Vanuatu chiefs have called on its government to ask the visiting French President to acknowledge that the Matthew and Hunter islands belong to them and not to New Caledonia.

U.S. President Joe Biden will host a second summit with the leaders of Pacific island nations in September.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a defence cooperation pact signed with Papua New Guinea on Monday would expand the Pacific island nation’s capabilities and make it easier for the U.S. military to train with its forces.

A tsunami threat has been issued for Vanuatu, Fiji and New Caledonia after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Southeast of Loyalty Islands.

The Solomon Islands has awarded a multi-million-dollar contract to a Chinese state company to upgrade an international port in Honiara in a project funded by the Asian Development Bank, an official of the island nation said on Wednesday.

An Australian university professor has been taken hostage in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea’s prime minister has confirmed.