Pacific Islands Forum Meeting ‘Less Productive’ with a Third of Its Leaders Absent

Pacific leaders pull out of contentious Pacific Islands summit

Five prime ministers have withdrawn from the Pacific summit amid escalating tensions caused by far-advanced war preparations by the US against China.

Pacific Islands Forum starts with leaders missing, China furious

The annual Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting is underway in Palau, and already there has been controversy. First, it’s a leaders meeting with a distinct lack of leaders. Second, China is reportedly furious that Taiwan is represented at the meeting in its own right. The fact the leaders of five of the forum’s 18 […] The post Pacific Islands Forum starts with leaders missing, China furious appeared first on Asia Times.

Pacific Islands Forum meeting ‘less productive’ with a third of its leaders absent

Analysts say Beijing’s influence may have undermined the event, where the China-Taiwan rivalry is front and center.

How Great Power Rivalry Is Fracturing the Pacific Islands Forum

Absences from this year’s Leaders’ Meeting are raising questions about the group’s solidarity amid growing China-U.S. competition.

'Our ocean is not empty space for rivalry,' Pacific Islands Forum leader says

Some Pacific island nations that are allied with China are skating on thin ice, with their state leaders failing to show up at the regional gathering and sending their representatives.

Pacific forum opens with empty chairs and a crowded agenda

The Pacific Islands Forum has opened in Palau without the leaders of Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Kiribati, weakening the show of regional unity as major security and economic questions crowd the agenda.