China looms large over the Pacific Islands Forum

The looming threat of Chinese power may serve to reunited a Pacific Islands Forum riven with disunity at the first face-to-face meeting for over two years.

China in the Pacific

As ‘traditional’ partners such as the United States and Australia reevaluate Pacific policies to limit Chinese presence, the Pacific Island nations themselves are playing off the global superpowers to maximise their own influence and benefits.

Measuring China’s diplomatic reach in the Pacific

Chinese companies now dominate the construction, energy and mining sectors of many Pacific Island states, increasing that nation’s diplomatic and economic grip on the region.

How the Chinese silenced Pacific media

Media coverage of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s recent visit to the South Pacific was effectively silenced, highlighting the fragility of a free media in the region.

The Pacific power game

The island states of the Pacific – from large Papua New Guinea to the smaller island states like Tuvalu – find themselves in a newly influential position as the west and China battle for their strategic backing.

China’s shadow falls across the Pacific

The mollifying words coming out of Beijing cannot mask the acceleration of its plan to establish ever greater political, economic and military power across the South Pacific.

Tanks can’t crush the human spirit

This weekend marks 100 days since Russia invaded Ukraine and 33 years since the Chinese Army massacred students in Tiananmen Square but, wherever they roll, the tanks of authoritarian states can never crush people’s desire for democracy.

Xi’s endgame and strategic power manoeuvres

The world faces a century of a prolonged and sustained adversarial relationship between the US and China, with constant chessboard manoeuvring of containment and countermeasures.

China’s Pacific offensive

China is looking to sign another 10 ‘security’ agreements with Pacific states in the wake of its controversial deal with the Solomons, tightening its grip on the region despite Australia’s best efforts to stem the tide.

Russia’s debacle gives China pause for thought

A swift Russian victory in Ukraine would surely have encouraged China to invade Taiwan, but determined local resistance, effective sanctions and the power of modern Western weapons will give Xi pause for thought.

Panda huggers and dragon slayers

Dazzled by the prospect of economic opportunities, Australia had high hopes for a closer relationship with China at the start of the ‘Asian Century’ but the reality of China’s oppressive, aggressive intentions has forced all but the most craven China apologists to reassess their views.

Djibouti shows what Sogavare’s deal with China entails

The President of the Solomon Islands is endangering his people’s individual and societal freedoms through his increasingly close partnership with Beijing and its repressive security forces.