At the halfway point of the COP27 international climate-change summit, there are encouraging signs that China and the U.S. may put aside geopolitical tensions in order to collectively stave off existential catastrophe for the...
On Saturday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will wrap up his ten-day tour of eight Pacific Island Countries (PICs). Having initially aimed for an ambitious multilateral pact on security and development, he has reluctantly...
New reports suggest that China has dramatically curtailed lending towards the Belt and Road Initiative, Xi Jinping’s flagship global infrastructure and trade program. First proposed in 2013, the BRI is a trillion-dollar...
Days after the Solomon Islands switched diplomatic allegiance from Taipei to Beijing, the island nation of Kiribati has severed ties with Taiwan–a move that China’s foreign ministry “highly commends.”...
China’s controversial Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the world’s largest infrastructure...
The discovery of massive rare earth deposits on the Pacific floor could, claims Japan’s Asahi Shimbun, “end China’s virtual monopoly on the metals”. From The Wall Street Journal: The Japanese team found...
A new report from Australia’s Lowy Institute for International Policy critiques China’s foreign policy in the Pacific region, BBC reports: “China lacks a coherent strategy for its aid programme in the Pacific...
From the Guardian (link): Australia and New Zealand sent more troops to the troubled Solomon Islands yesterday as Chinese residents continued to flee violence sparked by claims of electoral corruption. The former British protectorate, with a population of little more than 500,000, was the scene of riots and looting last week that destroyed many Chinese-owned […]
From The Daily Telegragh (link): A TAIWANESE representative in Australia has denied any political interference by his island state in the political affairs of the Solomon Islands. Dr Gary Lin says the tensions in the Solomons which led to the looting and burning of Honiara’s business district this week are much more complex and deep-rooted […]
From the Financial Times (link): With determination and tact, China is steadily increasing its commercial, diplomatic and military influence, especially in the Asia-Pacific half of the globe. Wen Jiabao, Chinese premier, cheerfully accepted a roasted pig and whale’s tooth from his Fijian hosts last week to prove it. Hu Jintao, Chinese president, will make a […]
From the Financial Times (link) China’s premier on Wednesday pledged a wide-ranging package of economic aid to south Pacific island allies, including Rmb3bn ($375m) in preferential loans. The pledge made by Wen Jiabao was seen by analysts as a bid to isolate Taiwan and cement Beijing’s influence in the region. In the first visit by […]
From CNN News (link) Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was to open talks with eight South Pacific leaders in Fiji on Tuesday — a move one expert said was designed to cement China’s influence in the region and freeze out Taiwan. During a one-day stopover in Fiji, which begins later Tuesday, Wen was due to meet […]
From Pacific Islands Report Pacific island countries have become the stepping stones for thousands of Chinese seeking to enter Australia through immigration scams organised by transnational crime syndicates. The syndicates are at the centre of burgeoning “polycrime” involving extortion, money laundering, illegal gambling, prostitution, and even the plundering of oceans and forests. Underscoring Canberra’s concerns, […]
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