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China reclaimed its status as the second-largest bilateral donor to Pacific island countries (after Australia) following a pandemic lull, supplanting the United States with a surge in official development financing, loans and grants, according to findings published in a Lowy Institute report on Nov. 19.

China, Pacific Islands: Beijing Supplants U.S. as Second-Largest Bilateral Donor

Samoa

Federated States of Micronesia

Fiji

Marshall Islands

Nauru

New Zealand

Palau

Papua New Guinea

Tonga

Tuvalu

Vanuatu

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

Japan

Austria

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

With support from 31 of 50 lawmakers, the Solomon Islands' former Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele was sworn in as the country's new prime minister, Nikkei Asia reported on May 2.

Solomon Islands: Incumbent Party Forms Coalition, Elects New Prime Minister

The United States promised members of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) key development and infrastructure aid packages of $200 million at their second annual summit in Washington, D.C., BenarNews reported on Sept. 25.

U.S., Pacific Islands: Washington Promises More Aid at Second Annual Summit

U.S.-China Relations

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare opened his country's embassy in Beijing, China, and upgraded bilateral ties with China to a "comprehensive strategic partnership," Bloomberg reported on July 10.

China, Solomon Islands: Countries Upgrade Ties to 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership'

Australian and Chinese defense officials met formally for the first since 2019 in Canberra, Australia, with each side reporting constructive dialogue, Reuters reported on March 22, and the two countries separately agreed to revive Australian timber exports to China.

China, Australia: Cooperation and Competition Simultaneously on Display

The Solomon Islands' Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele told reporters that his country only signed the U.S. Pacific Partner Strategy, which aims to increase cooperation between the United States and Pacific Island nations, once Washington removed indirect references to China, Benar News reported Oct. 4.

Solomon Islands: Honiara Signed U.S. Pact After the Removal of Indirect References to China

Assessments

Israel

Palestinian Territories

France

Ukraine

Russia

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

The Solomon Islands' newly elected prime minister Jeremiah Manele speaks during a press conference in Honiara on May 2, 2024.

The leadership change will maintain the strategic Pacific Island nation's new pro-Beijing bent, driving the U.S. and Australia to scale up their own influence campaigns.

The Solomon Islands Elects Another Pro-China Prime Minister

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

South Korea

Europe

Maldives

EU Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis speaks March 16, 2023, in Brussels.

The Weekly Rundown: The U.S.-Pacific Islands Forum Summit, China-Japan-South Korea Talks

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosts a working lunch with Pacific Island countries in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 28, 2022.

The success of the regional partnership will largely hinge on Washington’s ability to balance its own security objectives against island nations’ climate and economic priorities. 

The U.S. Reasserts Itself in the Pacific Islands With a Historic Pact

Media

Graphics

A P-3K2 Orion aircraft flying over Tonga's Nomuka island shows heavy ash fall from the recent volcanic eruption within the Tongan Islands on Jan. 17. 

Samoa's critique of the Solomon Islands' recent security agreement with China signals a regional desire to rely more on other Pacific Island nations instead of external powers.

Pacific Islands Push Against Great Power Competition

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 

Columns

On Geopolitics

Chinese President Xi Jinping talks with Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare (not pictured) during a meeting in Beijing on Oct. 9, 2019. 

Modernizing China’s Military

China's new security deal with the island nation is the latest in a series of moves by Beijing to normalize its military's expanding international role.

In the Solomon Islands, China Seeks to Normalize Its Global Security Presence

A frame grab from video footage shows Australian Federal Police officers and local police monitoring a crowd in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands, on Nov. 26, 2021. 

The controversy over Australian forces helping a perceived pro-China government quell protests shows how local issues in the Pacific Islands are so often intertwined with great power competition. 

The Solomon Islands Intervention Reveals the Challenges Australia Will Face in Securing Its Backyard

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

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

SITUATION REPORTS

China, Pacific Islands: Beijing Supplants U.S. as Second-Largest Bilateral Donor

Australia, Pacific Islands: Summit Produces Regional Policing Agreement

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

Solomon Islands: Incumbent Party Forms Coalition, Elects New Prime Minister

U.S., Pacific Islands: Washington Promises More Aid at Second Annual Summit

China, Solomon Islands: Countries Upgrade Ties to 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership'

China, Australia: Cooperation and Competition Simultaneously on Display

Solomon Islands: Honiara Signed U.S. Pact After the Removal of Indirect References to China

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