Pacific Islands News Roundup – September 17 – September 23, 2026

Political Leadership and Regionalism, Peace and Security

• U.S. military buildup in Palau stirs war fears

  (Japan Times/AFP-JIJI)

• Forum leaders to advocate for Pacific issues at United Nations General Assembly

  (RNZ)

• Pacific leaders take digital priorities to UNGA81

  (Samoa Observer)

• Pacific: United Nations May Soon Affirm Statehood of Island States After Sea Level Rise

  (Climate Law)

• Solomon Islands: how 100 days of Wale reshaped its foreign policy

  (The Interpreter/Analysis)

• A nation renamed stands up at the UN: ‘Say our name. Naoero.’

  (AP)

• Wenda calls on ‘brave’ Pacific to raise West Papua at UNGA after six killed in new Indonesian massacre

  (Asia Pacific Report)

• UN rapporteur flags nuclear legacy, climate threats to Marshallese rights defenders

  (PMN)

• Papua New Guinea Police rescue 39 Indonesians in human trafficking operation

  (RNZ)

• ‘Moving into commercial mining would be premature’: American Samoa, Guam put their foot down

  (Pacific Island Times)

• Sweeping changes to Fiji’s governance recommended by Constitution Commission

  (RNZ)

• Solomon Islands: Treaty row grows after leaked message links funding and PM’s no-confidence motion

  (PMN)

• Guam: High-stakes’ talks on military impact begin in San Francisco

  (Guam Daily Post)

• The UN funding crisis: Implications for the Pacific (

  Pacific Island Times/Analysis

  )

• French Polynesia: Financing: The country turns to the Asian Bank

  (TNTV News)

• Hawai‘i: The FBI Anti-Corruption Squad Was Circling Susan Collins — Until Trump Got in the Way (

  Civil Beat/ProPublica/Investigation

  )

People-Centered Development

• Betel Nut use traced back as far as 25 thousand years

  (Pacific Beat/Audio)

• Vanuatu signs the Declaration on Children, Youth, and Climate Action

  (Post Courier Online)

• Guam confronts mounting suicide rates

  (Pacific Island Times)

• Nearly half of Palau’s essential medicines out of stock as global supply chain strains bite

  (Island Times)

• Pacific health leader calls to change image of region as aid-dependent

  (Pacific Beat/Audio)

• Papua New Guinea: Education Department Launches Gender Equity and Social Inclusion Policy

  (PNG Bulletin)

• New report shows learning gains across the Pacific, but continued action needed

  (Pacific Community)

• New Zealand: University students push back against calls to scrap Māori and Pacific admissions scheme (

  RNZ

  )

• Sāmoa Ombudsman raises concerns over local news reporting of siblings’ deaths

  (PMN)

• Giving the ocean a voice: Pacific journalists gather ahead of PINA summit

  (Islands Business)

• Navigating the tides: how fiscal discipline sustains social protection in Kiribati

  (DevPolicy Blog)

• Pacific: ‘Damaging stereotype’ of Pasifika in AI-generated Voyager ad

  (RNZ)

Climate Change and Disasters, Ocean and Environment

• Pacific leaders take united voice to UN General Assembly

  (PMN)

• A Niue-based trust has been named a finalist in the prestigious Earthshot Prize

  (RNZ)

• Fiji loses $500m annually to climate-related disasters

  (Fiji Sun)

• Storm damage to Hawaii infrastructure and schools costing hundreds of millions

  (Hawaii Tribune-Herald/Honolulu Star-Advertiser)

• Tongan volcano sent seafloor crashing 700m in minutes – new study

  (PMN)

• Scientists embark on expedition to study Tokelau’s unexplored underwater world

  (Pacific Island Times)

• Bezos Earth Fund announces $25 Million to protect tropical Pacific

  (Pacific Community)

• Pacific initiative to save the Ocean (

  Islands Business

  )

• 60 hybrid reef structures launch to protect Hawaiʻi coastlines

  (HPR)

• ‘1.5°C is not just a number for the Marshall Islands’

  (Pacific Environews)

• Communities at the heart of $3.1 million in environmental action across Samoa

  (Samoa News Hub)

• Vanuatu: El Niño puts growing pressure on rural farmers and water supplies (

  Daily Post Digital

  )

Resources and Economic Development, Technology and Connectivity

• Marshall Islands: RMI launches new ePassport

  (Marshall Islands Journal)

• Fiji tourism shifts focus to value-led growth

  (Pacific Business Review)

• Pacific moves to boost yachting tourism

  (Islands Business)

• Vanuatu content creators turn social media following into business opportunities

  (Vanuatu Business Review)

• Solomon Islands: GREAT Coalition targets 25,000 new jobs in four years

  (Pacific Business Review)

• Tonga recorded 374 more departures than arrivals in August

  (Talanoa ‘O Tonga)

• Papua New Guinea: Chinese miner pays exorbitant price to take control of PNG mines

  (National Indigenous Times)

• Tonga: Inflation jumps to 12% as food and transport costs rise

  (Talanoa ‘O Tonga)

• Papua New Guinea: PNG LNG surpasses 100 million tonnes of LNG safely produced

  (Pacific Business Review)

• Four CNMI mayors tell BOEM they oppose any seabed mining in Commonwealth waters

  (NMI News Service)

• Backpacker cuts put focus on Pacific seasonal workers

  (Samoa Observer)

• Vanuatu: Staying connected during disaster is essential for vulnerable Pacific communities

  (Pasifika TV)

**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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