Tag: South Pacific

Beijing Inks ‘Comprehensive Strategic’ Partnership With the Solomon Islands

July 10, 2023
Asia & PacificAustraliaChina NewsGlobal ExpansionInternationalInternational RelationsLi QiangManasseh SogavareSolomon IslandsSouth PacificSpecial TopicsUSUS NewsWorldXi Jinping
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Ties between Beijing and the Solomon Islands leadership continue to deepen after Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare inked a “comprehensive strategic partnership” with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Mr. Sogavare met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang during a week-long visit to China, which will conclude as the prime minister opens his country’s…

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US and China Wage Diplomatic War in the Central and South Pacific

May 31, 2023
Chinaeastern pacificOpinionSouth PacificThinking About ChinaViewpoints
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Commentary Eighty-one years separate 1942 and 2023. In that human lifetime, the technologies of war have changed, as have some of the regional and global actors. Great Power rivalry definitely isn’t ancient history in the Pacific and East Asia. However, communist China is now the expansionist power, not imperial Japan. The United States is still…

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Hotel in Pristine Lord Howe Island Tops List of Best Hotels in South Pacific

May 25, 2023
Australiaaustralian hotelsbest hotel listBrightLifestyleSouth PacificTravelTravel & DiscoveryTripAdvisorWorld
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A sixth-generation family-owned B&B has topped the best hotel in the South Pacific and in Australia, according to the travel website Tripadvisor. Pinetrees Lodge on Lord Howe Island was named “Top Hotel in Australia” and “Top Hotel in the South Pacific” in Tripadvisor’s 2023 Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best Awards, released on May 24….

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Australian Hotel Topped the List of Best Hotels in South Pacific

May 25, 2023
Australiaaustralian hotelsbest hotel listLifestyleSouth PacificTravel & DiscoveryTripAdvisorWorld
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A sixth-generation family-owned B&B has topped the best hotel in the South Pacific and in Australia, according to the travel website Tripadvisor. Pinetrees Lodge on Lord Howe Island was named “Top Hotel in Australia” and “Top Hotel in the South Pacific” in Tripadvisor’s 2023 Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best Awards, released on May 24….

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China Top of Mind in NRL’s Pacific Push

March 13, 2023
AustraliaChinaChina-Australia RelationsInternationalInternational RelationsNational Rugby LeagueNFLNRLSouth PacificSportsSports NewsUSUS NewsUS-China relationsWorld
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China is top of mind for Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL) as it begins deliberations around whether to put a team in the South Pacific region—the centre of a geopolitical tug-of-war between Beijing and democratic nations. The move to grant a license to a “Pasifika” club would be the latest “soft power” initiative by the…

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Beijing-Linked Solomons Government Moves to Declare CCP-Critic a Foreign Agent

March 1, 2023
Asia & PacificAustraliaChinaChina-Australia RelationsDaniel SuidaniInternationalInternational RelationsManasseh SogavareNational SecuritySolomon IslandsSouth PacificThreat from Communist ChinaUSUS-China relationsWorld
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The last pockets of resistance against Beijing’s encroaching influence in a small Pacific nation are being steadily wiped out by the compliant national government. Former provincial leader Daniel Suidani, who was ousted from office in a contentious no-confidence vote in early February, is being forced to explain why he is not a foreign agent or…

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Ministers Overruled Defence Advice Not to Publicise Patrol Boat Problems

February 20, 2023
AustalAustraliaChinaChina-Australia RelationsInternationalInternational RelationsSouth PacificWorld
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The Labor government decided to publicly criticise problems with Australian-made patrol boats dispatched to the Pacific despite warnings from officials not to. The Department of Defence cautioned the deputy prime minister and defence minister, Richard Marles, not to disclose the issue, according to documents obtained by The Guardian newspaper. “Proactive media on the current Guardian-class…

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Anti-Beijing Law to Be Removed by New Solomons Provincial Leader

February 19, 2023
Asia & PacificAustraliaChinaChina-Australia RelationsDaniel SuidaniInternationalInternational RelationsMalaitaSolomon IslandsSouth PacificUS-China relationsWorld
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U.S. and Australian efforts to out-compete Beijing in winning over the Solomon Islands look to be on the ropes after the most-populous Malaita Province pledged to axe the Auki Communique, a bulwark against Chinese Communist Party (CCP) interference in the region. New Premier Martin Fini is considering removing the document after his government wrested power from former…

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Solomon Islands Government Ousts Provincial Leader, Long-Time Critic of CCP

February 7, 2023
AustraliaChinaChina-Australia RelationsDaniel SuidaniInternationalInternational RelationsMalaitaManasseh SogavareNational SecuritySolomon IslandsSouth PacificUSUS-China relationsWorld
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The pro-Beijing Solomons national government has finally got its man. Daniel Suidani, the premier of the most populous Malaita Province, has, for years, been a political hurdle standing in the way of closer ties with the Chinese Communist Party. On Feb. 7, Suidani faced another no-confidence vote against his leadership, and this time, the dissenters…

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Australia, Vanuatu Signal Closer Security Ties Amid Ongoing Beijing Competition in the South Pacific

December 13, 2022
AustraliaBusiness & MarketsChinaChina-Australia RelationsInternationalInternational RelationsPenny WongSimon BirminghamSouth PacificVanuatuWorld
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Australia and Vanuatu have indicated closer security ties amid ongoing competition between democratic allies and Beijing in the South Pacific region. The latest move comes after the Australian government inked a security deal with the Pacific nation Fiji in October. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong spoke in Port Vila, Vanuatu, on Dec. 12 along with…

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