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,” […]
Tag: Pacific geopolitics
Posted inIn Focus
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 […]
Posted inTop Stories
PIF 2026: Palau prepares for a Pacific meeting shaped by regional divisions
By: Ngeldei Tulop KOROR, Palau (August 13, 2026) — Palau is preparing to host Pacific leaders later this month as the region faces a series of political, security and economic questions that could test the Pacific Islands Forum’s ability to maintain consensus. The 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting is scheduled for Aug. 30 to […]
Posted inOpinion
Why the Pacific Islands Forum should watch Taiwan’s East Coast
Domingo I-Kwei Yang SUVA/TAIPEI, 12 AUGUST 2026 (THE DIPLOMAT) —Ahead of the 55th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), scheduled to take place 30 August 30 to 04 September in Palau, Pacific Island leaders failed to reach consensus on a joint statement criticising China’s submarine-based ballistic missile testing in the Pacific. The split reflects intensifying great-power competition […]
Posted inPacific News
Pacific unity faces test ahead of Palau’s PIF meeting
By: Ngeldei Tulop KOROR, Palau — Pacific governments are heading toward a major regional leaders meeting in Palau with differences over how to respond to China’s recent missile test exposing challenges to the Forum’s goal of maintaining regional unity. Foreign ministers and senior officials from Pacific Islands Forum members met in Suva, Fiji, earlier this […]
Posted inWorld News
China warned Pacific missile sparks ‘strong concerns’
MANILA, 22 JULY 2026 (AAP) — Australia has raised its concerns with China over its nuclear-capable missile test in the South Pacific, noting many of the region’s nations also shared the same view. Foreign Minister Penny Wong met with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of ASEAN talks in Manila on Tuesday evening. […]