A security pact between China and the Solomon Islands does not target any third parties and criticism from Australian right-wing officials and commentators is an overreaction, according to analysts.
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Breaking up the Pacific Islands Forum would be a lost opportunity to cement the region s global leadership on climate change and ocean conservation.
That s according to Pasifika academic Damon Salesa who is Auckland University s pro-vice chancellor Pacific, speaking in the wake of a major split that has opened up within the Forum s membership.
Assoc. Prof. Damon Salesa
Photo: University of Auckland
The presidents of Nauru, the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands and Palau said that South Pacific countries dishonoured a gentleman s agreement to rotate the post evenly among sub-regions.
According to them, the smaller islands of Micronesia are often overlooked by their large Polynesian and Melanesian cousins, with Australia and New Zealand also viewing them as an afterthought.