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Politics

The Pacific Islands Forum, or PIF, endorsed the Pacific Policing Initiative, a $271 million initiative to establish four regional police training centers in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Micronesia over five years, Nikkei Asia reported on Aug. 28.

Australia, Pacific Islands: Summit Produces Regional Policing Agreement

United States

Japan

Austria

Economics

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

Capping the 10th triennial Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting, the 18-member Pacific Island Forum, or PIF, and Japan issued a declaration centered on climate change, maritime defense, trade and technology cooperation, Nikkei Asia reported on July 18.

Japan, Pacific Islands: Summit Produces Declaration on Maritime Security, Trade and Climate Cooperation

France

French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced that France would open a permanent defense mission in Fiji, and he detailed plans to grow France's training capacity for Pacific island countries' soldiers six-fold by opening a Pacific Academy in France's New Caledonia territory, Tahiti Info reported on Dec. 6.

France: Paris Strengthens Defense Cooperation With Pacific Island Countries

The United States is backing the construction of the Central Pacific Cable, a planned undersea internet cable covering thousands of miles that will link U.S. territories American Samoa and Guam before extending to 10 Pacific Island countries and territories, Reuters reported on Sept. 27.

U.S., Pacific Islands: Washington Backs New Undersea Cable Network in Pacific

Philippines

Taiwan

Thailand

Cyber

Earth Longzhi, a subgroup of Chinese state-sponsored hacking group APT41, has reemerged after months of dormancy, according to a May 2 report by Japanese multinational cybersecurity firm Trend Micro.

China: New Report Highlights Return of Hacking Group Earth Longzhi

The new Fijian government led by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka suspended a security deal with China that allowed Chinese police to train Fijian police, Reuters reported Jan. 26.

Fiji: New Government Scraps Security Deal With China

U.S.-China Relations

Outgoing Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama asked the military to back his attempts to stay in power following the country's Dec. 14 general election, but the military has not done so, Reuters reported Dec. 22.

Fiji: Military Rejects Outgoing Prime Minister's Attempts to Stay in Power

Australia and Fiji signed a status of forces agreement, which will enable each country to station and operate military forces in the other, Reuters reported Oct. 20.

Australia: Canberra Steps Up Its Regional Engagement

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky holds a flag during a ceremony on Ukraine's Independence Day on Aug. 24, 2023, in Kyiv, Ukraine. 

Israel-Hamas Conflict

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Gaza Cease-Fire Talks Resume, Ukraine Observes Third Post-Invasion Independence Day

Columns

On Geopolitics

Indonesia

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A 3D rendering of Southeast Asia from space at night with city lights showing Southeast Asian cities in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

In the Asia-Pacific, countries are increasingly pursuing complex networks of political, economic and defense ties as part of a burgeoning "multi-alignment" strategy that seeks to avoid U.S.-China strategic competition.

Examining 'Multi-Alignment' in the Asia-Pacific

Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marapeand, the Cook Islands' Prime Minister Mark Brown, U.S. President Joe Biden and Kiribati's President Taneti Maamau at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) as part of the U.S.-PIF summit at the White House on Sept. 25, 2023, in Washington, D.C.

Despite Washington's desire to strengthen ties with Pacific island nations, political constraints may leave a regional void that China is happy to fill.

Strategic Goals and Political Hurdles in the U.S. Play Tug-of-War Over the Pacific Islands

Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (left) and Fiji's prime minister Frank Bainimarama attend a joint press conference in Fiji's capital of Suva on May 30, 2022.

Security

The U.S. and the Balance of Power

China in Transition

Asia-Pacific: Among Great Powers

China, the U.S., and Australia will need to adapt their traditional engagement with the island nations to secure influence in the strategic maritime region.

The Pacific Islands Emerge as the Next Theater for Great Power Competition 

Guidance

Costa Rica

Belarus

Iran

United Arab Emirates

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (L) speaks with his Belarusian counterpart, Viktor Khrenin, on Feb. 3, 2022, in Minsk, Belarus. NATO expects 30,000 Russian troops to arrive in Belarus by the Feb. 10 start of the second phase of the "Allied Resolve" exercise, the most Russian troops present in the country since the Cold War era.

Iran's Arc of Influence

The Ukraine Conflict

The Fight for Russia’s Borderlands

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended Stratfor articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Blinken Visits Australia for a Quad Meeting, Russia and Belarus Begin Joint Exercises

The extremely secluded resort island of Wakaya, Fiji. 

The New Silk Road

As Beijing increases its ties in the Pacific subregion of Melanesia, Australia is forced to reckon with a more permanent Chinese presence on its doorstep. 

China Encroaches on Australia's Backyard

As U.S. focus turns away from the Pacific islands, other powers are starting to pay attention.

Tracking U.S. Naval Power

Countries like the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau enjoy a close treaty relationship with the United States, but the strategically located states are now on China's radar too.

China Sets a Course for the U.S.'s Pacific Domain

Germany

Many signatories of the Paris Agreement are failing to fulfill their commitments toward combating the global temperature rise. 

_Energy

Environmental Issues

Energy

There is unlikely to be a consensus in the coming years on how to best mitigate the effects of climate change, which likely means that humanity will be forced to adapt to a hotter Earth in the coming decades.

A Gloomy Forecast for Climate Change

On the Road

Timor-Leste

Malaysia

The Geopolitics of the Cook Islands

Globalization

In the remote Pacific islands, the world's crises are dulled by distance. But the plight of the Cook Islands -- a grouping of 15 islands at the heart of the South Pacific is a tiny segment of a sweeping arc that sprawls across the Pacific from the Marianas to Polynesia -- is dire. In spite of the fantasies of travelers over the centuries, these islands are not pristine utopias.

A Place Where Geopolitics Fades

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Paris Agreement Emphasizes Shift Away From Oil

The pace of the transition will be decided by how quickly new technologies reach the developing world.

SITUATION REPORTS

Australia, Pacific Islands: Summit Produces Regional Policing Agreement

Japan, Pacific Islands: Summit Produces Declaration on Maritime Security, Trade and Climate Cooperation

France: Paris Strengthens Defense Cooperation With Pacific Island Countries

U.S., Pacific Islands: Washington Backs New Undersea Cable Network in Pacific

China: New Report Highlights Return of Hacking Group Earth Longzhi

Fiji: New Government Scraps Security Deal With China

Fiji: Military Rejects Outgoing Prime Minister's Attempts to Stay in Power

Australia: Canberra Steps Up Its Regional Engagement

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