China said it held a video meeting to discuss police cooperation with a group of Pacific island nations on Tuesday, however at least two nations told Reuters their ministers and police commissioners had been unavailable to attend. China’s attempt to strike a security and trade deal with 10 Pacific island nations in May fuelled concern in Washington and Canberra about Beijing’s military ambitions in the region, and prompted a boost in western aid. Those concerns were first sparked when Solomon Islands struck a security pact with China in April. Chinese…
Tag: Papua New Guinea
Turtle concern: Australian businessman denies threatening to sell Conflict Islands to China
The owner of 21 tropical islands off the coast of Papua New Guinea says he never threatened to sell them to China and his main aim is to save the turtles that nest there. Ian Gowrie-Smith, an Australian businessman and investor, bought the Conflict Islands, which lie less than 1,000km from the Australian coast, almost two decades ago. The largely uninhabited atolls are a nesting ground for critically endangered hawksbill and green turtles, whose breeding season begins within weeks. Some then migrate to the Great Barrier Reef. Gowrie-Smith had been…
Smiles and unity at the Pacific Islands Forum mask tough questions shelved for another day
At the close of the Pacific Islands Forum the leaders emerged from their retreat smiling, cut a giant cake with a sword and then, in an impromptu moment of diplomatic bonhomie, posed for a selfie after Anthony Albanese whipped out his phone, Ellen DeGeneres style. It was, quite literally, a picture of harmony. “It’s been a very successful meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum,” said Albanese at his post-leaders’ retreat press conference. “We are family when it comes to the Pacific and there was a good spirit of cooperation and…
Papua New Guinea election: what’s at stake?
In the coming days, Papua New Guineans will head to the polls to vote in the first national election in five years. A struggling economy, the impact of the pandemic and growing frustrations about failing public services are among the leading issues. The results of the election will be important not only to the country’s almost 9 million people, but also for the increasingly complex geopolitical landscape in the wider Pacific region. The election process Of the 2,351 candidates running in the national election, 118 members will be elected. Members…
Solomon Islands’ Leader Calls Concern Over China Security Deal ‘Insulting’
MELBOURNE, Australia — In a fiery speech confirming that the Solomon Islands has drafted a security agreement with China, the island nation’s leader said on Tuesday that the deal was “ready for signing” and criticized as “insulting” concerns from Australia and New Zealand that the pact could destabilize the region’s security. Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare’s remarks to Parliament marked the first time he had addressed the leak last week of a draft of the security agreement. The draft — which was shared by opponents of the deal and verified as…
‘A blatant lie’: China and Taiwan fight for credit over rescue of sailors lost at sea for 29 days
Tensions between China and Taiwan have found an unlikely battleground – a fight over who rescued nine Papua New Guinean sailors who were lost at sea for nearly a month. The dispute came after the rescue of the Papua New Guinean nationals in Solomon Island waters after 29 days lost at sea, late in February. Credit for the mission was claimed by China in an article published in the Global Times, an English-language Chinese newspaper, on 26 February. The article claimed the ship’s captain called the Chinese embassy in Solomon…