PNG/China - security
Beijing has raised concerns about a proposed security agreement between Papua New Guinea and Australia, according to PNG's foreign minister.
The prime ministers of PNG and Australia said earlier this year that they wanted negotiations for a wide-ranging bilateral security treaty to be done by the end of April.
Benar News reports Papua New Guinea Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko saying his China counterpart, Qin Gang, raised concerns on the proposed Bilateral Security Treaty.
Tkatchenko said Qin went on to seek reassurance that the arrangement with Australia was not in some way seeking to counter China's influence in PNG and the Pacific.
Tkatchenko said he explained that the proposed security agreement was not only about defence and would cover a range of security areas from policing to biosecurity.
PNG - drug trade
An international drug smuggling syndicate is using Papua New Guinea as the conduit to transport methamphetamine to Australia, according to acting deputy commissioner of special operations, Donald Yamasombie.
He said police believe there are various storage facilities nationwide and the syndicate is using rural airstrips and ships.
The National reports him saying the police transnational unit and the drugs and vice squad have been investigating this syndicate for a while now, but police have their limitations, and challenges with manpower and establishments.
Yamasombie said police were currently working with international enforcement partners and the public prosecutor's office, but the invitation was open to other relevant Government agencies to come on board.
Photo: Rémy Martin
New Caledonia - patrol boat
New Caledonia has received the first of six new patrol boats which the French Navy will deploy over the next two years.
The Auguste-Benebig arrived in Noumea after leaving the French port Brest in mid-January.
The Navy plans to base two patrol boats each in New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Reunion in the Indian Ocean.
The Navy's chief of staff, Admiral Pierre Vandier, said this investment is in line with the president's strategy for a region in full geopolitical development.
Palau - tourism
The Palau Visitors' Authority says arrivals increased more than 300 percent in February 2023, compared to the same month a year earlier.
The authority recorded 2,415 visitors in February this year.
This compares to 518 arrivals in February 2022.
The new data further said Taiwan represents 38 percent of arrivals, followed by the United States/Canada with 36 percent.
Fiji - illegal recruitment
Fiji's government is warning against the illegal recruitment of workers for employment overseas.
The Fiji Times reports employment minister Agni Deo Singh saying any company or person seeking to send Fijian workers for overseas employment must first register and obtain approval from the ministry.
The warning comes after recent reports of Fijians being illegally recruited for employment opportunities in Canada.
Singh said the strict conditions are to ensure people are not exploited and also to prevent human trafficking.
Samoa - politics
An order preventing a suspended Samoan MP from leaving the country has been lifted.
Lealailepule Rimoni Aiafi is serving a 24-month suspension from the Legislative Assembly due to an accusation of bribery in an election petition case that is now before the Supreme Court.
The departure prohibition order was the result of another case, a private prosecution criminal case relating to allegations of bribery which were filed in the District Court last Friday.
However, the judge lifted the order after considering the MP was leaving the country to visit his children and sick grandchild in New Zealand.
Palau - assistance
The United States' financial assistance to Palau will be doubled if Congress passes the $US890 million Compact Review Agreement.
Island Times reports Palau president Surangel Whipps Jr saying the funding is strictly for financial assistance with allocations to maintenance, infrastructure, debt relief and government operations over the next 20 years.
In addition to the US$890 million, Palau will retain the US federal programmes it is already receiving, plus additional ones if the ongoing negotiations fall through.
According to Whipps, Palau will also continue to get the annual US$15 million drawdown from the Compact.
Palau is one of the three North Pacific states reviewing their compacts of free association with the US alongwith the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia.
