Pacific Islands

April 22, 2026 6:17 PM

Empowering Women Farmers: The Key to Asia-Pacific Food Security in 2026

Walk through any rice paddy in Southeast Asia, any market in the Pacific Islands, or any fishing village along the Bay of Bengal, and you will find women at work—planting, harvesting, processing, and selling. Nearly 58 percent of employed women across Asia and the Pacific work in agriculture. They form the backbone of how this region feeds itself. Yet, despite their tireless labor, women farmers face persistent systemic barriers. Only 10 to 20 percent hold land tenure rights in the region. Wi...

September 8, 2025 11:16 AM

Pacific Islands leaders meet to discuss security, climate change

Pacific Islands leaders began a week-long summit on Monday in the Solomon Islands, where they are expected to endorse an "Ocean of Peace" declaration amid concern over rising tensions between the United States and China. The leaders are also expected to back Australia's bid to host the COP31 United Nations climate summit, after Canberra pledged to work closely with its island neighbours to raise awareness of the challenges they face from rising sea levels and worsening storms. Pressure from Ch...

July 3, 2025 2:24 PM

China denies military base ambitions in Pacific Islands

China's embassy in Fiji denied on Thursday that Beijing wanted a military base or sphere of influence in the Pacific Islands, after Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said islands were trying to cope with a powerful China seeking to spread its influence. "The claims about China setting up a military base in the Pacific are false narratives," an embassy spokesperson said in a statement. "China's presence in the Pacific is focused on building roads and bridges to improve people's livelihoods,...

September 12, 2024 10:16 AM

US supports two permanent UN Security Council seats for Africa

The United States supports creating two permanent United Nations Security Council seats for African states and one seat to be rotated among small island developing states, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield will announce on Thursday, Reuters reported. The move comes as the U.S. seeks to repair ties with Africa, where many are unhappy about Washington's support for Israel's war in Gaza, and deepen relations with Pacific Islands nations important to countering Chinese influence i...

August 27, 2024 11:27 AM

UN chief issues ‘SOS’ for Pacific Islands worst hit by warming ocean

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday ocean temperatures are rising in the Pacific Islands at three times the rate worldwide, and its population was "uniquely exposed" to the impact of rising sea levels. Speaking to reporters in Tonga where the Pacific Islands Forum is being held, Guterres highlighted the findings of a report that showed the South West Pacific was worst hit by sea level rises, in some places by more than double the global average in the past 30 yea...