The Latest Breaking News from Pacific Island

China’s foreign minister has met with the leaders of Samoa on the third stop of an island-hopping tour aimed at deepening China’s ties with the Pacific Island nations

Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi is touring eight Pacific island nations as part of a strategy to increase Beijing's clout in the region. The move triggered Western countries to strengthen ties and may re-boot the relationship between France and Australia, still suffering from a submarine deal that went wrong.

The United States is concerned that China is seeking to reach agreements with Pacific island nations in what may be a rushed, non-transparent process, State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters on Wednesday.

Australia's new Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she would travel to Fiji on Thursday, a trip that will coincide with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's tour of eight Pacific Island countries including Fiji and Solomon Islands.

China will seek a region-wide deal with almost a dozen Pacific island countries covering policing, security and data communication cooperation when Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosts a meeting in Fiji next week, documents seen by Reuters show.

The Chinese government confirms the diplomatic tour will focus on building trust and relationships within the Pacific region.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit eight Pacific Island countries from May 26 to June 4 including the Solomon Islands, a ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.

New foreign affairs minister tells Pacific leaders Australia ‘will listen because we care’ after reports China may be seeking security agreement with Kiribati

Tiibea Baure moved to Australia from Kiribati so her family would have options if they had to leave the Pacific Island nation due to climate change. But if her family were forced out, it would raise questions over statelessness and nationality.