News Roundup

Pacific Islands News Roundup – July 16 – July 22, 2026

Political Leadership and Regionalism, Peace and Security

  • Could a US military build-up in Palau make it a future target? (SBS News/Video) 
  • Has the Pacific’s Ocean of Peace concept been hijacked? (RNZ/Analysis) 
  • ‘Where America’s victory at sea begins:’ Navy officials highlight Guam’s undersea power amid China’s renewed threat (Pacific Island Times) 
  • West Papua rebels claim responsibility for killing three indigenous Papuan ‘traitors’ (RNZ) 
  • PNG Orders Closure of Chinese Taipei Economic Office (Inside PNG) 
  • Taiwan reassesses economic ties with Papua New Guinea after office closure (RNZ) 
  • MCC touts Pacific, Fiji partnerships as strategic alternative to China’s Belt and Road (PACNEWS) 
  • France, PNG focus on climate, security (The National) 
  • Slovakia to Cooperate with Kingdom of Tonga (Talanoa ‘O Tonga) 
  • French Polynesia: Threatened with overthrow, President Moetai Brotherson fights back (Tahiti Infos) 
  • Solomon Islands: CDF: From Dependency Syndrome to Reform (In-Depth Solomons) 
  • 2006 Militarisation left Fiji’s civil service fearful and broken (Islands Business/Analysis) 
  • Guam, CNMI nix bill seeking to end birthright citizenship in US territories (Pacific Island Times) 
  • Cook Islands general election: Candidates spending big on billboards to win over voters (RNZ/Cook Islands News) 
  • New Caledonia: Congress is changing faces and becoming eight years younger (les Nouvelles Caledoniennes) 
  • Papua New Guinea moves to outlaw AI deepfakes as victims call for more protection (ABC Australia)

People-Centered Development

  • Report: Pacific island countries struggle to meet vaccination targets (Pacific Island Times) 
  • Palau: MHHS Warns as TB, COVID-19 and Whooping Cough Cases Rise (Island Times) 
  • PNG: Permanent child & youth wellbeing committee established by Parliament (PNG Haus Bung) 
  • Sāmoan children sent home after Aotearoa adoptions as officials uncover vetting failures (PMN) 
  • Tongan women rescued from China after arranged marriage scheme (1 News/Investigation) 
  • Asylum seekers Australia sent to Nauru say they are going hungry (ABC Australia) 
  • First national policy for returnees to ensure ‘no one is left behind’ (Talanoa ‘O Tonga) 
  • Seed donation supports household food security in Fiji (National Indigenous Times) 
  • Knowledge brokers help shape food futures in a changing Pacific (Pacific Environews/AICAR/Research) 
  • Ancestral remains of Rapa Nui people begin long journey home after 143 years at Australian Museum (ABC) 
  • Tonga brings traditional knowledge to television weather forecasts (National Indigenous Times) 
  • Pacific Women Join Forces To Make Music (TP+)

Climate Change and Disasters, Ocean and Environment

  • Scientific voyage maps deep ocean changes across Cook Islands EEZ (RNZ) 
  • French Polynesia: Artists and associations united for the reefs (Tahiti Infos) 
  • Assessing Samoa’s mangrove carbon stock for climate change mitigation and adaptation (SPREP) 
  • The fault line of Pacific security: Climate-driven land loss triggers regional crisis (Pacific Island Times/Analysis) 
  • Climate change poses growing health threat to Pacific Islands, Lancet report warns (Talanoa ‘O Tonga) 
  • FSM Congress Approves Pacific Resilience Facility Treaty to Fight Climate Catastrophes (Micronesia Sun) 
  • Pacific braces for more climate pressure as govts act to protect schools, communities (PMN) 
  • CNMI: Twin typhoons leave an unexpected silver lining as Saipan beaches are rebuilt (RNZ) 
  • Pacific: Tuna Wars: Local communities vital to sustain fishing grounds (SBS News/Audio) 
  • Discovery of 2 Hawaiian insects ‘unexpected and encouraging,’ offer hope for rare species (Big Island Now)
  • Conservation efforts viewed as long-term investment in Palau’s future (Island Times) 
  • Hawai‘i: Japan’s Richest Man Came to Maui for Golf. He Got a Water War Instead (Hawaii Business Magazine)

Resources and Economic Development, Technology and Connectivity

  • Pacific voices condemn US plan for offshore mineral extraction off American Samoa (RNZ) 
  • A Bay Area financial analyst wants a piece of this mineral-rich seabed surrounded by 3 Pacific nations (Grist/Analysis)
  • New report warns mining could release unregulated radioactivity (Guam Daily Post) 
  • Tokelau and the Parties to the Nauru Agreement react to New Zealand fisheries action (RNZ/Analysis) 
  • Tuvalu: Images show gruesome extent of illegal Pacific fishing (National Indigenous Times/AAP) 
  • PNG Reconnects With Japan As Air Niugini resumes Direct Tokyo Flights (PNG Facts) 
  • PNG: TISA Bank making it easy for Small and Medium Enterprise owners to buy directly from China (PNG Haus Bung) 
  • NRBT warns counterfeit $100 pa‘anga banknotes are in circulation (Talanoa ‘O Tonga) 
  • Solomon Islands: Villagers turn farms into agribusiness, produces first bottles of pineapple juice (Solomon Star) 
  • First Recreational Cannabis Cultivation License issued on Guam (MBJ Guam) 
  • Hawai‘i: New Soil Lab Helps Rejuvenate the ʻĀina (Hawaii Business Magazine) 
  • Vanuatu: Tourism assessment finds 81% of businesses still building market readiness (Vanuatu Business Review)

Disclaimer:

The PIR seeks to include news coverage from news outlets across the Pacific, representing a diversity of coverage in the region. Please note that the inclusion of article links does not represent PIR or PIDP endorsement of the information presented in the articles.

The Pacific Islands Report (PIR) is a project of the Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP) at the East-West Center and the Center for Pacific Islands Studies (CPIS) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

This non-exhaustive news roundup, featuring open-access information, is organized with the thematic areas of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and its implementation plan.

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