Pacific pivot or pirouette? What Biden’s first 100 days mean for the region
Whilst the Biden administration has signalled its intent to more actively engage the Pacific Islands region, it is yet to be seen if this is just a flash in the pan, Meg Keen writes. When United States President Joe Biden was elected, Pacific Island expectations were high — and so were the stakes. Yet the Pacific Islands…
Blog
Sinclair Dinnen - 28 Apr 2021
Public-private policing partnerships: new thinking in PNG security
In many important areas, private security can be the partner the police need to deliver public safety and security outcomes in Papua New Guinea, Sinclair Dinnen and Grant Walton write Soon after his appointment as Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) Police Minister, Bryan Kramer promised to reform PNG’s police force — the Royal Papua New Guinea…
Blog
Hugh McClure - 22 Apr 2021
COVID-19 – the Pacific response: 22 April
Fiji has recorded its first case of community transmission in 12 months, whilst COVID-19 continues to spread rapidly in Papua New Guinea, Hugh McClure writes. Papua New Guinea (PNG) is hurtling toward 10,000 known COVID-19 cases, with 9,952 cases now confirmed in the country and 91 deaths. Despite the rapid increase in identified cases, health authorities continue to caution that…
Blog
Jose Sousa-Santos - 20 Apr 2021
Policing transnational and organised crime in the Pacific
In order to combat transnational crime in the Pacific, larger states must allow local partners to take the lead on development, Danielle Watson, Jose Sousa-Santos, and Loene M Howes write. The Pacific Island region is characterised by vast geographic expanses, porous maritime borders, and relatively small populations scattered across multiple islands, and it is growing…
