Posted inPacific News

China rejects New Zealand spy allegations as false

WELLINGTON,14 AUGUST 2026 (REUTERS)—- China has rejected allegations that it is conducting widespread espionage on New Zealand, saying the claim ​in the country’s latest security assessment stemmed from a Cold ‌War mentality.  The Chinese embassy in Wellington said the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service’s annual threat report “fabricates and hypes” claims of Chinese interference and […]

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 inWorld News

Taiwan condemns planned Chinese and Indonesian military exercise off its coast

By foreign affairs reporter Stephen Dziedzic In short:  (ABC-Australia) Taiwan has condemned China’s plan to hold a “navigation exercise” with an Indonesian warship off the island’s east coast. It said it has requested Indonesia “provide further details” after China’s defence ministry announced it would hold the exercise with an Indonesian warship in mid-August. Beijing has […]

Posted inPacific News

Pacific Foreign Ministers back regional security plan as threats grow more complex

SUVA, 12 AUGUST 2206 (PACNEWS)—Pacific foreign ministers have endorsed a new regional peace and security action plan as the region faces an increasingly complex security environment, including illicit drugs, transnational crime, humanitarian emergencies and emerging non-traditional threats.  The 2026 Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting recognised the need for a more cohesive regional security architecture supported by […]

Posted inPacific News

Australia joins U.S-led rebuke of Chinese missile launch

CANBERRA/WASHINGTON, 12 AUGUST 2026 (AAP)—Australia has joined a US-led push for nations to provide advance notice of missile launches, in a direct rebuke of China’s test firing in the South Pacific.  Within hours of Australia’s signing of a mutual-defence pact with Fiji in July, China confirmed a nuclear-capable missile had been launched from a submarine […]

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