Results for Pacific Islands

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

The Pacific Islands Forum Troika leaders met in Suva, Fiji this week for strategic discussions on the future governance of the Pacific regional system and key regional priorities in the lead up to the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting (PIFLM) in Palau.

An El Niño was officially declared for Tonga for the next 3 to 6 months, following sustained warming of sea surface temperatures across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, and corresponding changes in the coupling effect of ocean-atmospheric circulation, the Tonga Meteorological Services (TMS) under Ministry of MEIDECC stated, 19 June 2026.

Tonga's senior military leadership has joined defence counterparts from across the Indo-Pacific at a regional security symposium aimed at strengthening cooperation among allied and partner nations, in Honolulu Hawaii.

Community and regional responses are essential to combat the rise in transnational crime in the Pacific, particularly the drug crisis, regional law enforcement experts have warned.

HM King Tupou VI received a warm and ceremonial welcome upon his arrival in Rarotonga on Tuesday, 16 June 2026, during an official visit in his capacity as Chancellor of the University of the South Pacific (USP).

Pacific Islands leaders are appealing for global peace, expressing their concern about increasing global tensions among major powers. A collective message published on 13 June, called for all world leaders “to uphold the Charter of the United Nations and to tolerate and respect the rights and dignity of all peoples and nations”. Pacific Islands Forum Leaders affirmed their declaration of the Blue Pacific Continent as an Ocean of Peace in 2025.

King Tupou VI is visiting the Marshall Islands this week, where he held an audience with the President of the Republic of the Marshall Islands and honoured the graduation ceremony of the University of the South Pacific Marshall Islands Campus.

Pacific Island countries are strengthening efforts to prepare for the growing impacts of climate change on tuna fisheries, with a new climate warning system helping governments assess risks to economies, food security and livelihoods as tuna stocks increasingly move beyond national waters.