The CSIS Pacific Partners Initiative recently launched a new micro-site to explain the findings of a recent study on U.S.-New Zealand relations to the broader public. Watch CSIS Pacific Partner Initiative Co-Director and Senior Advisor Ernie Bower share our findings…
Who is he? Sato Kilman, 57, is the new prime minister of Vanuatu. He is assuming the post of prime minister for the third time in five years. Kilman most recently served as foreign minister to the man he ousted…
By Shinichi Isobe Although congressional authorization of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) is in limbo now, the House decided to take up the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) bill again by the end of July and kept the window of opportunity open.…
By Gregory Poling Both the tone and substance of South China Sea discussions in Australian policy circles has undergone an important shift in recent months. What was previously a second-tier security concern to be watched closely and engaged diplomatically, but…
By Gregory Poling Fijian prime minister Voreqe “Frank” Bainimarama on May 6 reiterated that he will not attend any Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) leaders’ meetings as long as Australia and New Zealand remain full members, rather than development partners like…
By Gregory Poling The last half of March provided troubling examples of the toll increasingly frequent extreme weather events will take on countries in the twenty-first century, and particularly on small-island developing states. But it also underscored the increasing international…
On March 13 tropical Cyclone Pam hit Vanuatu, causing widespread damage across the archipelago nation in the South Pacific. Vanuatu’s president Baldwin Lonsdale said the Category 5 storm “wiped out” all economic development Vanuatu has seen in recent years and…
Who is he? Manasseh Sogavare was elected prime minister of the Solomon Islands for the third time on December 9, 2014. He first succeeded to the office in June 2000, when the rebel Malaitan Eagle Force took Prime Minister Bartholomew…
Who is he? Samiu Vaipulu served as the first deputy prime minister of Tonga following sweeping changes to the nation’s constitution in 2010 that made 17 of the 26 members of parliament directly elected from among the general population. The…
$960 million The amount allocated in Australia’s 2014-15 budget for aid to Pacific Island countries in U.S. dollars. This represents around 20 percent of Australia’s overall aid budget and makes it the single largest donor in the region, accounting for…
