Xi will not like this move either.

Pacific Islands Fourm 'one big family' as leaders meet and select new leader amid intense US-China competition.

Former Nauru president Baron Waqa — who famously clashed with a Chinese diplomat and accused Beijing of bullying smaller countries — will take the reins of the Pacific's peak regional body next year, after a special Pacific Islands Forum meeting in Fiji.

Prime ministers and presidents from a host of Pacific nations gathered in Nadi on Friday to cement a deal that will see Kiribati formally return to the forum — known as the Suva Agreement — after a prolonged leadership dispute.

Kiribati signed the agreement on Friday night in Nadi — part of a compromise deal which will see the PIF secretary-general position handed to Mr Waqa next year.

Speaking to the ABC on the sidelines of the event, the president of the Federated States of Micronesia David Panuelo said the Pacific family would "never be fractured again".

"We have been extending the olive branch and they [Kiribati] accepted," he said.

Micronesian nations had agreed that Nauru would select the next secretary-general under the pact, and Mr Panuelo confirmed Mr Waqa would take the position from 2024.

"We've considered all the decisions and candidates that members brought in, and we all come in on the full decision," he said.

That decision is likely to stir unease in Beijing, which has been intent on establishing its own regional mechanisms to broaden security and economic ties with the region.

Nauru is one of the four Pacific Island nations which recognise Taiwan rather than China....

Micronesia president accuses Beijing of ‘political warfare’ and claims Chinese men followed him.

Micronesia’s president has accused China of bribery, harassment and “political warfare” in an explosive letter to his country’s legislature.

“Simply put, we are witnessing political warfare in our country,” outgoing leader David Panuelo warned lawmakers, detailing allegations of Chinese espionage, coercion of government officials and “direct threats” against his personal safety.

Panuelo had previously voiced concerns about Beijing’s growing power in the South Pacific, most notably opposing a security deal that could allow Chinese troops to be deployed to the region.

But his letter went much further, warning the incoming government about a barrage of threats that he believes risk making the sparsely populated island federation a vassal state....

He's the center of attention ATM, but will it be enough to keep Solomon Islands' P.M.Sogavare in power?

Solomon Islands receives visits from United States, China and Japan as 'friends to all, enemy to none' policy proves popular.

I wonder what Xi will make of that.

Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa warns China not the only outside power looking to increase their presence in Pacific.

Though I'm sure that he'll come up with something.

Another cause for concern?

Fiji prime minister investigating China spy claims, says 'survival' is key issue for Pacific nations.

It seems that Xi has been padding up Sogavare's back pocket again to come out with outlandish and incorrect claims.

Solomon Islands PM accuses Australia of pulling budget support, foreign interference.

The prime minister of Solomon Islands says China has agreed to provide funding to prop up the country's troubled budget, and also accused Australia and development partners of suddenly withdrawing financial support worth millions of dollars.

Manasseh Sogavare has once again taken aim at Australia and the United States for criticising his country's policing pact with China, and has declared that "nothing" can stop him asking from Beijing to send police to help if disorder breaks out again in Solomon Islands and other countries are slow to respond.

And he has also mused about the possibility of Solomon Islands setting up its own military forces, saying he discussed the idea with Richard Marles during the deputy prime minister's recent visit to the Pacific Island country.

The prime minister revealed Beijing had offered to provide budget support during an explosive press conference at Honiara's airport on return from a week-long trip to China.....

It seems that Xi has been padding up Sogavare's back pocket again to come out with outlandish and incorrect claims.

It seems Australia and the US should probably make all the micro nations in the Pacific an offer that they certainly won't want to refuse. A Pacific dotted with Chinese Air Force bases and Chinese Navy ports is strikingly reminiscent of Japan's position in 1942. Island hopping to retake all the island nations in the event of a conflict will never again be considered by anyone. The death toll would probably be unbearable today.

Well I wonder how Xi will take this news.

Defence Minister Richard Marles happy for Australia to support a Solomon Islands defence force.

Another of Xi's Pacific plans fails.

Failed Palau media deal reveals China's Pacific influence efforts.

For years, Moses Uludong has been a lonely voice pushing the small, strategically located Pacific island nation of Palau towards closer relations with China.

Uludong founded Palau's first newspaper, Tia Belau, more than five decades ago, back when the archipelago was under US administration.

Now, as tensions rise between China and the West, Uludong thinks Palau could be devastated if war breaks out between the two powers.

The nation of 18,000 people became independent in 1994, but is still a close US ally and one of only 13 countries worldwide to defy China by recognising Taiwan diplomatically.

So, in 2018, Uludong entered into a deal to set up a new media group that he believed would help restore some balance.

What he did not realise was that the initiative was backed by investors with ties to China's police and military, public records obtained by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) show.........

I wonder how much that cost Xi.

Solomon Islands PM snubs meeting with US president, praises China's 'global security initiative' in UN speech.

Sogavare is looking more like Xi's puppet as time goes by.

Did a government payroll software glitch really start all this?

Papua New Guinea's PM James Marape says there was 'deep political influence' behind the deadly riots. Will he survive this crisis?

When Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape addressed his nation and declared a state of emergency, he was flanked by 26 government MPs.

The optics were clear: this was as much a political crisis for the PM as it was a security one.

"Don't think James Marape is going anywhere," he declared.

After the deadly riots over the past 48 hours, Marape is now facing shifting political fortunes.

And as he tries to restore faith in his country's system of law and order and his government, he's suggesting it is the political establishment itself that could have had a role to play in this week's deadly violence.

He told a press conference, he is looking "deeper" into the various forces that were at play as the violence spread across Port Moresby and beyond.

"We are certainly not discounting the fact that there is deep political influence on the side to ensure this sort of thing does take place in our city and in our country," Marape said.....

Will Sogavare be able to keep his pockets full of Chinese cash?

What Solomon Islands election means for relations and security pact with China.

Opposition politicians in Solomon Islands are vowing to make public or even scrap a deeply contentious security pact with China if they manage to oust Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare in elections this April.

But Mr Sogavare has unveiled the election platform for his own political coalition, which celebrates major development projects funded by China, and vows to further consolidate ties with Beijing under a "look north" foreign policy.

Campaigning is beginning to ramp up in Solomon Islands ahead of elections that Mr Sogavare pushed back from November last year, provoking a firestorm of criticism.....

Well at least he'll have plenty of Xi's money in his pocket to retire on.

Solomon Islands pro-China leader Manasseh Sogavare withdraws from race to be next prime minister.

....Mr Sogavare made international headlines when he signed a controversial security pact with China in 2022 after switching the country's diplomatic relations from Taiwan.

Speaking at a press conference in the Solomon Islands capital Honiara on Monday night, Mr Sogavare thanked his "people and country" for the "privilege and honour" of serving as leader.

But, he said, it was time to "usher in new party leadership".

"I have been accused of many things [during my time as leader]," he said. "My family, and my children included, have been subjected to unprecedented to unprecedented verbal abuse.

"I have been increasingly vilified in the media, our family home has been razed to the ground.

"But that did not waver my resolve to serve my country. It is a monumental sacrifice."

Mr Sogavare's announcement marks the end of an era in Solomon Islands politics.....

And the Solomon people will be much happier.

The focus shifts to France this time and the problems of it colonist past that is still affecting the local indigenous people.

France declares a state of emergency in New Caledonia, 500 police sent to quash deadly riots.

France has declared a state of emergency in the Pacific territory of New Caledonia after four people, including a police officer, were killed in riots over voting reform in the French-ruled archipelago.

The move came as the French government confirmed an additional 500 members of the French national police and Gendarmerie were being sent there to try and quell the violence.

The state of emergency will last 12 days and give authorities additional powers to ban gatherings and forbid people from moving around.

The last time France imposed such measures on one of its overseas territories was in 1985, also in New Caledonia, the Interior Ministry said.

Rioters torched vehicles and businesses and looted stores, prompting extra police to be sent from France to support the 1,800 already there.....

....Rioting broke out over a new bill, adopted by politicians in Paris on Tuesday, that will allow French residents who have lived in New Caledonia for 10 years to vote in provincial elections — a move some local leaders fear will dilute the Kanak vote.

Electoral reform is the latest flashpoint in a decades-long tussle over France's role in the mineral-rich islands, which lie in the south-west Pacific, between Australia and Fiji.

France annexed the island in 1853 and gave the colony the status of overseas territory in 1946.

It has long been rocked by pro-independence movements.

A 1998 Noumea Accord helped end the conflict by outlining a path to gradual autonomy and restricting voting to the Indigenous Kanak and migrants living in New Caledonia before 1998.

Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai and current chair of the Melanesian Spearhead Group issued a statement yesterday to express support for the major pro-independence political group, Front de Libération Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS).....

It's well past time to let it go France.

It's well past time to let it go France.

Riots doesn't mean there's a majority for independence. But the growing proportion of natives compared to declining numbers of European French immigrants will lead to a majority in the near future.

Is Xi already observing? A new nation state in the Pacific certainly needs fatherly advice and support...

Emmanuel seems determined to make matters worse.

New Caledonia's civil unrest has unfolded rapidly, but some say the French territory's strife was years in the making.

I wonder how hard France would fight independence if it wasn't for the nickle.

I also doubt that returning to the scene of his crime will be helpful.

Why French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to New Caledonia is unlikely to bring peace.

French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in New Caledonia after more than a week of deadly civil unrest and violence.

Mr Macron is expected to meet with elected officials and local representatives to "prepare and anticipate reconstruction".

But experts say the president's visit is unlikely to address the root causes of the turmoil — both political and economic.

The crisis — which has left six dead and hundreds injured — was sparked by a move in Paris to expand New Caledonia's electoral rolls and give voting rights to tens of thousands of non-Indigenous residents......

His latest move will likely only last until the Olympics are over so that he can have some peace during the event.

French president Emmanuel Macron delays New Caledonia voting reforms after deadly riots.

French President Emmanual Macron has delayed voting reforms that sparked deadly riots in New Caledonia, but has stopped short of scrapping them completely.

The electoral changes would allow thousands of French residents who have lived in the French territory for 10 years to vote.

The territory's Indigenous Kanaks, who make up more than 40 per cent of the population, see the changes as an attempt to torpedo the independence movement.....

Emmanuel is going out of his way to make enemies.

New wave of unrest hits New Caledonia after authorities send pro-independence activists to detention in France.

A new surge of unrest has hit New Caledonia amid warnings the decision to send seven activists charged over deadly riots to France has mobilised pro-independence supporters.

Authorities in the French territory said on Monday, local time, a police station and town hall were set on fire overnight, and that civil unrest had spread beyond the capital Noumea.

The resurgence in unrest followed a decision by French authorities to transfer the pro-independence activists 17,000 kilometres away for detention.

Political and legal observers say the decision violated rights — including the right to respect for family life — and took a colonial approach that would only intensify the turmoil in the Pacific territory........

The days of a colonial empires are well and truly over Emmanuel and it's time to get with the times France.

At least they didn't send them to the prisons in French Guyane, as colonial France did in the past.

But I would prefer the pro-independence movement to follow democratic principles, and strive for the next popular vote on this topic. This way they would achieve indepence faster than with violent riots.