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TOKYO, June 15 (Reuters) - The Pacific island nation of Palau has asked the United States to step up patrols of its waters after several recent incursions by Chinese vessels into its exclusive economic zone, President Surangel Whipps Jr. told Reuters in an interview. Palau identified Chinese vessels in its waters as recently as last month, when a ship appeared to be surveying an area near fibre optic cables vital to the country's communications, Whipps Jr. said. He said he would raise the issue of the incursions at the regional Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in November. The plan has been criticised by some local fishermen and neighbouring countries, including South Korea, China, and some Pacific island nations. But Whipps Jr. said he was not opposed to the plan and that he sensed regional resistance was also waning.

Persons: Surangel Whipps Jr, Whipps Jr, Whipps, Lloyd Austin, We've, Sakura Murakami, John Geddie, Michael Perry Organizations: Reuters, Pentagon, Pacific Islands Forum, U.S . Defense, U.S, ichi, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Palau, United States, Washington, Beijing, Tokyo, Micronesia, Marshall, China, Solomon, U.S, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Japan, South Korea

☆ Shipping tax could yield $100 bln climate windfall
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

TINOS, June 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The shipping industry emits 2.9% of the world's greenhouse gases. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsPOLLUTER PAYSThe shipping industry uses fossil fuels to power its boats. That said, industry leaders such as container giant Maersk (MAERSKb.CO) are moving into green shipping. This potentially large sum is attracting the attention of people outside the shipping industry, especially those focused on climate change. If a country refused to apply an agreed tax, the international shipping industry would effectively be unable to operate from its ports.

Persons: TINOS, Emmanuel Macron’s, Tristan Smith, Marshall, UCL’s Smith, Al Qaeda, Peter Thal Larsen, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, International Maritime Organisation, United Nations, European Union, EU, Reuters Graphics Reuters, University College London, Shipping, Climate Fund, World Bank, International Chamber of Shipping, Marshall, Al, Trade Center, Thomson Locations: Paris, Danish, Marshall

☆ A US Navy battleship all but sunk at Pearl Harbor was brought back to life to battle the Germans on D-Day. The military later blasted it with a nuclear bomb.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The USS Nevada saw the world and multiple combat operations during its three decades of service. It was severely damaged at Pearl Harbor but later restored to hit German positions during D-Day. After returning to duty, the Nevada spent the next 11 years operating around the Pacific, and as tensions increased with Japan, the Nevada spent much of 1941 carrying out training exercises in the region. The USS Nevada burns following the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese military. Damaged and radioactive, the Nevada survived the tests and returned to Pearl Harbor to be decommissioned later in August.

Persons: —, Pearl Harbor's Organizations: Service, US, USS, Getty, Army, Marshall Locations: Nevada, Massachusetts, Caribbean, USS Oklahoma, Ireland, USS Utah, Atlantic, Pacific, Americas, Japan, Island, USS, Attu, Alaska, Normandy's, Iwo Jima, Okinawa

☆ For These Veterans, ‘Free’ Health Care Is a 5-Hour Flight Away
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Pete Mckenzie | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ovenny Jermeto was on a combat tour 7,000 miles away from his island home in the Pacific when a bomb blew up his vehicle in the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan. He survived and completed his deployment, but later lost feeling in his right foot and struggled with anxiety and depression. He returned to the United States to finish his enlistment, eventually getting discharged on medical grounds. Thousands of foreign citizens enlist in the U.S. military every year; hundreds of them are from Micronesia, a result of the country’s close ties to the United States. According to the State Department, the regional rate of enlistment is double the rate in the United States, with almost 1 percent of Micronesians serving.

☆ Taiwan excluded from WHO annual assembly following Chinese opposition
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

GENEVA, May 22 (Reuters) - Taiwan failed in its efforts to gain an invitation to the World Health Organization's annual assembly despite the island's claims that support was growing for its participation. The annual assembly in Geneva on Monday decided not to extend Taiwan an invitation to the event which runs from May 21-30. China and Pakistan urged members to reject Taiwan's inclusion while eSwatini and the Marshall Islands spoke in favour. Reporting by Emma Farge, Editing by Rachel MoreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ How Pacific Islanders in the US are keeping in touch with their culture through dance
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“One, two, three,” Hernandez, founder of the Pacific Islander dance group Lei Pasifika, yells out. “It makes them less homesick.”According to the US Census Bureau, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders were the fastest growing ethnic population in the US from 2020 to 2021. And in big cities with a large Pacific Islander presence, like New York, Portland, Oregon, and San Diego, many US-born Pacific Islanders as well as transplants are keeping their culture alive through dance. It’s a way for Pacific Islanders, especially young people, “to find themselves” and get connected with their ethnic identity and cultures, she notes. Mann says they noticed a growing number of Pacific Islanders, including those who aren’t Native Pacific Islanders but grew up in the islands, wanting to learn more about the culture and participate in dances.

☆ Building Boom on Mykonos Reveals ‘Wretched’ Side of Greece’s Recovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Liz Alderman | Niki Kitsantonis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Among them is Nammos, a jet-set playground featuring open-air luxury boutiques and a beachside restaurant, owned by Monterock International, a Dubai-based private equity holding company, and Alpha Dhabi Holding. On Friday, the government called for Nammos to be shuttered, and the police closed one of its beach restaurants. There is also Principote, a destination for the affluent that for years has expanded over Panormos Beach, along a picturesque bay, despite multiple citations. Principote, which is registered to a holding company in the Marshall Islands, has contested the infractions and resulting fines. In 1989, his father built small bungalows above Panormos, a public beach once accessible to all.

☆ US to sign strategic pacts with two Pacific states, hopes for third in weeks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( David Brunnstrom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - The United States will sign new strategic pacts with the Pacific island states of Palau and Micronesia early next week and hopes to do so with the Marshall islands in coming weeks, the U.S. presidential envoy negotiating the deals said. As anticipated, he was unable to conclude the deal with the Marshall Islands. "We have made progress over my three-day visit to Marshall Islands and we hope to sign an agreement with the Marshall Islands in the coming weeks," he said. Chinese diplomats have been courting the region and China's construction and mining companies have expanded their business in many Pacific island nations. Yun said last month "topline" agreements would provide the three COFA states with a total of about $6.5 billion over 20 years.

☆ Six Pacific countries at high risk of debt distress - World Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

To match Feature PACIFIC-JUSTICE/ REUTERS/Lincoln FeastWELLINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) - Six Pacific countries are at a high risk of debt distress in part due to government spending to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, the World Bank said in a report on Thursday. Among other countries in the region, Vanuatu is rated at medium risk, while Palau and Nauru’s debt is sustainable, the report noted. The World Bank last month said that Fiji must also take urgent action to reduce its debt burden. Stephen Ndegwa, World Bank Country Director for Papua New Guinea & the Pacific Islands, said reducing debt, strengthening revenue and improving the quality of government spending are critical areas for Pacific countries to address. It also said that Pacific countries should allocate more to social assistance and protection measures.

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and federal and state regulators attended the session in February, according to a statement from the health ministry that did not mention cough syrups. A source with knowledge of the matter said the policy change could mean increased oversight of India's $41 billion pharmaceutical industry, which is the world's largest supplier of generic medicines. Increased testing of cough syrups as well as of raw materials for drugs in general is one of the steps being considered, said the source. India has acted against a second Indian company whose cough syrups were linked to the deaths of 19 kids in Uzbekistan, including the arrest of three of its employees. Indian health officials have expressed concern that the incidents of contaminated syrups will harm its pharmaceutical industry.

☆ US military to bolster defensive posture in Gulf after Iran seizes tankers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. military will work to bolster the defensive posture in the Gulf region following Iran's seizure and harassment of commercial shipping vessels in recent months, U.S. officials said on Friday. In the past two years, Iran has harassed, attacked or interfered with the navigational rights of 15 internationally flagged commercial vessels, officials said. "The Department of Defense will be making a series of moves to bolster our defensive posture in the Arabian Gulf," White House spokesperson John Kirby told a news briefing. The U.S. Navy said on May 3 the Panama-flagged oil tanker Niovi was seized by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy while passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Days earlier, Iran had seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman.

☆ US opens embassy in Tonga in new pushback against China in Pacific
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) - The United States has opened a new embassy in Tonga, the State Department said on Tuesday, part of efforts to step up the U.S. diplomatic presence in the Pacific region to counter China. The United States "officially opened the U.S. Embassy in Nuku'alofa on May 9, 2023," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. Miller said the embassy would allow Washington to deploy additional diplomatic personnel and resources, including the potential appointment of a resident ambassador to Tonga, with which the United States has had diplomatic relations since 1972. Despite the diplomatic push, the Solomon Islands announced in March it had awarded a multi-million-dollar contract to a Chinese state company to upgrade an international port in Honiara. The United States and regional allies Australia and New Zealand have had concerns that China has ambitions to build a naval base in the region since the Solomon Islands struck a security pact with Beijing last year.

☆ A fleet of aging tankers is transporting sanctioned oil around the globe — and it's becoming an insurance nightmare because nobody knows who owns them
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It's throwing up concerns about a fleet of secretive tankers transporting sanctioned oil globally. Authorities still don't know who to approach for damages, per various media reports. It has delivered an oil cargo to the eastern China province of Shandong before making its way to the shipyard, Bloomberg reported, citing ship-tracking data. The fire has been put out, but authorities don't know who to approach for damages according to various media reports. Russia itself has also put together a "shadow fleet" of more than 100 oil tankers in a bid to skirt Western sanctions, the Financial Times reported in December.

☆ US Navy video shows a dozen Iranian fast-attack boats swarming an oil tanker in its latest maritime seizure
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A dozen Iranian attack boats seized an oil tanker crossing through Middle Eastern waters on Wednesday. The US Navy shared a video of the incident, which showed the boats swarm the vessel. The 1,100-foot-long Panama-flagged oil tanker Niovi departed Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, and was on its way to the port city of Fujairah, when the incident unfolded at around 6:20 a.m. local time. On April 27, Iranian navy vessels intercepted the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker Advantage Sweet as it was crossing international waters in the Gulf of Oman, a body of water that separates Oman from Iran. Panama-flagged oil tanker Niovi in the Strait of Hormuz.

☆ Iran seizes second oil tanker in a week in Gulf, US Navy says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DUBAI, May 3 (Reuters) - Iran has seized a second oil tanker in a week on Wednesday in Gulf waters, the U.S. Navy said, the latest escalation in a series of seizures or attacks on commercial vessels in Gulf waters since 2019. In Iran's first response, Tehran's prosecutor announced the oil tanker was seized on a judicial order following a complaint by a plaintiff, the judiciary's Mizan news agency said. The incident comes after Iran on Thursday seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman called the Advantage Sweet. The Niovi oil tanker seized on Wednesday had been travelling from Dubai toward the UAE's Fujairah port when it was forced by IRGCN boats to change course towards Iranian territorial waters, the Navy said. Since 2019, there have been a series of attacks on shipping in the strategic Gulf waters at times of tension between the United States and Iran.

☆ $59 Million, Gone: How Bikini Atoll Leaders Blew Through U.S. Trust Fund
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Pete Mckenzie | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The golden sand of Bikini Atoll is laced with plutonium. In the 1940s and ’50s, the U.S. government used this coral reef, in the Pacific nation of the Marshall Islands, for testing nuclear weapons. In 2017, after a campaign by Bikini leaders for greater autonomy, the Trump administration announced that the government would lift withdrawal limits and stop auditing the main fund, then worth $59 million. Six years later, only about $100,000 remains, and the Bikini community is in crisis. He has defended some of the purchases as investments against climate change, as necessary to support isolated Bikinians and as attempts at revenue-generating projects.

The World Health Organization said last year the syrups, made by Indian manufacturer Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd, contained lethal toxins ethylene glycol (EG) and diethylene glycol (DEG) – used in car brake fluid. "If you ask and you don't get informed, it's a dead end," Rutendo Kuwana, the WHO's team lead for incidents with substandard and falsified medicines, told Reuters in an interview on March 31. Drug inspectors found a dozen violations at Maiden last October related to the production of the cough syrups sold to Gambia, a government document showed. Among these, some of the COAs of raw ingredients used in making the syrups, including propylene glycol, were missing batch numbers. Kuwana said the WHO was sure of its own cough syrup test results from two separate independent laboratories, both of which showed contamination.

☆ U.S. negotiator says Biden would be warmly welcomed in Pacific
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) - The United States needs to accelerate diplomatic "catch up" with the Pacific island region in the face of Chinese competition, a U.S. diplomat said on Friday, adding that he was sure President Joe Biden would be warmly welcomed there if he decided to visit. "Obviously for the Pacific, I am sure they would welcome President Biden, if he were to go there," Yun told the Hudson Institute. A Pacific islands source told Reuters that Biden was also expected to meet with more than a dozen Pacific islands leaders, but the White House National Security Council has not responded to request for comment on the plans. Yun said the level of Chinese coercion in the region that is crucial to U.S. national security, but that had been neglected by the United States, is concerning. "So now we're playing ... a little bit of catch up, I would say, and but you know, we need to accelerate our catch up."

☆ US confiscates Iran oil cargo on tanker amid Tehran tensions
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

As oil markets remain jittery, the cargo seizure is the latest escalation between Washington and Tehran after years of sanctions pressure by the U.S. over Iran's nuclear program. Tehran says its nuclear program is for civilian purposes while Washington suspects Iran wants to develop a nuclear bomb. Iran has previously responded tit-for-tat following seizures of Iranian oil cargo." Last year the U.S. tried to confiscate a cargo of Iranian oil near Greece, which prompted Tehran to seize two Greek tankers in the Gulf. In a step likely to exacerbate tensions, 12 U.S. senators on Thursday urged President Joe Biden to remove Treasury Department policy hurdles that have prevented the Department of Homeland Security from seizing Iranian oil shipments for more than a year.

REUTERS/Leah MillisWASHINGTON, April 27 (Reuters) - As Iran's oil exports rise despite U.S. sanctions over its nuclear program, senators from both parties urged President Joe Biden to enable a federal government agency to seize Iranian oil and gas shipments. Senators Joni Ernst, a Republican, and Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, said in a letter to Biden that the Department of Homeland Security's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) office has not been able to seize an Iranian oil shipment for more than a year. Iran says its nuclear program is for civilian purposes while the United States suspects Tehran wants to develop a nuclear bomb by enriching uranium. Iran's oil exports have reached their highest level since the reimposition of U.S. sanctions in 2018, Iranian oil minister Javad Owji said last month. Last year the U.S. tried to confiscate a cargo of Iranian oil around Greece, which prompted Tehran to seize two Greek tankers in the Gulf.

☆ Iran seizes oil tanker in Gulf, U.S. Navy says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/4] Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker Advantage Sweet, which, according to Refinitiv ship tracking data, is a Suezmax crude tanker which had been chartered by oil major Chevron and had last docked in Kuwait, sails at Marmara sea near Istanbul, Turkey January 10, 2023. Iran's army said it had seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman after it collided with an Iranian boat, injuring several crewmen, Iranian state media reported. The vessel's destination was listed as the U.S. Gulf of Mexico port of Houston, ship tracking data showed. Iran last November released two Greek-flagged tankers it seized in the Gulf in May in response to the confiscation of oil by the United States from an Iranian-flagged tanker off the Greek coast. The U.S. Navy, whose Fifth Fleet is based at the Gulf island state of Bahrain, called on Iran to immediately release the tanker.

☆ Iran seizes Marshall Islands-flagged tanker in Gulf, U.S. Navy says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 27 (Reuters) - Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman in international waters on Thursday, the U.S. Navy said, the latest in a series of several seizures of commercial vessels in Gulf waters in the past couple of years. The navy said the seizure of the Advantage Sweet by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy disrupts regional security and stability and called on Tehran to immediately release the tanker. Iranian authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment by ReutersThe ship, a Suezmax oil tanker built in 2012, issued a distress call during the seizure, the navy statement said. The navy said Iran has in the past two years unlawfully seized at least five commercial vessels in the Middle East. Iran in November released two Greek-flagged tankers that it seized in the Gulf in May.

☆ Rare photo captures the moment the keys were turned on a US military 'doomsday' plane to launch an ICBM
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The US military test-launched a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile last week. Newly released Air Force photos show the moment an airman turned the keys to initiate the launch. The launch was executed aboard a so-called 'doomsday' plane, and a newly released photo captures the moment an airman turned the keys to initiate the launch. US NavyUS Strategic Command said last week's launch is "part of routine and periodic activities" to ensure that Washington's nuclear capabilities are stable. Several times a year, an ICBM will be pulled from one of the Air Force Global Strike Command missile wings for an Operational Test Launch at Vandenberg.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington called self-ruled Taiwan "an inalienable part of China" and said the one-China principle was an "overwhelming trend" internationally. When Taiwan temporarily averted a split with Honduras after President Xiomara Castro took office in January 2022, U.S. State Department officials remained wary. The Biden administration is also keeping a close eye on tiny Belize for any cracks in its Taiwan relationship. Two U.S. officials said Washington was putting less stock in Taiwan maintaining its diplomatic allies in favor of efforts to increase its participation in international organizations. While denied a seat in the United Nations, Taiwan is a member of the WTO and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

☆ Factbox: Diplomatic competition between Taiwan and China
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

April 5 (Reuters) - Taiwan and China have engaged for years in competition for diplomatic recognition, but the pendulum has long swung decisively in Beijing's favour. Honduras last month ended its decades-long relationship with Taiwan and said it only recognised China, leaving Taiwan with formal diplomatic relations with just 13 countries. Here are some facts about the diplomatic feud between Taiwan and China:* Following the communist revolution in China in 1949, the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan, insisting that it remained the sole legal representative of the Chinese people. China says Taiwan is merely one of its provinces and only Beijing can represent the island on the world stage. * Some countries have swapped between Taiwan and China more than once, including Liberia and the Central African Republic.

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