Pacific News Minute

After a meeting in Hanoi, the foreign ministers of China and Vietnam agreed to settle their differences in the South China Sea peacefully. But the announcement may not be what it seems. We have more from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute.

A late night meeting in Paris has settled the most critical remaining issue ahead of New Caledonia’s independence referendum. The exact wording of the question to be put before voters. We have details from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute.

Last December, it looked as if Prime Minister Peter O’Neill had evaded a long running corruption charge when the Papua New Guinea Supreme Court quashed an arrest warrant. But now the lawyer at the center of the case has filed civil charges against the Prime Minister and others. We have more from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute.

Over the past few days, fears of a trade war with China have calmed on news of negotiations between Washington and Beijing, but U.S. diplomatic and military missions over the past two weeks have drawn angry reactions from China. We have more from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute.

The long running division in the Melanesian Spearhead Group has erupted into public. Senior officials in the Solomon Islands and Fiji have attacked each other over the issue of West Papua. We have details from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific New Minute.

After locating the wreck of the famous aircraft carrier USS Lexington earlier this month, a team funded by billionaire Paul Allen reports discovery of another ship lost in the early days of World War II. The USS Juneau, which sank off Guadalcanal in 1942. 683 crewmen died, including the five Sullivan brothers - we have more from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute. 

Last October, a Vatican Tribunal reached a decision in the sex abuse trial of the Archbishop of Guam, but didn’t announce its verdict until last week. And even then, it left many questions unanswered. More from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute.

Just last month, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte welcomed a preliminary investigation by the International Criminal Court. He dared the ICC to indict him. If convicted, he vowed that he would prefer a firing squad to prison. Yesterday, Duterte reversed himself. We have more from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute.

In the future, you’ll be able to use an app to summon an autonomous flying taxi just like "The Jetsons." Well, the future may be closer than you think, and apparently, the Jetsons live in New Zealand. We have more from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute.

Officials in Vanuatu are still assessing the damage from last weekend’s Cyclone Hola. At least one person was killed by a falling tree. To the east, the government of Tonga extended the state of emergency that’s been in force for a month since Cyclone Gita caused widespread damage there. And more than a hundred people are reported dead from an earthquake that devastated the highlands of Papua New Guinea two weeks ago. We have more from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute.

As we reported earlier this week, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is on a tour of the South Pacific to promote what she calls a “Pacific Reset.” The new prime minister pledged millions to help Samoa and Tonga recover from Cyclone Gita. But, as we hear from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute, New Zealand must still repair relations with one of its own territories.

While President Trump’s tough talk on tariffs hits a nerve in China, Congress hit an even more sensitive area last week; when both houses unanimously approved the Taiwan Travel Act. We have details from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute.

On her first tour of the South Pacific as Prime Minister, New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern arrives in Tonga today. She will find much of the country still devastated by Cyclone Gita and the government in disarray. Neal Conan has more in today’s Pacific News Minute.

On Sunday, the Chinese Communist Party announced that presidents will no longer be limited to two terms, clearing the way for Xi Jinping to remain in office for the foreseeable future. The news comes as the U.S. and its Indo-Pacific allies reconsider an old idea – an informal alliance called the "Quad."  We have more from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute.

A year ago, the government of French Polynesia signed an agreement to build a futuristic floating city off the coast of Tahiti, with construction of a pilot project to begin later this year. Now, it looks as if the deal is dead. We have details from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute.

Papua New Guinea’s Kokoda Track is open again, after local landowners ended a protest that closed the famous trail for three weeks. According to RNZ Pacific, the government agreed to review the joint aid program with Australia, which manages the track. We have more from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute.

Research published this week shows that sea levels will rise at least three feet by the year 2300, and that’s a best case scenario. Rising waters already threaten low-lying island nations in the Pacific and will eventually trigger mass migration. We have more from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute.

Last week, we reported on the inconclusive decision by the Melanesian Spearhead Group on West Papua’s bid for full membership. Since then, Indonesia’s declared victory in its campaign to block international recognition for the United Liberation Movement, and we’ve learned more about how they did it. Neal Conan has details in today’s Pacific News Minute.

The Pacific Climate Change Conference got underway in Wellington this week, as the remnants of Cyclone Gita arrived to lash the west coast of New Zealand. Several small island nations suffered severe damage from the storm and, as we hear from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute, recovery is expected to take months, if not years.

A summit meeting of the Melanesian Spearhead Group is underway in Port Moresby this week, with leaders still unable to decide on full recognition for the United Liberation Movement of West Papua. The group represents the indigenous peoples of the western half of New Guinea, which has been part of Indonesia for more than fifty years. We have more from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute.

Earlier this month, the International Criminal Court announced a preliminary investigation into President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war in the Philippines. Thousands of people have been killed by police and vigilantes and this week, a defiant Duterte vowed to continue the war as long as he’s in office. More from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute.

The long-rumored nomination of Admiral Harry Harris as the next U.S. Ambassador to Australia is now official. Admiral Harris is about to retire after three years as the head of U.S. Pacific Command where he became known for criticism of China’s military expansion into the South China Sea. We have more from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute.

As you’ve heard on the NPR News, President Trump wants to hold a big military parade in Washington, D.C., inspired by the celebrations he saw in Paris last Bastille Day. North Korea showed off its military might in a big parade in Pyongyang yesterday. We have more from Neal Conan in the Pacific News Minute.

Earlier this week, photographs published by a Philippine newspaper showed that China has almost finished construction of military bases on seven man-made islands in the South China Sea. Facilities include runways, helipads, radars, control towers, missile shelters and hangars. We have more from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute.

The Indonesian government expelled a BBC crew from West Papua after a series of tweets “hurt the feelings of soldiers.” Indonesia rarely allows foreign reporters to visit that restive area because of the on-going independence struggle, but the BBC was given permission to cover an outbreak of measles and malnutrition. We have more from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute.

The search continues in the waters of Kiribati, but two weeks after a ferry sank, hope is fading after what’s now feared to be the worst disaster in the country’s history. It’s thought that 88 people were aboard, including a crew of five. Seven survivors were rescued last weekend. We have more from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute.

This week, the tiny South Pacific island state of Nauru marks the 50th anniversary of its independence from Australia. Dignitaries have gathered to celebrate the occasion from around the Pacific, and from Abkhazia and South Ossetia. And if you’re wondering what they’re doing there, we have an explanation from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute.

The legacy of French nuclear weapons tests in the South Pacific has triggered a surge of anxiety in French Polynesia. A report by a child psychiatrist said the children of people exposed to radiation suffered high rates of deformities and developmental disorders. The President of French Polynesia accused the doctor of creating a panic. We have more, from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute.

This week marks 50 years since North Korea seized an American intelligence ship, the U.S.S. Pueblo. Its crew of 82 suffered starvation and torture before their release almost a year later. The ship itself is now on display at the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum in Pyongyang. We have more from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute.

58 refugees from Manus Island in Papua New Guinea are on their way to new homes in the United States. The men have been held in Australian-run detention camps, many for more than four years. Another group of 154 men, women and children are expected to follow in February from Australia’s other-off shore camp in Nauru. We have details from Neal Conan in today’s Pacific News Minute.