Author: TMC Palau
The focus for this year’s annual gathering of Pacific leaders and partners was always going to be about China.With the 55th annual meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) taking place last week in Palau, one of only 12 nations in the world that recognise Taiwan, there was always going to be the potential for mischief by China. As the leaders meeting came only a short time after a Chinese missile test in the Pacific, everyone was waiting to see the final communique or if there would even be one.China certainly tried every trick in the book to disrupt the…
Pacific nations are strengthening efforts to protect coral reefs that show a stronger chance of surviving climate change.Tonga, the Federated States of Micronesia and French Polynesia have joined a global conservation commitment.The three countries signed the High-Level Climate-Resilient Coral Reefs Commitment at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Palau last week.For Pacific communities, the push is about more than protecting coral.Reefs provide food, help protect coastlines and are closely tied to the identity and way of life of island communities.Tonga Prime Minister Lord Fatafehi Fakafanua says the reefs are facing growing pressure from climate change, pollution and overfishing.Watch Tonga’s…
For 20 years, West Papuan activist Paula Makabory has not set foot in her ancestral homeland. Her family still lives in West Papua, but she has not seen them since she left in 2006.Speaking to Pacific Waves from Melbourne, Makabory said she does not know what would happen if she attempted to return.West Papua activist responds to Indonesia’s UN visit pledgeAs Pacific leaders push Jakarta to allow a long-awaited United Nations human right commissioner visit to West Papua, Makabory, who is an executive member of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), said the leaders needed to apply more…
Members of Wellington’s Papua New Guinea community say Tok Pisin is a versatile language that many people can use with relative ease.Tok Pisin Wik is underway this week with a series of events around New Zealand celebrating Papua New Guinea’s national language and traditional cultures.The Ministry of Pacific Peoples has provided some useful resources for the week – Tenkyu tru!Ancey Wamiri, a school teacher, told RNZ Pacific she uses Tok Pisin every day with family and friends, also teaches it during Tok Pisin Wik sessions.Describing Tok Pisin as being in her blood and bones, Wamiri explained that the language has…
As cities expand across low- and middle-income countries, access to safe and inclusive public spaces is increasingly recognised as a core component of sustainable urban development. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 commits governments to making cities “inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”, yet for millions of urban children, this promise remains unfulfilled. From South Asia to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, rapid and often unplanned urbanisation is shrinking children’s opportunities to play, socialise and move freely in their neighbourhoods. Dhaka — one of the world’s most densely populated megacities — offers an instructive case. Our recent study examined whether urban open…
Australia and Palau are strengthening their partnership on renewable energy, with a major solar and battery-storage project expected to reduce the island nation’s dependence on diesel fuel and improve energy security. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr visited Palau’s first large-scale solar power plant at Ngatpang on Babeldaob, highlighting the growing cooperation between the two countries on climate action and clean energy. The solar facility was financed through a $31.4 million package from the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP). The leaders also marked the delivery of additional battery storage as part of…
The motion of no confidence filed against the Prime Minister of Solomon Islands has been withdrawn.The motion against Prime Minister Matthew Wale, who has only been in the top job for over three months, was set for debate in parliament on Monday, 7 September.Manasseh Maelanga, who lodged the motion against Wale a week ago, announced Sunday afternoon that he is withdrawing the motion.SBM Online reports Maelanga also signed the required documents for the formal withdrawal of the motion and submitted them to the National Parliament this afternoon.”I have not taken this decision lightly, the motion was never about professional ambition,…
By Lucy CraymerWELLINGTON, Aug 31 (Reuters) – Pacific leaders started to gather in Palau on Monday for the annual Pacific Islands Forum, but the absence of several heads of government has cast a shadow over a meeting intended to demonstrate regional unity.Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa and Solomon Islands’ prime ministers and the Kiribati president will not attend the leaders’ retreat in person.Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale was due to attend but left Palau to face a no-confidence motion at home. Kiribati said President Taneti Maamau was unable to travel because parliament was sitting and flights were limited. The absent leaders are…
Pacific Partnership 2026 conducts dive & salvage ops in Palau Navy Divers, assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 9, prepare the abandoned derelict vessel “Justice 1” for removal during a Pacific Partnership 2026 salvage operation in Koror, Palau, Aug 30, 2026. Now in its 22nd iteration, the Pacific Partnership series is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster management preparedness mission conducted in the region. Pacific Partnership works collaboratively with host and partner nations to enhance regional interoperability and disaster response capabilities, increase security in the region, and foster new and enduring friendships in the Indo-Pacific. (U.S.…
In briefPalau has accused China of weaponising tourism amid tensions over its diplomatic ties with Taiwan.Australia has doubled peak-season flights to help Palau attract more visitors and boost resilience.As our boat bobs along clear turquoise waters, the local operator hands us snorkelling masks. You don’t need them, though, to see a stunning coral reef and schools of vibrant fish surrounded by historic limestone islands.In a nearby lake, we swim under the hot sun and among hundreds of jellyfish, some tickling our legs and arms. They’re harmless, Palau’s president Surangel Whipps Jr, had earlier assured us.Whipps, fresh from hosting a highly…