Covid concerns rise in Fiji
In Fiji, concerns about the current wave of COVID-19 infections continue to rise. Friday of last week saw the first day in which more than 100 new cases were reported. Most cases can be linked to known clusters.
The number of fatalities remains unclear as authorities are now seeking to list some people as having died from pre-existing conditions even though they were being treated for COVID-19 complications at the time of death.
There have been several calls for a 28-day lockdown on Viti Levu, Fiji’s largest island. However, the government is so far resisting going down that path. Prime Minister Bainimarama has claimed that no developing country has successfully made use of lockdowns during the global pandemic.
In extremely rare scenes for Fiji, villagers in Nawaka, in the Western Division, congregated with placards to protest that the rations they had received from the government were insufficient.
Vanuatu political drama on hold
In Vanuatu the political drama is on hold until the middle of this week. There are two cases before the Supreme Court that are likely to have an impact on how Parliament proceedings progress.
Ahead of a Supreme Court hearing on Tuesday, the Speaker of the Parliament resigned. The case had arisen further to a constitutional challenge by a number of government MPS who had sought to have him removed further to his having declared 19 MPs’ seats vacant.
Parliament is expected to resume on Wednesday after having been adjourned last Friday. However, the Supreme Court will not consider the government MPs’ challenge to the purported vacation of their seats until Friday of this week
The MPs, who include both the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister among their number, had obtained a stay order to allow Parliamentary business to continue.
Still outstanding is a motion of no confidence against the Prime Minister, which was lodged by the Leader of the Opposition.
US troops to spend the summer in Palau
In Palau the National Security Office has announced that a total of 400 US troops will spend time in the country during the summer months.
Coordinator Jennifer Anson has confirmed that the rotations will be for small-scale training and humanitarian missions. All the visiting troops will be required to have received COVID-19 vaccinations. However, there are no details yet as to whether they will be quarantined on arrival as has been the case previously.
The President of Palau, Surangel Whipps Jr, has made no secret of his wish that his country should be a much bigger focus for the US military, not least as a means of economic diversification for the tourism-dependent country.
During a visit to Palau by then Defense Secretary, Mark Esper, Whipps delivered a handwritten note specifically requesting that the US build and use a military base in his country.
G7 announcements resonate for the Pacific
At the recent meeting of the G7, a number of announcements were made that will be of interest to leaders of Pacific island countries.
Although the climate discussion received less press coverage than other issues, some significant decisions were made by the world’s leading economies. Most notable was the commitment to end new government subsidies for coal power generation in their countries.
In relation to vaccines, the group has pledged to provide one billion doses to poorer countries as part of the drive to vaccinate 70% of the global population. However, it falls far short of the 11 million doses that the WHO says are required.
The G7 communique also introduced the ‘Build Back Better World’ (B3W) Partnership led by the Biden administration. It seeks to provide finance to meet the infrastructure needs of least developed and developing countries and to provide countries with an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Tess Newton Cain is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Griffith Asia Institute and project lead of the Pacific Hub.
