Australia

Samoa

China

Federated States of Micronesia

Fiji

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Military & Security

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

The United States and the Marshall Islands renewed their Compact of Free Association on Oct. 16, Reuters reported the next day.

U.S., Marshall Islands: Third and Final COFA Signed, Waiting on Congressional Ratification

Turkey

Romania

Ukraine

Russia

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

The Russian Navy stopped a Turkish cargo vessel sailing under the flag of Palau, the Sukru Okan, and then boarded the vessel using a helicopter to conduct an inspection, Bloomberg reported Aug. 13. 

Ukraine, Russia: Russian Soldiers Board and Inspect Foreign Vessel Headed for Ukraine's Danube Ports

The U.S. State Department is seeking $7.1 billion over the next 20 years to use as economic assistance for the Marshall Islands, Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) as part of the Compacts of Free Association (COFA) agreements that Washington has with the three Pacific Island nations, Reuters reported March 23. 

U.S.: Biden Administration Seeking $7.1 Billion Over 20 Years in Financial Aid for Pacific Island Nations 

The United States and Palau signed a memorandum of understanding on Jan. 11 to renew their Compact of Free Association (COFA) after Washington doubled its aid offer to $800 million over 20 years, Benar News reported Jan. 12.

U.S., Palau: Countries Sign Radar Agreement, MoU to Renew Compact of Free Association

Guardian-class patrol boats worth $1.4 billion that Australia is gifting to several Pacific Island nations were found to have significant structural faults, The Straits Times reported July 1.

Australia: Naval Vessels Gifted to Pacific Islands Have Significant Faults

Security

The U.S. and the Balance of Power

Asia-Pacific: Among Great Powers

The United States appointed Joseph Yun to resume negotiations with three Pacific Island nations -- Palau, the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia -- to renew their Compacts of Free Association, which allow the islands' citizens to live and work freely in the United States in return for extensive U.S. military access to their territories, Reuters reported March 22.

U.S., Pacific Islands, China: New Envoy to Shore Up U.S. Presence in Pacific

Assessments

Angola

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Tanzania

Zambia

Taiwan

Sri Lanka

U.S. President Joe Biden and President Joao Lourenco of Angola on Nov. 30, 2023, at the White House. Biden on Dec. 2-4 will visit Angola, where he will focus on the Lobito Corridor project that aims to refurbish and expand railways connecting critical mineral-rich regions in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo with the Angolan port of Lobito.

U.S.-China Relations

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

The Weekly Rundown: Biden Visits Angola, von der Leyen's Second Term

Israel

Palestinian Territories

France

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

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

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

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

Columns

On the Road

Timor-Leste

Indonesia

Malaysia

The Geopolitics of the Cook Islands

Environmental Issues

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

Media

Sub-Saharan Africa

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Americas

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Asia-Pacific

Brunei Darussalam

Cambodia

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Graphics

Paris Agreement Emphasizes Shift Away From Oil

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

Energy

Delegates attend a plenary session at the U.N. climate change summit in Paris on Dec. 9.

The agreement signed Dec. 12 in Paris is just a small part of a broader energy transition driven by technological change.

Climate Agreement Will Only Hasten Transition Beyond Oil

_Energy

SITUATION REPORTS

Australia, Pacific Islands: Summit Produces Regional Policing Agreement

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

U.S., Marshall Islands: Third and Final COFA Signed, Waiting on Congressional Ratification

Ukraine, Russia: Russian Soldiers Board and Inspect Foreign Vessel Headed for Ukraine's Danube Ports

U.S.: Biden Administration Seeking $7.1 Billion Over 20 Years in Financial Aid for Pacific Island Nations

U.S., Palau: Countries Sign Radar Agreement, MoU to Renew Compact of Free Association

Australia: Naval Vessels Gifted to Pacific Islands Have Significant Faults

U.S., Pacific Islands, China: New Envoy to Shore Up U.S. Presence in Pacific

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