Solomon Islands

This handout photo taken and released on Aug. 26, 2024 by the European Commission shows flags of the Pacific Islands Forum member nations outside the convention centre during the Pacific Islands Forum meeting in Nuku'alofa.

Pacific Island leaders endorsed a landmark regional policing plan Wednesday at a summit in Tonga, a contentious move seen as an attempt to limit China's security role in the region.

Leaders unveiled a plan to create up to four regional police training centers and a multinational crisis reaction force, backed by $271 million in initial funding from Australia.

Gulf oil states are using their vast wealth to build influence across the far-flung South Pacific, experts have told AFP, tearing a page straight out of China's Belt and Road playbook.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two of the world's biggest crude oil producers, have been ramping up efforts to shed their reputations as global climate laggards.

Maritime nations including Denmark and the Marshall Islands are rallying support for a global carbon dioxide emissions levy on shipping, with talks at a critical stage ahead of a UN agency meeting next month that could back the measure.

Although China claimed that they have no intention of building a military base in Honiara however a secret leaked document depicts the contrary picture as it exposes China of its intentions to solidify its military presence in the Solomon Islands.

Australia's new government has urged China to lift trade sanctions if it wants to reset a bilateral relationship that plumbed new depths under the previous administration.

That would happen if China is allowed to establish a military base there, writes the Guardian. The official said the security agreement between the two countries has "potential regional security implications" for the United States and its allies.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said Wednesday his government signed a controversial security pact with China "with our eyes open" but refused to say when it may be published.

A security alliance between China and the Solomon Islands has sent shudders throughout the South Pacific, with many worried it could set off a large-scale military buildup or that Western animosity to the deal could play into China's hands.

What remains most unclear is the extent of China's ambitions.

More than 2.7 million foreign tourists visited Istanbul in the first six months of 2021, the provincial directorate of culture and tourism has said.

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In June alone, the number of foreign arrivals amounted to 685,000 people and this was the highest figure in the past 16 months.