WASHINGTON, 21 AUGUST 2026 (RADIO FREE ASIA)—China “very likely” coordinated a targeted campaign across the Pacific to demonstrate that local development strategies should align with Beijing’s latest five-year-plan, a recent report by The Alliance Futures Initiative says. In the report, titled “China’s Model on the Offensive: Why China’s Five-Year Plan Promotion in the Pacific Matters,” […]
Category: In Focus
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Who controls the Pacific’s communications?
By Sue Ahearn MELBOURNE, 20 AUGUST 2026 (DEVPOLICY.ORG) — The Pacific has a communications problem that extends well beyond social media. The region covers almost one-third of the Earth’s surface, with small populations scattered across vast distances. Individually, Pacific Island countries have limited global economic and political influence. For these countries, reliable communications are both […]
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Foreign influence could quietly weaken Pacific unity, expert warn
WELLINGTON, 17 AUGUST 2026 (PMN)–Pacific countries may need to look beyond the obvious signs of foreign interference with an international law expert warning that the bigger threat could be the slow erosion of regional unity. Al Gillespie says foreign interference does not always look like espionage or the theft of sensitive information. He says it […]
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High Seas Treaty faces biodiversity knowledge gap as most deep-sea species remain unnamed
By Sanjeshni Kumar SUVA, 13 AUGUST 2026 (PACNEWS)—A landmark treaty to protect biodiversity on the high seas has entered into force, but scientists warn that much of the deep-sea life it seeks to conserve remains unknown. The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement, which entered into force earlier this year after being ratified by more […]
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Palau’s Renewable Energy
KOROR, 10 AUGUST 2026 (THE BORGEN PROJECT) —Palau has set ambitious renewable energy goals, aiming for 100 percent of energy to come from renewable sources by 2050. The nation has already established multiple solar farms and is exploring wind and other modalities. Reducing Dependence on Imported Fuel Palau is a small island chain of 340 […]
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World-view ‘gulf’ leaves closer China ties out of reach
CANBERRA, 10 AUGUST 2026 (AAP) — Australia is unlikely ever to have a true partnership with China due to a mismatch of world views, rendering it pointless to pursue that goal, the nation’s former top diplomat to Beijing says. But in an analysis for the Lowy Institute, Australia’s former ambassador to China Graham Fletcher noted […]