Pacific Islands News Roundup – September 3 – September 9, 2026

Political Leadership and Regionalism, Peace and Security

• [LEADERS COMMUNIQUE] 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting

  (Pacific Islands Forum)

• Pacific: Forum outcomes highlight “complex and challenging strategic environment”

  (Islands Business)

• Pacific leaders ‘push back’ on China’s conduct with ‘unifying’ criticism of ballistic missile test

  (ABC Australia)

• Pacific: Forum Leaders put Political Leadership and regionalism at centre of reform

  (PACNEWS)

• Pacific: Side by side but by no means in perfect harmony with issues far from black and white at PIF ’26

  (Pacific Beat/Audio)

• West Papua: The Pacific’s new test of Indonesia’s sovereignty narrative

  (Asia Pacific Report/Analysis)

• Tonga and US agree to study modernised government data centre

  (Talanoa ‘O Tonga)

• Marshall Islands is a sovereign state, Heine reminds US following Trump’s social media gaffe

  (Pacific Island Times)

• ‘Easy decision’: Naoero becomes third Pacific Islands Forum member with Jerusalem embassy (

  RNZ

  )

• EWC and PIDP Join Pacific Leaders in Palau to Strengthen Regional Partnerships

  (East-West Center)

• No-confidence motion against Solomon Islands PM withdrawn

  (Pacific Beat/Audio)

• Cook Islands: Minerals, military strategy draw the eye of Trump to isolated atoll and its 230 people

  (Asia Pacific Report/Analysis)

• Tensions grow over tourism in Palau

  (SBS News/Video)

• Vanuatu: Two small Pacific islands creating one big stink with France over ownership

  (Asia Pacific Report/Analysis)

• Debt in the Pacific – systemic and current threats to regional economic sovereignty

  (Asia Pacific Report)

• Solomon Islands Launches New Electronic Visa System and Border Management Reforms

  (Sunday Isles)

People-Centered Development

• Naoero flips the script for its first feature film Far End of the Sea and goes global

  (ABC Australia)

• Tuvalu’s ‘darkest years’ brought to screen in powerful Pacific documentary

  (Fiji Sun)

• Papua New Guinea: New documentary warns of devastating mining impacts on Sepik River

  (Pacific Beat/Audio)

• Sleepless in Sāmoa: Scholar’s vision for Pacific youth mental health

  (National Indigenous Times)

• French Polynesia: Mobilization against suicide: “Talking can change everything, listening can save a life”

  (Tahiti Infos)

• PNG cancer centre set to open its doors to all patients in the Pacific (

  PMN

  )

• Pacific campaigners: Indigenous knowledge must have a say in the deep sea mining debate

  (PMN)

• Samoa: Deep in Magiagi, the mystery of Fale o le Fe’e

  (Samoa News Hub)

• CNMI to Receive Up to $3.29 Million in Landmark $17.1 Billion Meta Settlement Over Child Safety

  (NMI News Service)

• How Facebook is shaping public debate on sorcery violence in PNG

  (RNZ)

• New Caledonians lean on indigenous crops during economic downturn

  (Pacific Beat/Audio)

• Fijian circus takes off, as crowds build for Riverfire

  (National Indigenous Times)

Climate Change and Disasters, Ocean and Environment

• Why this El Niño is different from all the others

  (ABC Australia)

• El Niño impacts on Pacific forecast to last well into 2027

  (RNZ)

• Pacific nations push for stronger protection of reefs that can survive the climate emergency

  (PMN)

• Beyond 1.5°C: Pacific warns the bill will be paid in food, fisheries and record lost revenue

  (PMN)

• Pacific leaders step up climate and disaster push ahead of COP31, approve Renewable Energy Commissioner as Climate push intensifies

  (PACNEWS)

• Tuvalu set to host global leaders ahead of COP31

  (PACNEWS)

• Six Fiji communities relocated, two more facing climate move

  (Fiji Sun)

• Hurricane Lowell: Parts Of Kaua‘i ‘Like A War Scene’ (

  Civil Beat

  )

• Hawai‘i: ‘Double Death’: Grief Revived Amid Search For Bones From Nāʻālehu Graves

  (Civil Beat)

• Tonga: Lord Fakafanua calls for Pacific action over Antarctic krill fishing

  (Talanoa ‘O Tonga)

• Kanak Vision of the Ocean

  (SPREP)

• Pacific Adopts Second Edition of State of the Environment and Conservation in the Pacific Islands: 2025 Report

  (SPREP)

Resources and Economic Development, Technology and Connectivity

• The Pacific Is Ground Zero for Deep-Sea Mining

  (Center for Strategic and International Studies)

• Pacific: The deep-sea mining dilemma: National security vs environmental destruction

  (Pacific Island Times)

• Cook Islands: China reaffirms seabed minerals support as US prepares to station scientist in Rarotonga

  (RNZ)

• Lawsuit seeks to stop deep-sea mining lease sale in the Mariana Islands

  (Pacific Island Times)

• Pacific Leaders set AI rules, push stronger digital connectivity

  (PACNEWS)

• Fiji Airways records best booking day in company history

  (Fiji Live)

• ADB puts Pacific at center of new regional strategy, Kanda says

  (Island Times)

• In Palau, waste is transformed into fuel and works of art

  (TNTV News)

• ʻUlu On The Up: Hawaiʻi Breadfruit Production Keeps Booming

  (Civil Beat)

• Fuel crisis is about food, jobs and sovereignty: Palau Youth leader tells Forum Leaders

  (PACNEWS)

• Federated States of Micronesia Bolsters Yap Travel to Satawal and Lamotrek through Maritime Support

  (Travel and Tour World)

• Kiribati Launches Virgin Coconut Oil Initiative to Strengthen Outer Island Livelihoods

  (UNDP)

**Disclaimer: **

The PIR seeks to include news coverage from news outlets across the Pacific, representing a diversity of coverage in the region. Please note that the inclusion of article links does not represent PIR or PIDP endorsement of the information presented in the articles.

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The Pacific Islands Report (PIR) is a project of the Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP) at the East-West Center and the Center for Pacific Islands Studies (CPIS) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

This non-exhaustive news roundup, featuring open-access information, is organized with the thematic areas of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and its implementation plan.

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