Australia’s new government has made a strong start in the Pacific islands since its election in May. Early visits by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to the Pacific Islands Forum, and bilateral visits by Foreign Minister …
Articles by: "James Batley"
It seems that the overwhelming outcome of the referendum on Bougainville, with over 97% of eligible voters supporting independence, surprised even seasoned observers. Still, as is well known, the vote is not binding. Under the …
Advocates of stronger and more effective Australian engagement in the South Pacific face a couple of entrenched structural challenges. First, the region is hardly critical to Australia’s economic future—the South Pacific accounts for a mere …
The Australian government has tabled the text of the security agreement it signed with (former) Solomon Islands prime minister Manasseh Sogavare during his visit to Australia in August this year. The agreement has been billed …
On 30 June this year the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) will come to an end. Established in July 2003, RAMSI has been a feature of life in Solomon Islands for more than …
In my earlier post I argued that, notwithstanding the strong legal underpinning of the 2001 Bougainville Peace Agreement, it’s possible that Bougainville and Waigani may be on a collision course. What would such a collision …
The 2001 Bougainville Peace Agreement (BPA) marked the formal end to the 1990s Bougainville conflict, even though a truce, and subsequently a ceasefire, had been in place since late 1997. Among other things, the BPA …