For Pacific Island nations, rising sea levels are a bigger security concern than rising Chinese influence

When the Pacific Islands Forum is held in Nauru from September 1, one of the main objectives will be signing a wide-ranging security agreement that covers everything from defence and law and order concerns to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

Malcolm Turnbull promised to ‘step up’ Australian engagement
with the Pacific last year. Will it continue now that he’s gone?

The key question heading into the forum is: can the agreement find a balance between the security priorities of Australia and New Zealand and the needs of the Pacific Island nations?

Even though new Prime Minister Scott Morrison is not attending the forum, sending Foreign Minister Marise Payne instead, the Biketawa Plus security agreement remains a key aim for Canberra.

The original Biketawa Declaration was developed as a response to the 2000 coup in Fiji. It has served Australia and the region well, providing a framework for collective action when political tensions and crises occur. However, in the face of rapid change, it looks narrow and dated.

Read the story from The Conversation by the Head of Department, Politics and Philosophy, at La Trobe University, Michael O’Keefe - “For Pacific Island nations, rising sea levels are a bigger security concern than rising Chinese influence.”

2017: Trump Peddles Climate Doubt in a World Sold on Action

When Donald Trump takes over the U.S. presidency
 from Barack Obama he will face a world already
committed to climate change action, and his hostility to
science and action could cause diplomatic ripple effects. 

President-elect Donald Trump may dismiss the Paris Agreement and pack his cabinet with climate deniers, but once he takes office, he will face a world that takes the climate crisis as seriously as he does not.

He will enter a complex web of diplomatic relations, where issues like trade, finance, migration, security, poverty, food aid and disaster relief are all intertwined and all have important links to the climate agenda. It's a world already dealing with significant climate impacts and sold on climate action.

"I am struck by the shift over the last few years in how the global community puts climate change on its agenda," Jonathan Pershing, President Obama's special envoy on climate, told InsideClimate News. "It is now virtually everywhere."

Since the signing of the Paris Agreement a year ago, addressing climate change has remained a major imperative for most of the world's nations. Enough countries quickly ratified the accord so that it entered into force early, in November. Shortly after Trump's surprising election, delegates from virtually every country in the world gathered in Marrakech to start putting the Paris treaty immediately into action.

Read the Inside Climate News story - “2017: Trump Peddles Climate Doubt in a World Sold on Action.”