MAJURO, 20 MAY 2026 (PMN)—A remote atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, once linked to forced displacement caused by American nuclear testing, is now the focus of a major international science mission to understand how ocean life recovers in isolation. The National Geographic Pristine Seas (NGPS) expedition is surveying some of the remote […]
Category: Pacific News
Posted inPacific News
An ocean of peace cannot be mined into existence, church leader says
SUVA, 20 MAY 2026 (ISLANDS BUSINESS)—A Pacific hurch leader has warned that deep-sea mining would violate the region’s cultural and spiritual ties to the ocean, arguing that it should be subject to a moratorium or precautionary pause. General Secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC), Reverend James Bhagwan, said the issue was not just […]
Posted inPacific News
Report: Military buildup in the CNMI leads to long-term dependence rather than self-sufficiency
WASHINGTON/SAIPAN, 18 MAY 2026 (PACIFIC ISLAND TIMES)—-Washington’s defence spending in the Northern Mariana Islands may temporarily boost economic activity, but it undermines long-term self-sufficiency and fails to sustain local wealth, according to a think tank’s report. The report says the billions of dollars allotted for military projects on Tinian, Rota and Saipan may appear to […]
Posted inPacific News
AFP sounds alarm over Pacific drug trade after 17 tonnes seized in 2026
SYDNEY/SUVA, 18 MAY 2026 (PACNEWS/AFP) —The Australian Federal Police (AFP) says the Pacific is facing an escalating national security threat from transnational drug trafficking after 17 tonnes of illicit drugs, mostly cocaine, were seized across the region in just the first months of 2026. AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett said the scale of trafficking through the […]
Posted inPacific News
PRETMM6 Call to Action Sets Stage for Pacific Islands Forum in Palau
By: Ngeldei Tulop As Pacific leaders prepare to gather in Palau for the upcoming Pacific Islands Forum, one message from the Sixth Pacific Regional Energy and Transport Ministers Meeting (PRETMM6) in Port Moresby continues to resonate across the region: the Pacific can no longer afford to remain reactive in the face of growing economic and […]
Posted inPacific News
Palau pushes blue economy at Melanesia Ocean Summit
PORT MORESBY, 13 MAY 2026 (POST COURIER) — Palau’s Special Envoy of the President, Steven Victor, told the Melanesia Ocean Summit underway in Port Moresby that Pacific nations must harness ocean resources to drive prosperity, stressing that conservation must go hand‑in‑hand with economic growth. “It is about financing our transition to a sustainable blue economy […]