Author: TMC Palau

By: L.N. Reklai KOROR, Palau (Sept. 3, 2026)— The Pacific is not the edge of Asia and the Pacific for the Asian Development Bank but “at the center” of how the institution sees the region’s future, ADB President Masato Kanda said as he outlined a more Pacific-led approach to development financing. Speaking on the sidelines […]The post ADB puts Pacific at center of new regional strategy, Kanda says appeared first on Island Times News. Source link

By: Summer Kennard KOROR, Palau (Sept. 2, 2026) As Pacific countries prepare for the possibility of climate-driven relocation, the region’s approach should not begin with moving people — but with finding ways for them to remain safely on their ancestral land. That was the message from International Organization for Migration (IOM) Regional Director for Asia-Pacific […]The post If Palauans Have to Move, What Happens to Home? appeared first on Island Times News. Source link

P acific Island leaders have expressed concern over China’s recent intercontinental ballistic missile test in the Pacific, calling for greater transparency and advance notification of future missile launches, despite a formal dissent from Nauru. The issue emerged as a major point of discussion at the annual Pacific Islands Forum, where leaders from the region debated security concerns while also facing pressure from Beijing over Taiwan’s participation in the summit. Palau’s President Surangel Whipps Jr., who hosted the meeting, said China’s July missile test had passed over several Pacific island nations without sufficient warning. The launch was China’s first known ICBM…

By: L.N. Reklai KOROR, Palau (September 4, 2026) Authorities are investigating reports involving two women visitors who allegedly encountered the same man while hiking at Long Island Park in Ngermalk, with the suspect arrested and later released pending further investigation. New popular trail at Long Island, a scenic walk that wraps around Ngermalk Island. A […]The post Authorities Investigate Reports of Alleged Harassment of Women at Long Island Park appeared first on Island Times News. Source link

Last weekend, an article in The Economist declared “Australia builds a Pacific alliance system to keep China out”. The strapline read “Chinese influence among Pacific island states is in retreat”. In conversations with journalists in the lead-up to this week’s Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Palau, I would often be asked, “Is Australia winning?”My answer paraphrased what Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai probably never said to Henry Kissinger about what he made of the French Revolution: “Too soon to tell.”After the shock of 2022, when Penny Wong described the freshly inked but never publicly released China–Solomon Islands security pact as…

By: L.N. Reklai KOROR, Palau (September 4, 2026) — Pacific leaders in their 55th PIFLM’s communique are calling for stronger regional solidarity and practical collective action as they confront climate change, economic vulnerability, security challenges and growing pressure on the region’s resources, with keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius emerging as a central priority […]The post Pacific Leaders Put Unity, Climate Action and 1.5C at Heart of Palau Forum appeared first on Island Times News. Source link

KOROR, Palau (2 September 2026) – Sustained leadership, strengthened regional architecture, people-centred planning, and coordinated partnerships would help the region translate security declarations and commitments into action, panellists at a side event at the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting have said. ‘Towards a region of peace and security: From political vision to action’, hosted […]The post Political will and better coordination needed to translate security commitments into action appeared first on Island Times News. Source link

He said: “This kind of Chinese ‘wolf warrior’ diplomacy actually easily undermines Pacific unity, and it is quite off-putting and disliked.”The term “wolf warrior”, from a Chinese action film of the same name, has been used by academics and politicians to describe China’s shift towards a more combative public tone.The PIF brings together 18 member nations to discuss regional issues and goals. Taiwan and China have sent representatives for decades, despite China’s efforts to block Taiwan, which has diplomatic ties with three Pacific island nations.Chinese opposition to Taiwan’s involvement in the meeting has dominated the forum, which was already controversial…

By Elilai Rengiil KOROR, Palau (Sept. 3, 2026) “The more I wrote, the deeper I went into those feelings.” For Palauan poet Stephanie Pettit, those feelings were rooted in her relationship with her mother — a relationship shaped by cultural expectations, love, conflict, growing up and, ultimately, a deeper understanding of motherhood. What began […]The post Palauan Poet Turns Personal Pain Into Powerful UN Women-Winning Poem appeared first on Island Times News. Source link

Pacific governments must direct funding to the right policing agencies if the region is to effectively tackle transnational organised crime, says Palau’s Minister for Justice Jennifer Olegeriil.“It needs to start at the top, because that political will drive funding priorities, to go towards improving those areas that need to be improved,” she said.Ms Olegeriil, a former police officer in Palau, made the comments during a side event held on the margins of the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Koror, Palau.She said investment was needed in equipment, assets, training and capacity building, particularly to improve intelligence sharing.“Whether that is additional…