06/07/2023
Korea (ROK) held the first Korea–Pacific Islands Summit at head-of-state level on May 29/30 and entered an already crowded Pacific region.
Pacific Islands
France and the European Union (EU) have issued their own Indo-Pacific strategies meant to enhance their commitment in this strategic area. Until now, the Pacific Islands – the member states and territories of the Pacific Community (SPC) – have received little attention despite their strategic importance The geographical distance and the still limited knowledge of this region in Europe certainly hamper political, economic and media interest.
In this context, Ifri’s Center for Asian Studies, with the support of the Pacific Community (SPC), launches a research program in 2022 to enhance awareness of the multiple strategic issues at stake in the Pacific Islands region. While the French presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2022 aims at translating the European Indo-Pacific approach into concrete actions, this research program offers an original and useful contribution to an ambitious European policy in the region.
SPC supports Ifri's research program, which is structured around an opening conference (March 10, 2022), three research seminars on themes related to sustainable development, as well as a series of short publications and videos. Additional notes and events will also address a number of key geostrategic issues.
Françoise NICOLAS
Senior Research Fellow and Director of Ifri's Center for Asian Studies
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Céline PAJON
Research Fellow,
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Christian LECHERVY
Advisor to the Program on Pacific Islands, Center for Asian Studies
... 
01/06/2023
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s maiden visit to Papua New Guinea (PNG) on May 20-21, 2023, is a testament to India’s international positioning and search for a global role. In Port Moresby, Modi co-chaired the third Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) and announced a series of...
05/04/2023
In January 2023, the Iranian Navy staged a show of force near the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) amid growing tensions between Tehran and Canberra.
17/03/2023
Japan has recently stepped up its engagement with the Pacific Island Countries (PICs), building on its historical ties and strategic interests in the region.
06/03/2023
More frequent climate disasters, rising sea levels, the economic fallout of Covid-19 lockdowns, border closures, supply chain constraints, and the global impact of the war in Ukraine have aggravated the challenge of maintaining sustainable and resilient food systems for Pacific Island...
21/12/2022
In September 2020, Germany adopted policy guidelines for the Indo-Pacific that comprehensively set out its approach towards this increasingly important region, seeking to diversify partnerships beyond China.
30/11/2022
Emmanuel Macron and Joe Biden are meeting for the first state visit under the Biden administration, which is reserved for France.
03/11/2022
Back in September 2021, the announcement of AUKUS – the defense partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) was a shock to Paris.
17/10/2022
The Pacific Islands Countries (PICs) were the first to ratify the Paris climate agreement in 2015. Indeed, for them, climate change has had very concrete implications for years. Islanders have seen the sea level rising, endangering the very existence of atolls. They have also experienced...
12/09/2022
This article provides a review of the digital connectivity of the Pacific Islands nations (Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia) and the main challenges and prospects arising from it, at a time when the submarine cable market is undergoing profound change and a growing politicization of this...
08
Dec
2022
from 09:00 to 10:30
- Videoconferences
Food Security in Times of Crisis: Connecting the Pacific and Europe
More frequent climate disasters, rising sea levels, the economic fallout of Covid-19 lockdowns and the global impact of the war in Ukraine have aggravated the challenge of food insecurity for Pacific Island countries.
22
Sep
2022
from 09:00 to 17:00
- Conférences
Asia after the War in Ukraine: Re-imagining multilateralism and the risk of high-intensity conflict Hybrid Conference
Annual conference of Ifri's Center for Asian Studies. The war in Ukraine has marked the return of high-intensity conflict in Europe and represents a profound, structural shift in the region’s strategic environment. It also takes place against a backdrop of a decades-long...
20
Sep
2022
from 09:00 to 10:30
- Videoconferences
Climate change: the Pacific Islands Countries, 7 years after the Paris agreement
The Pacific Islands countries (PICs) were the first to ratify the Paris climate accords in 2015.
21
Jun
2022
from 09:00 to 10:30
- Videoconferences
Are Marine Protected Areas a relevant tool for the Pacific?
In the Pacific, small island developing states want to empower themselves to be great ocean nations. Compared to their number of inhabitants, the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of island countries such as the Cook Islands (112 km² of EEZ/inhabitant) or the Marshall Islands (33 km²) are much...
10
Mar
2022
from 08:30 to 12:30
- Videoconferences
The Pacific Islands countries, a strategic part of the Indo-Pacific for Europeans
France, in 2018, and the European Union, in 2021, announced their strategy for the Indo-Pacific.
22
Feb
2022
from 17:30 to 19:00
- Videoconferences
Conference with Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister of India Ifri Conferences
How India sees France. A conference with Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister of India.
12/10/2022
An interview with Kevin Rudd, former Prime Minister of Australia.
15/09/2022
One year on, the announcement of the Australia-U.K.-U.S alliance has not been accompanied by any major changes to France’s Indo-Pacific defense strategy.
30/06/2022
Partners in the Blue Pacific (PBP) is made up of US, UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, with the latter two expected to spearhead cooperation efforts. Some experts say France is already interested despite anger over Aukus security pact; the new PBP will become ‘multilateral rather than...
30/09/2021
The United States is the linchpin of Taiwan’s security. Under Donald Trump’s presidency, as tensions with the People’s Republic of China grew, the US increasingly took steps to signal...
Asia - China - Japan - Pacific Islands - Taïwan