of our islands are already threatened. The actions we take today will define the future for generations to come. We cannot afford to wait."

Tuvalu's Attorney General, Laingane Italeli Talia, echoed the concerns of small island nations: "Tuvalu's very existence is under threat, along with other Island states, and collective action is our strongest tool against the climate crisis.

"The ICJ advisory opinion could become a defining moment in international law - setting new precedents for climate justice, human rights protection, and holding polluters accountable for their contributions to the climate crisis."