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On Monday this week, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) Naval submarine launched a long-range nuclear-capable ballistic missile with a dummy warhead into the South Pacific. The missile appears to have landed in international waters near the EEZ of Taiwan ally Tuvalu. The United States recorded a path of space debris from Japan to the central Pacific. China’s missile test is a display of military force, signalling that the PLA now has a second-strike nuclear deterrent. The splashdown was in the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone, established by the Treaty of Rarotonga, which China signed in 1987. - By: Professor Anne-Marie Brady.

The National Women’s Fono brought over 300 women together today, to voice concerns and opinions aimed at building women's development in the community. The three-day Fono from 8-10 July 2026,will work to develop and endorse the Tonga Women’s Platform for Action 2026–2029, a national roadmap that will guide collective action at national and community levels over the next three years.

Tonga has ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), becoming the 179th State to do so and completing universalisation of the Treaty across the Pacific region. For a part of the world deeply impacted by nuclear testing, it is a milestone long in the making.



Mailoko ‘Ealelei, 28, has been sentenced to three years imprisonment for breaking into the home of a 65-year-old woman in Tofoa and stealing Tongan handicrafts valued at about $10,500 while he was on authorised prison leave.

Forty-one drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, during a road policing enforcement operation by Tonga Police over the Heilala Festival weekend.

Imports continues to outweigh exports on average as Tonga recorded a trade deficit of T$185.5 million in the first quarter of 2026, according to the Tonga Statistics Department (TSD).

A chilly 8.6° Celsius recorded in ‘Eua early this morning, 6 July, has broken the record for the lowest minimum temperature recorded in Tonga. The unusually cold conditions experienced across Tonga are associated with the current El Niño event that is present across the Pacific Ocean.

Mo’ui he 'Ofa ‘Ofanoa (32) is serving two years in prison after pleading guilty to charges that included serious causing bodily harm, when he used a machete on another man during a drunken violent assault in 2025. The judge denounced the level of violence. "Our community needs to be safe from alcohol-crazed behaviour. If a person attacks another with a weapon, they must go to jail, unless there are extenuating circumstances," he said.

Australia's attempts to limit Chinese influence in the Pacific will ramp up with a diplomatic blitz, including the signing of a treaty with Fiji. Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will ink a major treaty with Fiji, elevating the nations' relationship as he prepares to meet with several Pacific leaders including Tonga, in a diplomatic blitz. By: Tess Ikonomou/AAP