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Pacific nations
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Pacific nations

Pacific nations
Pacific nations
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Pacific nations. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
An aerial view of the coastline in Port Vila, Vanuatu, in December 2019. The Vanuatu government has called for a mechanism to assess gaps in scientific knowledge about deep-sea mining and progress towards filling them. Photo: Getty Images
Environment

Opinion | The race for critical minerals is clearing the path for deep-sea mining

Corporate pressure and US-China competition are stalling global efforts to set environmental safeguards for seabed mining.

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Solomon Islands

Solomon port plans mark US reset of ‘anaemic’ Pacific ties

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New Zealand

New Zealand’s Pacific defence diplomacy shifts into overdrive

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Defence

Letters | Missile test shows major-power rivalry is spilling into the Pacific

Readers discuss the fallout of China’s recent missile test, the massive protests in India sparked by exam irregularities, and dwindling sales at the Hong Kong Book Fair.

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a long-range ballistic missile bursts out of the sea during a test launched from a Chinese nuclear-powered submarines in the South Pacific on July 6. Photo: Xinhua via AP
Mainland China

China’s missile test exposes lack of unity among Pacific island nations

While some Pacific Islands Forum members have criticised the test near Tuvalu, Papua New Guinea appears to have backtracked, analysts say.

US-China relations

Top Chinese South Pacific security partner to let US patrol its waters

Agreement will allow US vessels to patrol with local police as Honiara expands maritime ties with Washington despite close Beijing links.

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Taiwan

Taiwan reviews PNG LNG imports after forced closure of economic office

The Pacific nation and Cambodia have both handed Beijing diplomatic wins by reiterating support for the one-China policy.

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Papua New Guinea exports more than 1.2 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas to Taiwan each year under a 20-year supply agreement. Photo: Reuters
New Zealand

Australia, Fiji and now New Zealand: a new Pacific alliance takes shape

Wellington’s bid to join the pact flags a hard-security pivot, but analysts ask if such treaties serve Pacific societies’ best interests.

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Solomon Islands

China sends a message to Pacific islands amid unease over missile test

Solomons prime minister has pledged to review China pact while advancing talks on a comprehensive treaty with Australia.

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New Zealand

New Zealand-India trade, defence pact celebrated despite criticism

Anti-immigration members of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s coalition and anti-Modi members of the Indian diaspora opposed the deal.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) and New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Saturday. Photo: AFP
China's military weapons

Opinion | Panic over China’s missile test is born of Western bias

Every nuclear power routinely tests its arsenal. The outcry over Beijing’s launch reveals a glaring double standard.

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A long-range ballistic missile bursts out of the sea during a test launched from a Chinese nuclear-powered submarine in the South Pacific on Monday. Photo: Xinhua/AP
Australia

Australia, Fiji sign mutual defence pact to boost Pacific security

Australia has greatly upped its diplomatic efforts in the region following China’s secretive security deal with the Solomon Islands in 2022.

Vanuatu

Vanuatu bans ‘foreign’ military bases in new security pact with Australia

The treaty is the latest in a string of Pacific deals Australia has signed seeking to curb China’s expanding security influence.

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Australia

Australia refuses release of climate fund reports for Pacific nation Tuvalu

The island relies on a trust fund exposed to fossil fuels to help pay for the cost of climate change, with Australia the biggest contributor.

An aerial view of a strip of land in Funafuti, Tuvalu, in 2019. The low-lying South Pacific island nation of about 11,000 people is extremely vulnerable to climate change. Photo: Getty Images
Australia

China’s direct strike threat to Australia is ‘growing’, think tank report finds

A Lowy Institute report said the main threat to Australia was from Chinese missiles fired from ships, submarines and a new ballistic missile.

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The Chinese People’s Liberation Army launches an intercontinental ballistic missile with a dummy warhead into the Pacific Ocean in 2024. Photo: Chinese People’s Liberation Army News and Communication Centre / AFP
China-Japan relations

Rising seas: Japan makes pitch to Pacific nations caught in US-China rivalry

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi tells summit that Tokyo is committed to helping regional partners strengthen ‘autonomy and resilience’.

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US, Israel war on Iran

Pacific Islanders skip food, medicine amid global fuel shortage from Iran war

Pacific nations are the most reliant on diesel for power generation worldwide. They imported about 2.2 million tonnes of fuel in 2025.

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My Life

Former Hong Kong rugby team captain reflects on the first Sevens tournament in 1976

The former England international rugby player tells Annemarie Evans about his turn as captain of the Hong Kong team at the inaugural Sevens tournament here in 1976.

Bob Lloyd poses for a portrait at the Hong Kong Football Club, Happy Valley, Hong Kong. Lloyd served as the captain of Hong Kong team during the first Hong Kong Sevens in 1976. Photo: Alexander Mak
Micronesia

Super Typhoon Sinlakua bears down on group of remote US islands in Pacific Ocean

Trump has approved emergency help for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, where Sinlakua is expected to make landfall on Tuesday.

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Australia

Australia pledges US$1.7 million in aid after Cyclone Maila kills 11 in Pacific

Entire villages were destroyed in the storm, was briefly classified as a Category 5 cyclone.

Technology

Opinion | In Asia-Pacific, the real maritime contest is over satellite surveillance

States’ ability to exercise territorial rights is increasingly mediated by their access to satellite data and analytics, but the tech is dominated by a powerful few.

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A J-15 fighter jet from the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong making an unusual approach to a Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force P-3C patrol aircraft conducting surveillance above the Pacific Ocean on June 8, 2025. Photo: Handout /Japan’s Ministry of Defence / AFP
Japan

Solomon Islands residents live in fear of WWII bomb explosions

With more people on the islands killed or injured due to the munitions, a UN team calls for international efforts to remove the danger.

Billy, a resident of the village of Yandina in Russell Islands, Solomon Islands, sits next to unexploded munitions near his home. Photo: UNDP Pacific Office/Christopher Teasdale
Japan

Where can Japan store its nuclear waste? Island plan raises alarm

Critics of Minamitorishima proposal point to scant research on the remote Pacific atoll.

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Hong Kong Sevens

On This Day | First Hong Kong Sevens rugby tourney held in 1976 – SCMP archive

50 years ago today, the city hosted its first international rugby sevens tournament at the Hong Kong Football Club.

New Zealand

Wellington mayor dives into sewage row in New Zealand waters

Millions of litres of raw sewage have flowed into the waters off Wellington’s beaches since a treatment plant broke down on February 4.

A warning sign is seen on Wellington’s South Coast on Monday after millions of litres of untreated sewage were discharged into the ocean. Photo: AFP
New Zealand

‘Absolutely terrifying’ New Zealand storm leaves 30,000 homes without power

One man was found dead in a submerged vehicle on a highway after heavy rains and strong winds lashed the North Island over the weekend.

A man retrieves his belongings from a utility vehicle that plunged off a collapsed section of road in Puketotara, New Zealand, on Saturday. Photo: Wayne Feisst via Reuters
Mainland China

US strips moral framing from foreign aid in ‘America first’ pivot

US funding for the Asia-Pacific now ties aid to business and security wins, a move analysts condemn as a ‘corrosive’ shift.

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United States

World welcomes 2026 with fireworks, lightshows and hopes for peace

From Paris to Dubai to Sydney, crowds ring in the new year with exuberant celebrations.

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