Pacific Beat

The President of Palau, Surangel Whipps Jr, has accused Beijing of intimidating Pacific Island nations with this week's test firing of a nuclear-capable ballistic missile into the Pacific.

Tuvalu's leaders say they are gravely concerned about a Chinese missile test that landed in waters near the small Pacific nation. 

Former Kiribati President Anote Tong has condemned the Nuclear Ballistic test by China and says it undermines foreign relations between Beijing and the Pacific region.

A category 5 Super Typhoon Bavi has rocked the island of Rota in the Mariana Islands. The mayor Aubrey Hocog says respondents have reported extensive damage to infrastructure.

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is in Fiji today, where he's expected to sign a major new security agreement with the Pacific nation. The pact is intended to upgrade the Vuvale Partnership first signed in 2019.

Solomon Islands' new Prime Minister Mathew Wale is in Fiji for a state visit. He says there's a "growing consensus" in the region in support of his idea for a regional security agreement. 

Papua' New Guinea's Enga Province Governor, Sir Peter Ipatas is urgently calling for more Australian police officers to be deployed to his province ahead of the 2027 election. The push comes after violence and killings in Enga overshadowed the last national vote.

It's 80 years to the day since the US nuclear testing program in the Marshall Islands began with Operation Able, when a 23 kiloton atomic bomb was detonated in the atmosphere over Bikini Atoll in July, 1946.

Australia and Vanuatu have signed The Nakamal Agreement. The landmark deal states Vanuatu will consult Australia on proposed third party engagement in Vanuatu's critical infrastructure, and which was must be free from militarisation and foreign influence. 

Crucial provincial elections have taken place in New Caledonia, and results could lay the foundations of the territory's future.

Samoa's Prime Minister La'auli Schimdt says his government will draft legislation requiring Members of Parliament to undergo drug testing. 

The Australian government has refused to release internal documents about Tuvalu's trust fund after an investigation by French international news agency AFP found that funds have been invested into fossil fuels. 

Thousands of people have turned out at Dili's international airport to honour the late former president of Timor-Leste Francisco Guterres as his body was flown in from Malaysia.

A 100-metre cargo ship, suspected of being involved in transporting more than three tonnes of illicit drugs to Australia, has been intercepted by Solomon Islands authorities.

Bougainville's leaders have condemned a move by Papua New Guinea's parliament to impose a three-quarters majority for any vote to ratify Bougainville's independence referendum.

Fiji police have confirmed 26 parcels of cocaine have washed up on shores in the Lau Group of islands over the past few weeks.

The Samoan government's controversial plan to set up an airline and buy planes using financial support from citizens and the diaspora has dominated proceedings in the country’s parliament this week.

Tune in each morning and afternoon to keep-up-to-date on the happenings in the Pacific.

As calls for deep sea mining grow louder, dozens of research vessels are on a quest to map the sea floor in strategically vital regions. While some of the surveying is for mineral deposits and fishing grounds, there's fears it might also be done for military purposes.

Tonga's Electoral Commission is facing questions over a 20-year $1.5 million dollar software agreement signed with a UK-based company with claims from former officials that the system has never been used.

Civil society groups in Timor-Leste say paedophile and ex-priest Richard Daschbach should be taken off the list of offenders put forward for a presidential pardon after being knocked back a second time this year.

Solomon Islands PM Matthew Wale has returned from trips to Australia and New Zealand that he said were designed to reset Solomon Islands' relations with the two countries.

Some argue that the 8% increase to the minimum wage in Samoa is still insufficient to meet the rising cost of living and unlikely to stem the flow of people seeking seasonal work abroad.

Locals could be unable to fish or travel by boat for weeks as a floating layer of volcanic pumice rock surrounds the islands of Manus province.

One of the West Papuans featured in the controversial documentary 'Pig Feast', has changed her stance on the film and even laid a complaint with police.