By James Hurndell In early December the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), which includes Pacific Island nations and major distant-water fishing nations, failed to agree on new measures to conserve Pacific tuna stocks. The inability to achieve consensus…
By James Hurndell U.S. ambassador to Fiji Frankie Reed on October 30 announced that the United States would lift sanctions on Fiji and seek opportunities for reengagement with the Fijian military. While Fiji has an operationally experienced and sizeable military…
By John Hamre As President Obama travels on a crucial trip to the region for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, East Asia Summit, and G-20 meeting, the United States and all of the countries in the region are faced…
By Adelle Neary Fiji held its first elections in eight years on September 17, boasting a high turnout (83.9 percent) and a relatively predictable outcome. Voreqe “Frank” Bainimarama, who first took power in a 2006 coup d’état, and his Fiji…
Who is he? Joe Natuman is the newly-installed prime minister of Vanuatu. He was educated at the University of the South Pacific, and served as private secretary to the country’s first Prime Minister, Walter Lini. In 1995, he was elected…
By Julie Bishop, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs The empowerment of women and girls is one of the most effective ways to achieve higher economic growth and better living standards among the millions of people in developing countries in our region.…
By Elke Larsen On May 17, the United Nations recognized French Polynesia as a colony by placing it on the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories for the first time since 1947. With this in mind, the United States must begin…
By Howard S. Schiffman The crisis in global and regional fisheries, and the overall stress on the oceans, needs to be viewed in the realm of security. Resource driven competition has put a new spotlight on the oceans as a…
By Monica Whaley Enough with the ‘clever’ jibes about silly shirts or acronym fatigue. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a robust, reliable and flexible “multi-tool” in the United States’ foreign and economic policy toolkit that has served U.S. interests effectively…
By Michael Vatikiotis It has been a terrible year so far in terms of security in the Asia Pacific region. Japan and China have come close to trading blows over disputed Senkaku/ Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea; North Korea…
