Author: TMC Palau

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…

Tokyo | Australia has spent years worrying about the moment that China establishes a permanent military foothold in the Pacific. We watch for warships, security agreements and airfields capable of taking military aircraft, treating each as a potential tripwire for a strategic transformation of our neighbourhood.But it’s worth remembering that, currently, Beijing doesn’t need to do anything quite so dramatic.Loading… Source link

KOROR, Palau (AP) — Leaders of Pacific nations agreed at their summit to register collective “concern” about China’s launch of a ballistic missile into their waters, but they said Thursday their statement wasn’t unanimous and stopped short of a sterner rebuke of Beijing’s actions. The willingness of the Pacific Island Forum’s member countries and territories to agree during this event to a joint reproach of China for the missile launch in July was seen by some as a litmus test for how much the geopolitical jostling in the region among major powers had destabilized relations among the group of mainly…

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…

Prime Minister Mark Brown at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Palau this week. MFAI/26083105Cook Islands has secured two significant investment announcements from the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Koror, Palau. The weeklong summit saw the country secure major infrastructure and environmental investments while deepening its diplomatic and regional partnerships. Prime Minister Mark Brown concluded the weeklong meeting and returns home after securing funding for Marae Moana, “the Cook Islands’ sacred ocean”, in partnership with the Bezos Earth Fund and BirdLife International. He also returns home following the landmark announcement of the NZ$101 million Penrhyn port…

By Lucy Craymer WELLINGTON, 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.…

Koror, Palau – Pacific island leaders will tackle transnational drug crime as they meet in Palau from Monday for a summit where tensions between Taiwan and China risk overshadowing regional priorities like climate change.Palau, this year’s host of the 18-member Pacific Islands Forum, is among three members holding diplomatic ties with Taiwan and not China, a large creditor to many island states.China, Taiwan and the United States are among the aid partners invited to the forum, although not the leaders’ meeting. Beijing has protested Taiwan’s invitation. Source link

Analysis: In recent years, the members of the Pacific Islands Forum have clung to the idea of the organisation’s centrality as a barrier to outsiders trying to divide and conquer them. Whether the United States, China, or any other nation seeking to build influence in the Pacific, the message from the forum and most of its members (New Zealand included) has been clear – go through the proper channels if you want to be successful. But as leaders prepare for the official launch of the forum on Monday evening, the strength of those channels has come into question as more…

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is in Palau’s capital Koror this week for the annual Pacific Islands Forum, and regional security is expected to top the agenda. China is testing nuclear-capable missiles in the Pacific, prompting talk of a new regional agreement. The United States-Iran war has exposed a reliance on costly fossil fuels that is undermining Pacific economies. And as the world comes perilously close to the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C temperature goal, a record-breaking El Nino looms in the Pacific Ocean. But the forum will be missing key leaders – Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale made a shock departure,…

Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. speaks to reporters in Koror, Palau on Aug. 30. (Photo by Sophie Mak)SOPHIE MAKAugust 31, 2026 12:00 JSTKOROR, Palau — Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. said Sunday that it would be “unfortunate” if Pacific countries fail to reach consensus on opposing a recent missile test launch by China during the annual regional leaders’ meeting hosted in his country this week, which will see at least four leaders absent. Source link