<
https://theconversation.com/leaders-missing-and-china-furious-the-pacific-islands-forum-off-to-a-decidedly-shaky-start-290927>
"The annual Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting is underway in Palau,
and already there has been controversy.
First, it’s a leaders meeting with a distinct lack of leaders. Second, China is
reportedly furious that Taiwan is represented at the meeting in its own right.
The fact the leaders of five of the forum’s 18 members are absent – Kiribati,
Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa and Solomon Islands – has raised questions about China’s
role in their withdrawal. New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said the
collective absence was “highly suspicious” but did not make any direct
accusation.
It has come at a time when there are many pressing issues facing Pacific
Islands nations, which the forum is ideally placed to tackle."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
