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2026.","image_url":"https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/VE2RFXLZDNAWFODSY2PBPG6454.jpg?auth=215f38ab7f54b4a3f348d5ee1c8508dd75d7289d55e7ab8e2d56107976cc6d54&smart=true&width=1500","is_clip":false,"item_type":"article","item_type_label":"Article","language_label":"English","media_credit":"Eugene Whong for RFA","micro_label":"Photo","micro_label_kind":"gallery","network_label":"RFA","network_logo_url":"/static/uploads/direct_network_logos/rfa_ca00144ac549.png","published_at":"2026-09-01T20:38:36","published_at_display":"1 Sep 2026, 20:38 GMT","sequence_badge_label":null,"sequence_count":null,"sequence_count_label":null,"sequence_frames":[],"sequence_kind":null,"source_name":"rfa_english_rss","source_name_label":"RFA English RSS","source_type":"rss","summary":"The 2026 Pacific Islands Forum meeting will be \u201cless productive\u201d than in previous years because one third of the regional grouping\u2019s leaders are not present for the summit in Palau, where China-Taiwan tensions are front and center, experts told Radio Free Asia. Leaders from five of the 18 member nations \u2014 Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa, Kiribati, and New Caledonia \u2014 sent deputy ministers or other senior officials in their stead. A sixth leader, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale, had arrived in Palau, but returned to Honiara to address a no-confidence filing against his leadership. \u201cThe meeting is already less productive because as a political meeting, without leaders, it cannot be viewed as being productive,\u201d Alan Tidwell, director of the Center for Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Studies at Georgetown University in Washington, told RFA. \u201cBeing productive means having leaders in the room.\u201d The theme of this year\u2019s forum meeting uses the Palauan word for Palau as an acronym \u2013 B.E.L.A.U., Building Economies: Life. Action. Unity. But the invitation of Taiwan as a development partner, and China as a dialogue partner, has left the countries of the Pacific Islands Forum, or PIF, anything but unified. Palau President Surangel S. Whipps Jr. and Taiwan's Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung during the inauguration of Taiwan-funded solar energy and electric bus projects in Koror, Aug. 30, 2026, ahead of the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting. (Saeed Khan/AFP) China-Taiwan rivalry Palau is one of three Pacific countries and one of 12 globally that maintain official diplomatic relations with Taiwan. As host nation, Palau took the traditional role of inviting the non-member countries to the forum meeting alongside the PIF Secretariat, which determined that Taipei was eligible to participate as a development partner under the 1992 PIF framework. Palau\u2019s President Surangel Whipps Jr.\u2019s decision to include democratic Taiwan, which mainland communist China considers to be a rogue province, angered Beijing. After Taiwan\u2019s Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung attended the PIF meeting\u2019s opening ceremony on Monday, Qian Bo, China\u2019s Pacific envoy, warned that there would be consequences, without specifying what the consequences were. China's special envoy for Pacific Affairs Qian Bo leaves after attending the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Koror, Sept. 1, 2026. (Saeed Khan/AFP) Though Qian said this was not a threat, Gregory Brown, Director of The Alliance Futures Initiative, a Washington-based think tank, said it was \u201ca precisely calibrated threat in Pacific diplomacy.\u201d \u201cIt likely means tourism bans, frozen loans, and delayed projects for anyone who sat in the same room as Taiwan\u2019s foreign minister,\u201d he said, adding that Palau was the most likely target for retaliation. He said China could put economic pressures on Palau, noting that Beijing devastated Palau\u2019s tourism industry in 2017 by declaring it unsafe for Chinese tourists. Prior to then, around 40% of Palau\u2019s tourism income came from China. China warned its citizens not to travel to Palau in an advisory on Aug. 19, about 10 days before the forum, a move that was criticized by the United States Embassy in Koror as weaponization of tourism. Qian defended Beijing\u2019s advisory to reporters on Monday. \u201cThat weapon is still loaded,\u201d Brown said, referring to the advisory. \u201cWe may already be seeing the first consequence play out.\u201d Taiwan's Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung speaks on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Koror, Palau, Sept. 1, 2026. (Saeed Khan/AFP) AFP reported that Chinese officials warned the delegations of the PIF countries that they should not attend any side events at the meeting that include Taiwan, citing a Pacific source at the meeting on condition of anonymity. Lin defended Taiwan\u2019s participation Tuesday, telling reporters that Taipei has been a significant donor to the Pacific, and has been involved with the meeting for decades. \u201cWe should not make compromises just because of China\u2019s recent bullying,\u201d Lin said. \u201cWherever there is Taiwan\u2019s presence, China will have a difficult time having full control over the area.\u201d But Beijing on Tuesday doubled down on its assertion that Taiwan does not belong. Taiwan \u201cis not qualified to participate in the forum\u2019s activities in any capacity,\u201d Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry told reporters in Beijing. \u201cAuthorities in Taiwan have sent independence separatists such as Lin Chia-lung to make sneaky visits and curry favour everywhere in a futile attempt to attract attention.\u201d Tuvalu's Prime Minister Feleti Teo arrives for a meeting during the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Koror, Sept. 1, 2026. (Saeed Khan/AFP) One-third of leaders absent While four of the five leaders who did not fly to Palau cited pressing domestic issues as the reason they could not attend, the fifth, President Taneiti Maamau of Kiribati said he was unable to attend because the country\u2019s parliament was in session and a lack of available commercial flights. In his stead, David Teaabo, the country\u2019s former ambassador to China, was sent to lead the delegation. The move was widely interpreted as a snub aimed at both Palau and Taiwan. New Zealand\u2019s Foreign Minister Winston Peters told reporters that denying that foreign influence had a role in the absences would \u201cdefy gravity and logic,\u201d telling Australia\u2019s ABC News that the absences were \u201chighly suspicious.\u201d New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters, right, at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Koror, Palau, Aug. 31, 2026. (Saeed Khan/AFP) Tidwell called the Kiribati flights excuse \u201cabsurd,\u201d and said that the absence of so many of the forum member countries\u2019 leaders undermines the PIF meeting. \u201cIt will be remembered as the meeting at which almost a third of the leadership didn\u2019t attend,\u201d he said. \u201cFrom Washington\u2019s perspective the deputy secretary of state is attending. This has been touted in Washington as a strong signal of how important the Pacific is for Washington.\u201d Tidwell explained that in previous years it would have been the Secretary of Interior that attends and that Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau\u2019s participation was supposed to be \u201ca success.\u201d \u201cBut who is he meeting with?\u201d said Tidwell. \u201cThe real test will be to see how he\u2019s met when he visits Tarawa.\u201d Kiribati is a scheduled stop on Landau\u2019s three-country itinerary in the Pacific after the PIF meeting concludes Friday. According to the U.S. State Department, he will attend the Kiribati Development Partners Forum there, as well as having meetings with government representatives. In last year\u2019s forum held in the Solomon Islands, then Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele, widely considered to be a pro-Chinese politician, decided not to involve any outside nations, and this was seen as a way to prevent Taiwan from attending. Brown praised Palau for its strategy of inclusivity. \u201cLast year, the Solomons solved the Taiwan problem by locking the door on everybody,\u201d he said. \u201cThis year, Palau solved it by opening the door to everybody and telling China to behave like a guest instead of a landlord.\u201d He said President Whipps\u2019 approach was better than Manele\u2019s. \u201cIn my opinion, Whipps\u2019 approach is the right one,\u201d he said. \u201cIt considers Pacific sovereignty as something Pacific states exercise by making their own decisions about who sits at the table.\u201d Edited by Charlie Dharapak.","title":"Pacific Islands Forum meeting \u2018less productive\u2019 with a third of its leaders absent","topic":"Pacific","translation_language":"","url":"https://rfa.org/english/pacific/2026/09/01/pacific-islands-forum-meeting-palau-taiwan-china/","video_url":null},{"article_body_paragraphs":[],"audio_source_url":null,"author":"Bryan Manabat for RFA","available_dubs":[],"downloadable_assets":["https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/Y6FFS3ZFS5BZXGEY25TJXJTQ64.jpg?auth=4fb07a1ad016fd3c4c1d139ff5c7122c9f3c7ca6ab2400d38aecbe0aefa3a6d1&smart=true&width=1500"],"duration_display":"0:00","duration_seconds":null,"embed_url":null,"id":10261,"image_caption":"Polymetallic nodules, misshapen black globes encrusted with coveted metals like cobalt, nickel and manganese, onboard the research vessel in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, June 11, 2025.","image_url":"https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/Y6FFS3ZFS5BZXGEY25TJXJTQ64.jpg?auth=4fb07a1ad016fd3c4c1d139ff5c7122c9f3c7ca6ab2400d38aecbe0aefa3a6d1&smart=true&width=1500","is_clip":false,"item_type":"article","item_type_label":"Article","language_label":"English","media_credit":"Bryan Manabat for RFA","micro_label":"Photo","micro_label_kind":"gallery","network_label":"RFA","network_logo_url":"/static/uploads/direct_network_logos/rfa_ca00144ac549.png","published_at":"2026-08-28T23:43:00","published_at_display":"28 Aug 2026, 23:43 GMT","sequence_badge_label":null,"sequence_count":null,"sequence_count_label":null,"sequence_frames":[],"sequence_kind":null,"source_name":"rfa_english_rss","source_name_label":"RFA English RSS","source_type":"rss","summary":"SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands \u2014 As the U.S. government moves forward with plans to open more than 65 million acres of federal waters around the Northern Mariana Islands to potential seabed mineral exploration, business leaders and Indigenous advocates told Radio Free Asia the U.S. territory must not be sidelined in decisions driven partly by national\u2011security priorities. The proposed leasing notice, released August 17 by the Marine Minerals Administration, or MMA, follows earlier steps identifying vast areas of ocean for possible mineral development around the territory, officially called the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or CNMI. The plan has triggered intense debate across the islands, where concerns span environmental risks, cultural impacts, fisheries, tourism, and democratic accountability. Though the plan could be economically beneficial, the business community in the CNMI is approaching it with caution, Joshua Wise, president of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, told RFA. This map shows the mineral lease sale areas near CNMI as identified by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM. In July, BOEM was reunified with the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement to form the Marine Minerals Administration. (MMA) \u201cThere are legitimate concerns, but there may also be significant economic opportunities that deserve to be fully understood,\u201d Wise said, adding that critical minerals have become central to U.S. national security, manufacturing, technology, and supply\u2011chain resilience \u2014 meaning the CNMI could become part of a broader federal strategy. \u201cIf resources located near the CNMI ultimately become part of that national strategy, then we should be asking what role the Commonwealth will have and what economic opportunities could be created here,\u201d he said. Resource rivalry The push for offshore critical minerals comes as the United States and China compete for control of the materials that power modern technology \u2014 including batteries, semiconductors, electric vehicles, renewable\u2011energy systems, and advanced defense platforms. China currently dominates global processing of rare earth elements, cobalt, nickel, graphite, and battery components, giving it significant leverage over global supply chains. U.S. officials have warned that this dependence poses strategic vulnerabilities for national security and manufacturing. \u201cCritical minerals are essential to America\u2019s national security, economic strength and resource sovereignty,\u201d Matt Giacona, acting director of the MMA, said in the Aug. 17 announcement. \u201cThe United States cannot afford to depend on foreign nations for the resources that power our economy and support our defense industrial base. The Marine Minerals Administration is working to unlock the critical mineral potential of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf responsibly, transparently and with the rigorous environmental review the American people expect.\u201d Washington is exploring new sources of critical minerals, including the deep ocean, where polymetallic nodules and crusts contain metals essential for clean\u2011energy and defense technologies. MMA\u2019s interest in CNMI waters is the potential future node in U.S. supply\u2011chain resilience efforts. History has shown what can happen when national\u2011security priorities override local interests, Gregorie Michael Towai (Eip\u00e9r\u00e1ng), a researcher of and advocate for indigenous people in the territory, told RFA. He cited the 67 U.S. nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands between 1946 and 1958 and the long\u2011term contamination there, as well as the continuing discovery of unexploded ordnance across the Marianas as lessons from history. The abandoned Pacific Barrier Radar III in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, June 27, 2024. (Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP) \u201cDecisions justified by national security can create consequences for Pacific communities that endure long after the strategic circumstances that originally justified them have changed.\u201d Towai stressed that deep\u2011sea mining is not equivalent to nuclear testing \u2014 but the imbalance of power is similar. He said the CNMI must insist on credible independent science, meaningful public participation, and enforceable guarantees before any commitments are made. Consultation, he said, must be capable of changing the decision, not merely documenting that communities were heard. \u201cNational security matters, but the security of Pacific communities matters too. That includes clean water, healthy fisheries, cultural continuity, food security, and the ability of future generations to inherit an environment that has not been irreversibly altered,\u201d Towai added. Red flags Even if the plan provides contracts for CNMI companies and jobs for its people, there are unanswered questions surrounding how exploration or mineral development could affect industries that already sustain the CNMI, Wise said. \u201cOur marine environment directly supports industries that already exist today, particularly tourism and fisheries,\u201d he said. \u201cSo we need a much clearer understanding of what future exploration or mineral development could mean for those industries.\u201d People walk past a beach during sunset in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands on June 27, 2024. (Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP) Wise said the CNMI needs baseline environmental data, protections for fisheries, and much greater clarity about both risks and benefits. \u201cThe question should be: if this moves forward, can it be done responsibly, can our existing industries be protected, and will the people and businesses of the CNMI have a meaningful seat at the table and a meaningful share in the opportunities that may result?\u201d he said. Government officials said that they need other assurances prior to the plan being enacted. In public statements, CNMI Governor David M. Apatang said the federal notice triggers a 60\u2011day review period during which the CNMI will insist on strict environmental and cultural safeguards, while U.S. Delegate Kimberlyn King\u2011Hinds said that she is advancing legislation to secure revenue sharing, mandatory mitigation studies, and formal consultation with CNMI leaders. But the CNMI\u2019s legal authority over offshore waters remains limited. It can demand safeguards and challenge inadequate environmental review, but it cannot block the MMA from advancing leasing in federal waters. Under the Covenant and federal court rulings, submerged lands beyond the 12\u2011mile territorial sea fall under exclusive federal jurisdiction. But the Pacific Ocean is more than just a boundary for people native to the Pacific, Towai said. \u201cFor Indigenous peoples of Oceania, the ocean is part of our homeland,\u201d he said. \u201cDecisions about the seabed cannot be evaluated exclusively through mineral values, lease blocks, and federal jurisdiction.\u201d Edited by Eugene Whong.","title":"Marianas voices demand a seat at the table in U.S. seabed mining proposal","topic":"Pacific","translation_language":"","url":"https://rfa.org/english/pacific/2026/08/28/cnmi-mining-supply-chain-minerals/","video_url":null},{"article_body_paragraphs":[],"audio_source_url":null,"author":"Eugene Whong for RFA","available_dubs":[],"downloadable_assets":["https://d3ayjbmlrrjm3o.cloudfront.net/wp-radiofreeasia/20260821/6a88b0f717455663809d9e90/t_87f2fce847f54400b98e1dac1c59f0c2_name_tafi_long_interview/file_960x540-1600-v4.mp4","https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/5XE2DUOWWBAY5IPWPCRY4F4ROE.jpg?auth=404e36c3e1afe3660025b864b8bdc898d14c530800c03ae0b6b8180878045e98&smart=true&width=1500"],"duration_display":"0:00","duration_seconds":null,"embed_url":null,"id":11316,"image_caption":"Artists perform a Chinese dragon dance during a ceremony to mark the arrival of a Chinese naval hospital ship in Honiara, Solomon Islands Aug. 19, 2023.","image_url":"https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/5XE2DUOWWBAY5IPWPCRY4F4ROE.jpg?auth=404e36c3e1afe3660025b864b8bdc898d14c530800c03ae0b6b8180878045e98&smart=true&width=1500","is_clip":true,"item_type":"video","item_type_label":"Video","language_label":"English","media_credit":"Eugene Whong for RFA","micro_label":"Video report","micro_label_kind":"video","network_label":"RFA","network_logo_url":"/static/uploads/direct_network_logos/rfa_ca00144ac549.png","published_at":"2026-08-20T22:45:31","published_at_display":"20 Aug 2026, 22:45 GMT","sequence_badge_label":null,"sequence_count":null,"sequence_count_label":null,"sequence_frames":[],"sequence_kind":null,"source_name":"rfa_english_rss","source_name_label":"RFA English RSS","source_type":"rss","summary":"Report by the Alliance Futures Initiative documents how Beijing promoted the 15th FYP in the region","title":"China \u2018likely\u2019 ran targeted campaign to align Pacific with its latest five-year plan","topic":"Pacific","translation_language":"","url":"https://rfa.org/english/pacific/2026/08/20/china-pacific-five-year-plan-tafi/","video_url":"https://d3ayjbmlrrjm3o.cloudfront.net/wp-radiofreeasia/20260821/6a88b0f717455663809d9e90/t_87f2fce847f54400b98e1dac1c59f0c2_name_tafi_long_interview/file_960x540-1600-v4.mp4"},{"article_body_paragraphs":[],"audio_source_url":null,"author":"Eugene Whong for RFA","available_dubs":[],"downloadable_assets":["https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/5XE2DUOWWBAY5IPWPCRY4F4ROE.jpg?auth=404e36c3e1afe3660025b864b8bdc898d14c530800c03ae0b6b8180878045e98&smart=true&width=1500"],"duration_display":"0:00","duration_seconds":null,"embed_url":null,"id":7427,"image_caption":"Artists perform a Chinese dragon dance during a ceremony to mark the arrival of a Chinese naval hospital ship in Honiara, Solomon Islands Aug. 19, 2023.","image_url":"https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/5XE2DUOWWBAY5IPWPCRY4F4ROE.jpg?auth=404e36c3e1afe3660025b864b8bdc898d14c530800c03ae0b6b8180878045e98&smart=true&width=1500","is_clip":false,"item_type":"article","item_type_label":"Article","language_label":"English","media_credit":"Eugene Whong for RFA","micro_label":"Photo","micro_label_kind":"gallery","network_label":"RFA","network_logo_url":"/static/uploads/direct_network_logos/rfa_ca00144ac549.png","published_at":"2026-08-20T22:45:31","published_at_display":"20 Aug 2026, 22:45 GMT","sequence_badge_label":null,"sequence_count":null,"sequence_count_label":null,"sequence_frames":[],"sequence_kind":null,"source_name":"rfa_english_rss","source_name_label":"RFA English RSS","source_type":"rss","summary":"China \u201cvery likely\u201d coordinated a targeted campaign across the Pacific to demonstrate that local development strategies should align with Beijing\u2019s latest five-year-plan, a recent report by The Alliance Futures Initiative says. In the report, titled \u201cChina\u2019s Model on the Offensive: Why China\u2019s Five-Year Plan Promotion in the Pacific Matters ,\u201d the Washington-based think tank documented how in eight of the nine Pacific island countries where Beijing has an embassy, the heads of mission published op-eds in the local media touting the merits of China\u2019s latest sweeping national policy framework proposed late last year and formally adopted in March. \u201cTo international audiences, the PRC deliberately reframes the FYP from a domestic planning document into a predictable, scientific blueprint for global growth and cooperation,\u201d the report said. The campaign was not limited to media placement. Chinese diplomats also engaged in direct bilateral governance outreach, hosted diplomatic briefings \u2013 either open to the media or closed \u2013 with influential figures in business and government. The ultimate goal was to make the case that local development strategies were in line with the five-year plan, or that China was a more stable and reliable partner than its main rival with interests in the region, the United States. The Alliance Futures Initiative, or TAFI, tracked the activities of Chinese Embassies since October 2025, finding more than 30 cases where ambassadors promoted the five-year plan. \u201cThe frequency, similarity, and timing of output strongly imply MFA guidance,\u201d the report said, referring to China\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. \u201cVariance in message intensity, ideological depth, and host-country alignment claims tracks local conditions and individual ambassador style.\u201d The power of persuasion A key aspect of the campaign is how China is using persuasion rather than coercion to influence the Pacific countries to fall in line, Jonah Bock, TAFI\u2019s assistant director for research, who authored the report, told Radio Free Asia. Bock highlighted key examples where China attempted to directly persuade key government officials. In Vanuatu, Ambassador Li Minggang extolled the virtues of China\u2019s civil service oversight in a meeting with Ombudsman Hamilson Bulu and in Naoero, formerly Nauru, Ambassador Lyu Jin discussed judicial cooperation with Chief Justice Jay Udit. Chinese ambassador to Vanuatu Li Minggang in a meeting in Port Vila with Vanuatu's ombudsman Hamlison Bulu, March 3, 2026. (Chinese embassy in Vanuatu) \u201cAn ombudsman audits the government and a judiciary constrains it,\u201d he said. \u201cSo these are really helping shape how Pacific governments actually function in China\u2019s own model. And the importance of this is really normalization.\u201d Successfully persuading these countries to peacefully adopt a Chinese model is the goal of the campaign, he said. \u201cCoercion is expensive and it generates resistance. But persuasion does not. It\u2019s relatively cheap for China to do,\u201d Bock said. \u201cIf they can get these countries already using China\u2019s development strategies, its models, then these officials will start to think like China and be more willing of their own ideas to cooperate with China.\u201d Selling alignment The TAFI report said that throughout the campaign, ambassadors focused on three topics when explaining why aligning with the five-year plan would benefit their host countries: green development, economic openness, and shared prosperity. In Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, or FSM, and Tonga, the embassies pushed out messaging that touted China\u2019s concern for the environment, saying Beijing had \u201ccontributed one-quarter of the world\u2019s new green area\u201d and built the \u201cworld\u2019s largest clean power generation system.\u201d \u201cBeijing tailored this message for climate-conscious Pacific audiences, with the FSM embassy noting that \u2018green development has become a defining feature of contemporary China, where skies are bluer, waters are clearer, and lands are cleaner,\u2019\u201d the report said. Solar panels and wind turbines at a renewable energy farm in Lingwu, in China's northern Ningxia region, Dec. 22, 2025 (AFP) In Fiji and Papua New Guinea, or PNG, messaging also \u201cchampioned\u201d anti-protectionism, the report said. \u201cThe Fiji embassy noted that China has \u2018lifted all foreign investment restrictions in the manufacturing sector,\u2019 and the PNG embassy opined that \u2018while unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise\u2026 China remains firmly committed to opening up.\u2019\u201d Messaging also focused on poverty alleviation and personal income increasing as a result of rapid economic growth, according to the report. In FSM, Ambassador Wu Wei\u2019s op-ed said that due to China\u2019s robust education and security systems, the \u201cpeople\u2019s sense of gain, happiness, and security have been significantly enhanced.\u201d \u201cThe themes Chinese ambassadors chose to emphasize \u2026 are not incidental,\u201d the report said. \u201cEach topic serves one or more of Beijing\u2019s broader strategic objectives in the region, functioning simultaneously as a pitch for deeper cooperation, a contrast with Western alternatives, and a legitimization of the CCP\u2019s political model.\u201d Solidifying counter strategies If China were to achieve all its objectives in the Pacific, the region would be hostile to the United States and the interests of Washington and its allies, especially Taiwan, Bock told RFA. \u201cWe would have no more countries that recognize Taiwan. At the end of the day, that really is China\u2019s first objective,\u201d he said. \u201cWe would also start to see more economic dependencies, countries whose economic lifelines rely on China, which helps China again deepen their own influence.\u201d Jonah Bock, TAFI's assistant director for research, interviewed by Eugene Whong at Radio Free Asia's offices in Washington, Aug. 13, 2026 (RFA Video) He said adoption of China\u2019s governance models would sow the seeds of authoritarianism in the region. But the report outlined recommendations for the United States to counter the campaign. It identified FSM, the Marshall Islands, Palau and PNG as a \u201cstrategic core\u201d due to their \u201cdefense access and second-island-chain positioning\u201d and suggested that efforts to shore up relationships with this core should take priority over symmetrical levels of engagement with the whole region. It also suggested that Washington contest the same institutional grounds through judicial exchanges, legal-sector training, and civil service partnerships, noting that they \u201ccost a fraction of infrastructure competition and defend exactly the ground now under cultivation.\u201d TAFI also recommended helping Pacific governments in areas that they are already requesting, and to use private capital in circumstances where government aid moves too slowly. \u201cThese are things that are \u2026 already happening,\u201d Bock told RFA. \u201cFor instance, for the Solomon Islands \u2026 five staff in their parliament just went to D.C. for a program, with the U.S. Congress on legislative processes.\u201d He said this was the type of exchange that the report recommends and that he would like to see more of these. Additionally the report said that Washington could simply highlight Chinese actions in the Pacific to discredit Beijing\u2019s claims of non-interference in the internal matters of other countries, a key part of China\u2019s foreign policy that it often often invokes when deflecting criticism of its domestic policies. \u201cBeijing\u2019s non-interference claim is falsifiable, and PRC embassies have falsified it in their own published material,\u201d the report said. \u201cThe United States does not need to argue this case. It needs to document it and let Pacific audiences draw conclusions.\u201d Edited by Charlie Dharapak.","title":"China \u2018likely\u2019 ran targeted campaign to align Pacific with its latest five-year plan","topic":"Pacific","translation_language":"","url":"https://rfa.org/english/pacific/2026/08/20/china-pacific-five-year-plan-tafi/","video_url":null},{"article_body_paragraphs":[],"audio_source_url":null,"author":"Harlyne Joku for RFA","available_dubs":[],"downloadable_assets":["https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/5XBETUEZY5CARFA7TR2QBRNZFM.jpg?auth=5af089b2c14853152584e9d4628ee6f20d41f6b33285495a0c9f8d451beb4863&smart=true&width=1500"],"duration_display":"0:00","duration_seconds":null,"embed_url":null,"id":1910,"image_caption":"A Chinese-style gate in front of a project site called Chinatown that stopped construction due to the Covid-19 pandemic in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, May 18, 2023.","image_url":"https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/5XBETUEZY5CARFA7TR2QBRNZFM.jpg?auth=5af089b2c14853152584e9d4628ee6f20d41f6b33285495a0c9f8d451beb4863&smart=true&width=1500","is_clip":false,"item_type":"article","item_type_label":"Article","language_label":"English","media_credit":"Harlyne Joku for RFA","micro_label":"Photo","micro_label_kind":"gallery","network_label":"RFA","network_logo_url":"/static/uploads/direct_network_logos/rfa_ca00144ac549.png","published_at":"2026-08-05T02:52:06","published_at_display":"5 Aug 2026, 02:52 GMT","sequence_badge_label":null,"sequence_count":null,"sequence_count_label":null,"sequence_frames":[],"sequence_kind":null,"source_name":"rfa_english_rss","source_name_label":"RFA English RSS","source_type":"rss","summary":"PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea \u2013 Papua New Guinea\u2019s decision to close Taiwan\u2019s trade office in Port Moresby is puzzling from a diplomatic standpoint, but it signals a coming expansion of its economic relationship with China, experts told Radio Free Asia. Last month, PNG\u2019s Foreign Affairs Minister Justin Tkatchenko announced in an official statement the immediate cessation of operations and the formal closure of the physical presence of the Chinese Taipei Economics Office, citing Port Moresby\u2019s \u201cunwavering commitment to honoring, respecting and upholding Papua New Guinea\u2019s foundational One-China Policy,\u201d which aligns with Beijing\u2019s view, the \u201cOne-China Principle,\u201d which states that Taiwan is an inalienable part of its territory. The decision was confusing, Paul Barker, executive director of the PNG Institute of National Affairs, a Port Moresby-based think tank, told RFA. \u201cOne really wonders why one would take this action at this point,\u201d he said. \u201cPNG has always stated its position of friends to all and enemies to none and choosing to chart its own path in the region, together with its Pacific partners and its ASEAN colleagues.\u201d Staff from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Papua New Guinea donating rice to the Catholic Archdiocese of Port Moresby, Dec. 20, 2021. (Taipei Economic Office in Papua New Guinea) Barker noted that PNG last year signed a mutual defense treaty with Australia, and has defense arrangements with other regional parties including China, Indonesia and the U.S. \u201cPNG recognized the One China Policy almost immediately after independence, but has also maintained ongoing trade, investment and cultural and related engagement with Taiwan throughout, which seems entirely reasonable, after all so does China with Taiwan, with many aspects of their economies quite connected,\u201d Barker said. One China? PNG\u2019s One-China Policy differs from a policy by the same name held by the United States government. While Port Moresby\u2019s policy recognizes Beijing\u2019s view, the U.S. policy merely acknowledges it and takes no official stance on Taiwan\u2019s sovereignty. Both policies recognize the PRC government as the sole and legal government of China and in practice this has still left room for unofficial relations with Taiwan, and similar arrangements exist in many countries around the world. But unofficial relations with Taipei and Papua New Guinea will soon cease, according to Tkatchenko\u2019s statement. Taiwan\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly protested the closure of its office, vowing to continue to operate it \u201cas normal.\u201d It was not immediately clear to RFA what it would mean to operate the office as normal when it is not recognized by the host government. In the wake of the decision, Taiwan initiated a review of liquefied natural gas imports from PNG and decided to halt spot purchases, which prompted Beijing to announce it would increase its purchases of the commodity from the Pacific Island country. A visitor walks on a beach with the background of Guan-Tang LNG Receiving Terminal, a major liquefied natural gas import facility in Taiwan, March 25, 2026. (I-Hwa Cheng/AFP) Taiwan\u2019s response follows a pattern of cutting ties with governments that downgrade its status, Jonah Bock, assistant director for research at the Alliance Futures Initiative, a Washington-based think tank, told RFA. \u201cIt is important for Taiwan to maintain even informal ties with states that do not recognize it,\u201d Bock said. \u201cBut it is necessary to send a signal that these actions taken will not go unpunished. The audience is not just Port Moresby but every other country with ties to Taiwan.\u201d Bock said that the closure of Taiwan\u2019s office in PNG was part of a larger campaign to further isolate Taiwan. \u201cIn the Pacific Islands only three countries\u2014Palau, the Marshall Islands, and Tuvalu\u2014still recognize Taiwan and none appear poised to flip recognition in the short term,\u201d Bock said. \u201cBut recognition is only part of Beijing\u2019s objectives; it also seeks to eliminate Taiwan\u2019s remaining international space. That means going after Taiwan\u2019s continuing relationships\u2014e.g. the closing of the Taipei Trade Office in PNG.\u201d Bock noted how similar measures have been occurring in various areas of the Pacific, with Fiji having closed its office in Taipei in 2017 and having revoked diplomatic privileges to Taiwan\u2019s office in Suva in 2018. Bock further noted that PNG itself closed its trade office in Taipei in 2023, and Nauru directed all government officials to uphold the One-China Principle in all activities last year. \u201cChinese diplomats in the region are already working to push other countries to end their own ties to Taiwan,\u201d he said. \u201cShort of unification, none of this stops. China will continue to aggressively pursue any action that reduces Taiwan\u2019s international space\u2014its ethos of national rejuvenation relies on unification. It is not an option for China to stop the contest.\u201d Beyond geopolitics and trade Barker explained that the decision would affect more than gas exports and trade. \u201cEducational and cultural links are also strong with scholarships and exchanges, with some useful ongoing development programs in agriculture, and valued investment in PNG,\u201d he said. \u201cThe cultural associations between Taiwan and its indigenous population and PNG and the Pacific, of course, go far back, with the dispersion of people from Taiwan and the origins of the Austronesian language stemming from Taiwan going back some 6,000 years.\u201d He said the cultural links to the indigenous people of Taiwan meant that PNG should try to maintain some sort of engagement with Taipei and that this should not undermine any relationship it has with Beijing. In this image released by the Chinese government, PNG Prime Minister James Marape visits Guangdong, China, April 28, 2026. (Chinese government media) But Bock said that money talks, and although the office\u2019s closure does not appear to be in PNG\u2019s economic interest in the short term due to cancelled Taiwanese contracts, the timing suggests that arrangements for expanding the economic relationship with China must be in place. \u201cThe move is to curry favor with the PRC and the goal is vast sums of Chinese money,\u201d Bock said. He explained how Prime Minister James Marape visited China in April to explore increasing trade and investment, then in May, the two countries signed an economic framework agreement, and in July the two sides held high-level discussions about the coming PNG-China Business Forum & Trade Expo in Guangzhou. \u201cIn the months prior to the closure, China and PNG laid the groundwork for a much larger economic relationship. Closing the office is PNG\u2019s payment to ensure China delivers.\u201d Editing and additional reporting by Eugene Whong in Washington.","title":"PNG\u2019s closure of Taiwan trade office signals expanded economic ties with China","topic":"Pacific","translation_language":"","url":"https://rfa.org/english/pacific/2026/08/05/png-taiwan-china-trade-office/","video_url":null},{"article_body_paragraphs":[],"audio_source_url":null,"author":"Charley Piringi for RFA","available_dubs":[],"downloadable_assets":["https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/6FE6ZB2GIVEQ5JFWMDFNZFLCCI.jpg?auth=43f178fa6c8a5df2794035ac22566ed7285787a87dacebcfab860dca7593111d&smart=true&width=1500"],"duration_display":"0:00","duration_seconds":null,"embed_url":null,"id":1264,"image_caption":"Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale (foreground, center) and Charg\u00e9 d'Affaires P. Daniel O'Hara of the U.S. Embassy (foreground, right) aboard the visiting U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane off the coast of Honiara, July 28, 2026.","image_url":"https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/6FE6ZB2GIVEQ5JFWMDFNZFLCCI.jpg?auth=43f178fa6c8a5df2794035ac22566ed7285787a87dacebcfab860dca7593111d&smart=true&width=1500","is_clip":false,"item_type":"article","item_type_label":"Article","language_label":"English","media_credit":"Charley Piringi for RFA","micro_label":"Photo","micro_label_kind":"gallery","network_label":"RFA","network_logo_url":"/static/uploads/direct_network_logos/rfa_ca00144ac549.png","published_at":"2026-08-01T02:41:56","published_at_display":"1 Aug 2026, 02:41 GMT","sequence_badge_label":null,"sequence_count":null,"sequence_count_label":null,"sequence_frames":[],"sequence_kind":null,"source_name":"rfa_english_rss","source_name_label":"RFA English RSS","source_type":"rss","summary":"HONIARA \u2013 The Solomon Islands\u2019 decision this week to enter into a security pact with the United States while already locked into a security agreement with China is in line with its strict \u201cfriend to all and enemy to none\u201d foreign policy, experts told Radio Free Asia. Prime Minister Matthew Wale and U.S. Charg\u00e9 d\u2019Affaires P. Daniel O\u2019Hara signed the finalized agreement Tuesday aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane, which had visited Honiara for the occasion. Commonly known as a shiprider agreement, the Agreement Concerning Counter Illicit Transnational Maritime Activity establishes a legal framework allowing Solomon Islands law enforcement officers to be embedded on U.S. Coast Guard vessels. The initiative forms part of Washington\u2019s broader deployment designed to enhance regional stability and counter illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing across the Pacific. Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale (front right) and Charg\u00e9 d'Affaires P. Daniel O'Hara of the U.S. Embassy sign a shiprider agreement aboard the visiting U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Harriet Lane off the coast of Honiara, July 28, 2026. (Solomon Islands government) The move has drawn sharp criticism from opposition leader and former Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, who previously aligned the Pacific nation closer with Beijing by signing a controversial and secretive security agreement with China in 2022. Though it may seem like Honiara is hedging its bets by entering into security deals with both Washington and Beijing, engaging with both geopolitical rivals is standard practice, Alexander L. Vuving of the Hawaii-based Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, told RFA. \u201cThis mirrors the actions of many other small countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Oceania, signaling that the Solomon Islands cares about its autonomy and wishes to avoid taking sides,\u201d he said. He also dispelled concerns regarding tensions with Beijing over Taiwan, stating, \u201cThe shiprider agreement focuses purely on maritime security within the Solomon Islands\u2019 Exclusive Economic Zone, which does not conflict with or affect the One China Policy.\u201d Maintaining neutrality The signing occurred a day after the prime minister concluded diplomatic visits to the United States and Japan. Upon his arrival at Honiara International Airport on Monday, Wale emphasized to reporters that the Solomon Islands has no desire to become a proxy battleground for larger powers. \u201cWe are not in a geopolitical game. We are not interested! Let the big boys sort out the big stuff,\u201d he said. He stated that the country\u2019s foreign policy is meaningless unless backed by reliable development partners, asserting that the nation intends to cooperate with all major powers while letting larger global players manage their own geopolitical rivalries. He acknowledged China as a critical trading and development ally, affirming that his administration would continue to work closely with Beijing to protect national interests and improve local livelihoods. Youth walk past an under-construction medical center financed by the Chinese government, in Honiara, Solomon Islands, April 21, 2024. (Saeed Khan/AFP) On a previous diplomatic visit last month to Canberra, Wale and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a memorandum of understanding concerning security and police cooperation, and agreed to begin negotiations on a treaty that would redefine the bilateral relationship. \u201cRegional powers have largely viewed the recent security agreements with Australia and the US as a positive pivot or rebalance of the country\u2019s foreign policy,\u201d Dr. Vuving said. But he warned that ultimately the ability to maintain more or less neutral stance depends on the domestic political situation. \u201cThe long-term sustainability of this delicate approach requires a parallel balance in domestic politics,\u201d he said. \u201cAny lack of commitment to autonomy could result in increased pressure from rivaling great powers to pick a side.\u201d That\u2019s politics Though Wale\u2019s government believes the shiprider agreement to be beneficial, the opposition has strongly criticized the deal. Manasseh Sogavare, a former four-term Prime Minister who critics have said is very pro-China and who most recently led the country between 2019 and 2024, warned that welcoming the U.S. military could compromise the nation\u2019s sovereignty. During Sogavare\u2019s most recent term, he orchestrated a dramatic geopolitical shift in the South Pacific by aligning the Solomon Islands with China and severing diplomatic ties with Taiwan. U.S. officials quickly rejected Sogavare\u2019s criticisms emphasizing that the arrangement is built entirely on mutual respect for local sovereignty. O\u2019Hara clarified that the agreement actively reinforces local authority by providing American operational capability while keeping all law enforcement decisions under domestic control. \u201cThis agreement is about mutual benefit,\u201d O\u2019Hara stated after the signing. \u201cYour officers will enforce your own laws in your own waters. You decide which vessels to investigate. You determine the violations. You set the penalties.\u201d Entering into international agreements with a mostly executive approach based on the political leanings of whomever holds the office of the prime minister has left some everyday citizens frustrated by a lack of transparency. \u201cDid Wale consider Solomon Islanders before signing any foreign agreements?\u201d Brian Wanealafa, a Solomon Islands resident, told RFA. \u201cHe should make consultations first, or even bring that before parliament.\u201d Wanealafa said the criticism extended beyond just Wale. \u201cThe same is with Sogavare, when he signed the security pact with China,\u201d he said, referring to the 2022 agreement. \u201cThey should think of the citizens and do nationwide consultations, or bring to Parliament and dissect the agreements openly for people to understand.\u201d Legal and Sovereign Realities Criticism that the agreement compromises the Solomon Islands\u2019 sovereignty is invalid because it conflates political concerns with legal principles, Joseph Foukona, a history professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, who hails from the Solomon Islands, told RFA. Foukona described the sovereignty argument as \u201ctwisted,\u201d saying it centers more on \u201cpolitical concerns than legal ones.\u201d \u201cSigning the Shiprider Agreement without parliamentary scrutiny is a non-issue, as it falls well within the executive government\u2019s powers,\u201d he said. \u201cPrevious administrations have similarly bypassed parliamentary oversight for memorandums of understanding and treaties.\u201d He emphasized that the US partnership perfectly aligns with international environmental and maritime treaties the Solomon Islands has already signed. \u201cThese international treaties require a maritime enforcement mechanism to be effective,\u201d Foukona said. \u201cThe Shiprider Agreement simply provides the platforms \u2013 U.S. Coast Guard vessels \u2013 for Solomon Islands law enforcement officers to enforce their own maritime laws and treaty provisions.\u201d Ultimately, under the pact, local officers will enforce their own laws in their own territorial waters, retaining final and absolute authority over all maritime policing decisions, he said. Edited by Eugene Whong.","title":"Solomon Islands signs security agreement with US, reaffirms neutrality","topic":"Pacific","translation_language":"","url":"https://rfa.org/english/pacific/2026/08/01/solomon-islands-security-agreement-usa/","video_url":null},{"article_body_paragraphs":[],"audio_source_url":null,"author":"Taejun Kang for RFA","available_dubs":[],"downloadable_assets":["https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/HN6B3QXWGZCGFEQ5LQ6CX4PEFU.jpg?auth=5232f1f99ee6c415412b4e42125576bcde867b015137f3ee34e2acb24cdc6fba&smart=true&width=1500"],"duration_display":"0:00","duration_seconds":null,"embed_url":null,"id":1265,"image_caption":"A visitor walks on a beach with the background of Guan-Tang LNG Receiving Terminal, a major liquefied natural gas import facility in Taiwan, March 25, 2026.","image_url":"https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/HN6B3QXWGZCGFEQ5LQ6CX4PEFU.jpg?auth=5232f1f99ee6c415412b4e42125576bcde867b015137f3ee34e2acb24cdc6fba&smart=true&width=1500","is_clip":false,"item_type":"article","item_type_label":"Article","language_label":"English","media_credit":"Taejun Kang for RFA","micro_label":"Photo","micro_label_kind":"gallery","network_label":"RFA","network_logo_url":"/static/uploads/direct_network_logos/rfa_ca00144ac549.png","published_at":"2026-07-29T02:33:25","published_at_display":"29 Jul 2026, 02:33 GMT","sequence_badge_label":null,"sequence_count":null,"sequence_count_label":null,"sequence_frames":[],"sequence_kind":null,"source_name":"rfa_english_rss","source_name_label":"RFA English RSS","source_type":"rss","summary":"Taiwan has halted spot purchases of natural gas from Papua New Guinea as a response to Port Moresby ordering the closure of Taipei\u2019s trade office in the South Pacific country. The decision followed Taipei\u2019s review on imports originating from PNG of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, and the move amounts to a warning that countries with ties to Taiwan could face consequences rather than full-scale economic coercion, experts told Radio Free Asia. \u201cIt functions as immediate diplomatic signaling, but also sits within an emerging, if still constrained, strategic adjustment,\u201dJozef Huljak, a PhD candidate in political science at Constantine the Philosopher University in Slovakia whose research examines Taiwan\u2019s cultural and public diplomacy, told RFA when the decision was in its review stage. Huljak explained the immediate message was that Papua New Guinea\u2019s decision would not be \u201ccost-free,\u201d while also signaling to other governments that downgrading unofficial ties with Taiwan could carry consequences. \u201cThe LNG review is primarily a signal, but one embedded in a gradual shift toward more calibrated responses as Taiwan\u2019s informal diplomacy comes under sustained pressure,\u201d he said. Downgrading ties Papua New Guinea on July 15 announced that it would close Taiwan\u2019s representative office in Port Moresby, saying that the move was meant to align with its \u201cOne-China policy\u201d and to deepen trust and economic ties with Beijing. Port Moresby has never recognized Taiwan since gaining independence in 1975 and establishing relations with China the following year. The Taiwan trade office, which opened in 1990, served as Taipei\u2019s de facto diplomatic mission while facilitating trade and investment. Taipei blamed the decision on Chinese political and economic pressure, while the United States expressed concern. Beijing, meanwhile, praised the move. Two days after the announcement, Taiwan\u2019s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said the country was reviewing its broader economic exchanges with Papua New Guinea, including LNG imports of about 1.2 million metric tons a year \u2013 roughly one-third of Papua New Guinea\u2019s LNG exports \u2013 while stressing that Taipei\u2019s agricultural and fisheries cooperation had also supported local development. On Tuesday, Lin said that the country would stop spot purchases of LNG from PNG, AFP reported. Spot purchases are one-off arrangements to cover immediate needs rather than long term agreements for periodic deliveries. The ExxonMobil PNG Limited operated Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant at Caution Bay, located on the outskirts of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, Nov 19, 2018. (David Gray/Reuters) Liquefied natural gas, or LNG, is Papua New Guinea\u2019s largest export commodity, accounting for roughly half of its overall exports. While Taiwan is the destination for about a third of PNG\u2019s LNG exports, that only accounts for about 8% of Taiwan\u2019s imports of LNG. Stopping the spot purchases is somewhat of a departure from Taipei\u2019s previous course. Taiwan has traditionally sought to distinguish itself from China by presenting itself as a reliable partner that does not use trade or investment as political leverage. Beijing, meanwhile, has repeatedly been accused by Western governments and observers of employing economic coercion against countries that challenge its interests. The stoppage of LNG spot purchases, however, is not the first such move by Taiwan \u2013 it also recently removed Cambodia from visa facilitation programs after Phnom Penh publicly backed Beijing\u2019s position on Taiwan. Together, these moves suggest Taipei is becoming more willing to attach consequences to governments that reduce cooperation with Taiwan, even if the measures stop short of outright retaliation, Huljak said. Tit for tat? Still, analysts cautioned that Taiwan\u2019s options remain constrained. \u201cI think ... comments made by Foreign Minister Lin still should be primarily viewed as first and foremost diplomatic signaling,\u201d William Yang, a Northeast Asia analyst at the Belgium-based International Crisis Group, told RFA, also while the decision was still in the review stage. \u201cIt\u2019s a warning or it\u2019s a reminder, rather than Taiwan already embracing the idea about weaponizing its existing trade link and relationship with other countries to counter their willingness to ... give in to Chinese pressure,\u201d he said. Yang said Taiwan was also likely examining its energy relationship with Papua New Guinea not just as a form of leverage, but also as a legitimate precaution due to its heavy reliance on LNG. Taiwan imports about 95% of its energy, and if Beijing is able to influence countries supplying critical resources, \u201cTaiwan will have to also take a precautionary look and examination of its existing trade relationship with a particular country that has shown the willingness to actually bow to China\u2019s pressure,\u201d he said. Newly constructed worker's accommodation can be seen in front of the ExxonMobil PNG Limited operated Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant at Caution Bay, located on the outskirts of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, Nov. 19, 2018. (David Gray/Reuters) Despite PNG accounting for less than one-tenth of Taiwan\u2019s LNG imports, it provides an important source of supply diversification at a time when natural gas generates nearly half of Taiwan\u2019s electricity following the shutdown of its last nuclear reactor in 2025, according to Huljak. \u201cA full break would therefore carry higher costs for Taiwan\u2019s energy security than for PNG\u2019s export revenues,\u201d Huljak said. \u201cThe review is real, but escalation is structurally constrained.\u201d Message to other partners The episode nevertheless carries broader implications beyond Papua New Guinea, analysts told RFA. The impending trade office closure suggests Beijing is increasingly targeting Taiwan\u2019s informal international presence rather than focusing only on the island\u2019s dwindling group of formal diplomatic allies, Huljak said. \u201cIf left unanswered, Papua New Guinea risks becoming a template,\u201d he said. \u201cGovernments could align with Beijing, accept economic incentives, and assume that Taiwan lacks the capacity to respond.\u201d Taiwan\u2019s objective, he said, is to challenge that assumption by demonstrating that even unofficial relationships have value and that ending them may carry opportunity costs. Meanwhile, Yang believes any decision by Taiwan to reduce LNG imports from Papua New Guinea would resonate beyond the immediate dispute. \u201cIf Taipei does follow through on ... reducing or ending its LNG trade with PNG, it obviously will be sending a signal to the rest of the Pacific countries,\u201d he said. \u201cIt would not simply just sit idly and allow these countries\u2019 decisions to further shrink Taiwan\u2019s international diplomatic space,\u201d Yang added, describing it as a demonstration of Taipei\u2019s resolve to protect its interests and sovereignty. Edited by Eugene Whong.","title":"Taiwan tests economic leverage after Papua New Guinea closes representative office","topic":"Pacific","translation_language":"","url":"https://rfa.org/english/pacific/2026/07/29/taiwan-png-lng-trade-office-closure/","video_url":null},{"article_body_paragraphs":[],"audio_source_url":null,"author":"Eugene Whong for RFA","available_dubs":[],"downloadable_assets":["https://d3ayjbmlrrjm3o.cloudfront.net/wp-radiofreeasia/20260720/6a5eae3eb200813e09744487/t_20f1dbbb17084c46a2c78925fc1fd507_name_fiji_final/file_540x960-1600-v4.mp4","https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/S37VJAJISFGFRBAGMP6XXUMQRU.jpg?auth=ae263041bca289224c0b2aa72f2804d8adb3660e948aec163165ba9c7477df3f&smart=true&width=1500"],"duration_display":"0:00","duration_seconds":null,"embed_url":null,"id":11343,"image_caption":"Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, left, receives a traditional kava drink during a welcome ceremony alongside Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva on July 6, 2026.","image_url":"https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/S37VJAJISFGFRBAGMP6XXUMQRU.jpg?auth=ae263041bca289224c0b2aa72f2804d8adb3660e948aec163165ba9c7477df3f&smart=true&width=1500","is_clip":true,"item_type":"video","item_type_label":"Video","language_label":"English","media_credit":"Eugene Whong for RFA","micro_label":"Video report","micro_label_kind":"video","network_label":"RFA","network_logo_url":"/static/uploads/direct_network_logos/rfa_ca00144ac549.png","published_at":"2026-07-10T21:49:53","published_at_display":"10 Jul 2026, 21:49 GMT","sequence_badge_label":null,"sequence_count":null,"sequence_count_label":null,"sequence_frames":[],"sequence_kind":null,"source_name":"rfa_english_rss","source_name_label":"RFA English RSS","source_type":"rss","summary":"Ocean of Peace Alliance open for others to join, but could it lead to a NATO-style military bloc?","title":"Australia-Fiji pact signals Canberra-led Pacific security posture","topic":"Pacific","translation_language":"","url":"https://rfa.org/english/pacific/2026/07/10/fiji-australia-ocean-of-peace-alliance/","video_url":"https://d3ayjbmlrrjm3o.cloudfront.net/wp-radiofreeasia/20260720/6a5eae3eb200813e09744487/t_20f1dbbb17084c46a2c78925fc1fd507_name_fiji_final/file_540x960-1600-v4.mp4"},{"article_body_paragraphs":[],"audio_source_url":null,"author":"Eugene Whong for RFA","available_dubs":[],"downloadable_assets":["https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/S37VJAJISFGFRBAGMP6XXUMQRU.jpg?auth=ae263041bca289224c0b2aa72f2804d8adb3660e948aec163165ba9c7477df3f&smart=true&width=1500"],"duration_display":"0:00","duration_seconds":null,"embed_url":null,"id":87,"image_caption":"Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, left, receives a traditional kava drink during a welcome ceremony alongside Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva on July 6, 2026.","image_url":"https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/S37VJAJISFGFRBAGMP6XXUMQRU.jpg?auth=ae263041bca289224c0b2aa72f2804d8adb3660e948aec163165ba9c7477df3f&smart=true&width=1500","is_clip":false,"item_type":"article","item_type_label":"Article","language_label":"English","media_credit":"Eugene Whong for RFA","micro_label":"Photo","micro_label_kind":"gallery","network_label":"RFA","network_logo_url":"/static/uploads/direct_network_logos/rfa_ca00144ac549.png","published_at":"2026-07-10T21:49:53","published_at_display":"10 Jul 2026, 21:49 GMT","sequence_badge_label":null,"sequence_count":null,"sequence_count_label":null,"sequence_frames":[],"sequence_kind":null,"source_name":"rfa_english_rss","source_name_label":"RFA English RSS","source_type":"rss","summary":"When Australia and Fiji signed a mutual defense treaty this week, a key component of the agreement was that other Pacific island countries could join. Experts told Radio Free Asia that this was a sign that Australia is providing much needed leadership in the region. The Ocean of Peace Alliance, signed Monday in Suva by prime ministers Sitiveni Rabuka of Fiji and Anthony Albanese of Australia, requires that in the event of an attack on either country, both would \u201cact to meet the common danger.\u201d Though the exact wording of the treaty does not absolutely require both sides to mobilize their military forces in such a situation, it still ties the security of the two countries together more closely than their previous agreements, the experts said. The treaty \u201cmarks the continued march of Australia\u2019s diplomacy,\u201d Alan Tidwell, director of the center for Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Studies at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, told RFA. Is the Fiji-Australia Alliance the start of the Pacific version of NATO? (RFA Video) \u201cInternationally, the treaty signals to competitors that Australia is leading an effort to align parties in a Westerly tilt,\u201d he said. Tidwell noted that the alliance is the latest in a series of agreements with several Pacific Island countries including Tuvalu, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu. \u201cAustralia has firmly established itself as the standard bearer of Western engagement with Pacific Island democracies in the South Pacific.\u201d The Ocean of Peace Alliance is Fiji\u2019s first, and Australia\u2019s fourth \u2013 Canberra signed a bilateral defense treaty with Papua New Guinea in 2025, and with the United States and New Zealand in 1951. Hours after Rabuka and Albanese signed the treaty, China\u2019s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters during a press conference that Beijing hopes that \u201cthe country concerned\u201d would respect the Pacific island countries\u2019 independence. \u201cChina always upholds the principles of mutual respect, equality, mutual benefit, openness and inclusiveness in carrying out cooperation with Pacific island nations,\u201d she said. \u201cWe do not engage in geopolitical rivalry or seek selfish political gains.\u201d Pacific NATO? On Thursday, Newsweek published a report that suggested that opening up the alliance for others to join could lead to a South Pacific version of NATO to counter China. Sailors stand on board HMAS Canberra, facing the Opera House in Sydney, Australia, March 21, 2026. (Hollie Adams/Reuters) With Australia in an alliance with the United States, and Washington in its own alliances, in theory the mutual defense clause could be triggered by events far away from either Fiji or Australia. But several experts told RFA that that the prospect was unlikely. Republic of Fiji Military Forces personnel practice servicing cargo for transport with a member of the Royal Australian Air Force during the Australian International Airshow in Avalon, Australia March 26, 2025. (Hollie Adams/Reuters) \u201cI would not say that this treaty is the start of a major defense bloc like NATO,\u201d Kathryn Paik, deputy director and senior fellow with the Australia Chair at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, or CSIS, told RFA. \u201cHowever, the flexibility built into this agreement to allow additional partners points to Australia\u2019s creativity in crafting fit-for-purpose agreements and treaties throughout the region to continue to build out the regional security architecture.\u201d She said that it allows Pacific Island countries more power in decisions regarding their own defense. \u201cIf others join \u2013 especially other Pacific Island nations \u2013 it will demonstrate an increasing prioritization of Pacific-led security agreements and the need for collective defense in the face of potential external threats,\u201d Paik said. Though the language of the treaty sounds similar to NATO\u2019s Article 5, the Ocean of Peace Alliance, even if joined by other countries, would be fundamentally different, Gregory Brown, director of the Alliance Futures Initiative, a Washington-based think tank, told RFA. \u201cJust like NATO, you are required under the alliance and under the treaty to consult your constitutional processes in the event of an attack on either one,\u201d he said. \u201cAustralia doesn\u2019t have to defend Fiji as if it\u2019s Australia and Fiji doesn\u2019t have to defend Australia as if it\u2019s Fiji. They\u2019re required to take it back to their constituent processes to respond in some fashion.\u201d Ocean of Peace The name of the Ocean of Peace Alliance gets its name from Rabuka\u2019s central foreign policy platform, which advocates for the Pacific countries to address challenges like climate change, geopolitics and strategic competition through consensus and cooperation, while rejecting coercion and militarism. Rabuka also hoped to apply the principles of Fiji taking a \u201cfriends to all and enemies to none\u201d approach to navigating regional competition between China and the United States. Leaders of Pacific island nations at the Pacific Islands Forum summit in Honiara, Solomon Islands, on Sept. 11, 2025. (Ben Strang/AFP) In 2025, leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum adopted the \u201cBlue Pacific Ocean of Peace Declaration,\u201d based on Rabuka\u2019s vision. But Brown said the Ocean of Peace Alliance is somewhat of a departure from Rabuka\u2019s earlier messaging. \u201cI think maybe Rabuka has been reading Aristotle who, a couple thousand years ago, told us that \u2018friends to all\u2019 means \u2018friends to none,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cIn fact what Rabuka has decided is that \u2018I\u2019m going to sign a mutual defense treaty,\u2019 which by definition is a departure from just friends to all.\u201d \u201cHe\u2019s identified a threat to Fiji and he\u2019s decided to align his security with one set of partners against that threat,\u201d said Brown. \u201cFor me, that\u2019s not a betrayal of Fijian sovereignty. It\u2019s an exercise in strategic autonomy.\u201d In addition to signing into the Ocean of Peace Alliance, Australia and Fiji also signed into effect the Vuvale Union, another treaty-level agreement that integrates the two countries economically. Hours after the agreements were signed, China fired an intercontinental-range ballistic missile into the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone, in what experts told RFA was a message to U.S. allies, but which Beijing said was a routine test. New Zealand\u2019s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said in a statement Thursday that Wellington would discuss with Suva and Canberra about the prospect of joining the alliance. Edited by Charlie Dharapak.","title":"Australia-Fiji pact signals Canberra-led Pacific security posture","topic":"Pacific","translation_language":"","url":"https://rfa.org/english/pacific/2026/07/10/fiji-australia-ocean-of-peace-alliance/","video_url":null},{"article_body_paragraphs":[],"audio_source_url":null,"author":"Harlyne Joku for RFA","available_dubs":[],"downloadable_assets":["https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/DHOXE6SX7REVTKTZ2BUAUXHPMU.jpg?auth=608dc0a8c327394a278719a295dfdab12c53867de3e200017cfa4df5b01aaa0d&smart=true&width=1500"],"duration_display":"0:00","duration_seconds":null,"embed_url":null,"id":92,"image_caption":"This photo obtained by AFP on April 12, 2026 shows a house damaged by a mud slide at Asiko Village in the Kongara Constituency in Central Bougainville, an autonomous region in Papua New Guinea, due to heavy rains from tropical cyclone Maila.","image_url":"https://www.rfa.org/resizer/v2/DHOXE6SX7REVTKTZ2BUAUXHPMU.jpg?auth=608dc0a8c327394a278719a295dfdab12c53867de3e200017cfa4df5b01aaa0d&smart=true&width=1500","is_clip":false,"item_type":"article","item_type_label":"Article","language_label":"English","media_credit":"Harlyne Joku for RFA","micro_label":"Photo","micro_label_kind":"gallery","network_label":"RFA","network_logo_url":"/static/uploads/direct_network_logos/rfa_ca00144ac549.png","published_at":"2026-07-02T14:08:59","published_at_display":"2 Jul 2026, 14:08 GMT","sequence_badge_label":null,"sequence_count":null,"sequence_count_label":null,"sequence_frames":[],"sequence_kind":null,"source_name":"rfa_english_rss","source_name_label":"RFA English RSS","source_type":"rss","summary":"PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea \u2014 After Cyclone Maila devastated parts of Papua New Guinea in April, disaster relief funds poured into the country, but many of the affected residents told Radio Free Asia that they have received little or no assistance from authorities. In early April, the cyclone appeared over the Solomon Sea, between PNG and the Solomon Islands. It rapidly increased in intensity and severely damaged roads and homes, and submerged crops. PNG authorities reported 25 fatalities due to landslides and flooding. Though authorities have been trying to assist affected residents, they have not yet been able to reach everyone. Marina Kaisa Eroro, who lives with her family in Samarai Island off the southeastern tip of the New Guinean mainland, told RFA. A file photo of Marina Kaisa Eroro, a resident of Samarai Island in Milne Province, Papua New Guinea. (Marina Kaisa Eroro/RFA) The cyclone blew down her breadfruit, betel nut, and fruit trees, she said. \u201cThe trees fell on our water tank and damaged our source of drinking water,\u201d said Eroro. \u201cNo assistance at all came from the authorities.\u201d Eroro said that councillors from the ward, the lowest division of the local government, had visited to determine the extent of damage. The island is under the jurisdiction of the Bwanabwana Rural local-level government, or LLG, in the Samarai-Murua district of Milne Bay Province. The province is headquartered on the mainland, though many of its administrative bodies are located on Samarai, which was the provincial capital until 1968. In this file photo, trees that were knocked down by Cyclone Maila have damaged a water tank on Samarai Island, Milne Bay province, Papua New Guinea. (Marina Kaisa Eroro/RFA) \u201cNo national or provincial government official visited our area to assess the damage,\u201d said Eroro. Even in cases where residents do get assistance, it is minimal, Cora Diala, who lives in the village of Waraka in Weraura LLG, in the Rabraba district of Alotau, on the mainland part of Milne Bay province, told RFA. Cora Diala, a 77-year-old widow from Weraura village, Milne Bay province, Papua New Guinea, in a file photo. (Fay Duega/RFA) \u201cLast month was the first time we saw relief supplies from the government,\u201d she said, adding that the extent of the relief was a 1 kilogram packet of rice for most people. \u201cWidows like me got two packets of rice. Nothing else.\u201d Relief aid After the storm had dissipated, foreign governments began offering money to the PNG government as aid. On May 14, the Chinese Embassy in Port Moresby handed over US$1 million to the PNG government in a public handover ceremony, during which Charg\u00e9 d\u2019affaires Pang Hanzhao, after giving the oversized check to several senior officials, including Prime Minister James Marape, expressed condolences to the affected people, saying \u201ca friend in need is a friend indeed.\u201d Marape expressed his gratitude, saying the assistance came at a critical time, when the government was continuing to \u201csupport communities affected by Cyclone Maila, and is gratefully appreciated by the PNG Government and people.\u201d Other countries also provided assistance, including $1.72 million (2.5 million Australian dollars) from Australia to both PNG and the Solomon Islands. The U.S., meanwhile, delivered relief supplies through existing disaster preparedness programs. A truck damaged by floodwaters in the Ramazon River in the Tinputz district in Northern Bougainville, an autonomous region in Papua New Guinea, due to heavy rains from tropical cyclone Maila. (AFP) But the government has not distributed assistance to everyone affected. It focused only on the areas and communities that needed assistance most, Randal Ganisi, the acting disaster coordinator in Milne Bay province, told RFA. \u201cMuch of the relief supplies was given to Murua Island communities who were severely affected by the tropical cyclone Maila than those only partly affected,\u201d said Ganisi. \u201cHowever other districts of Milne Bay province were not supported with relief supplies due to the fact that they were not severely affected.\u201d Though he provided a list of LLGs that the supplies were delivered to, he was not able to provide an outline of how much cash and food supplies were sent to each territory. RFA contacted the National Coordinator for an update on the distribution but received no response. Edited by Eugene Whong.","title":"PNG received millions after Cyclone Maila, but some residents still wait for relief","topic":"Pacific","translation_language":"","url":"https://rfa.org/english/pacific/2026/07/02/china-papua-new-guinea-cyclone-relief/","video_url":null}],"next_num":null,"page":1,"pages":1,"per_page":20,"prev_num":null,"total":10}