Australia Australia and Vanuatu sign deal barring foreign military from island China formed policing ties with Vanuatu in 2023 and has donated equipment including drones, patrol boats and vehicles to its police force. 29/06/2026
Philippines Disaster drills prevented more deaths when quake hit Philippines The numbers of dead and missing were considerably lowered after multiple verifications, the Office of Civil Defence said in a statement. 12/06/2026
Climate El Niño has begun and it could become the worst on record NOAA has officially confirmed the start of El Niño, which is set to worsen global warming from the burning of fossil fuels. 12/06/2026
Philippines At least 32 killed as Philippines hit by 7.8 magnitude earthquake The strongest earthquake to hit the Philippines this year was centered at sea and caused damage in a key coastal city, knocking down power and setting off 1-metre tsunami waves along nearby coasts, officials said. 08/06/2026
No Comment Moment Artemis II capsule splashes down in Pacific The Artemis II crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of the United States. 11/04/2026
USA US military strikes another alleged drug boat killing three people The US military said it targeted a boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean late on Friday which its intelligence identified as a drug-trafficking vessel, killing three people on board. The US Southern Command said the boat was using known narco-trafficking maritime routes. 21/02/2026
Earth News How scientists managed to spot one of the world’s rarest whales Ginkgo-toothed beaked whales have long remained a mystery, but a groundbreaking sighting may soon change that. 21/11/2025
China What we know about China's first domestically made aircraft carrier Beijing commissioned its first home-built aircraft carrier, the Fujian, highlighting Beijing's push to modernise its military and contest US influence in the Indo-Pacific. 07/11/2025
New Zealand FBI opens first office in New Zealand, sparking backlash in China US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said in June that China posed an imminent threat and urged Indo-Pacific countries to increase military spending to 5% of GDP. 01/08/2025
USA Hurricane Iona forms after strengthening in central Pacific Ocean Iona emerged on Sunday from a tropical depression and was about 1,440 kilometres southeast of Honolulu, the US National Hurricane Centre in Miami said. 28/07/2025
Climate Earth’s oceans may have undergone a fundamental shift, study says Scientists fear the oceans’ prolonged hotter state is now the ‘new normal’. 27/07/2025
Nature Threatened whale species found in areas earmarked for deep sea mining Vulnerable marine life is getting caught in the crosshairs of our electrifying world, the new study suggests. 25/06/2025
No Comment Russian MoD releases footage of Pacific fleet drills Russia’s Ministry of Defence has released footage of the nuclear-powered submarine Krasnoyarsk carrying out missile launches during a planned exercise in the Pacific Ocean. 28/04/2025
World News Cooperation between China, North Korea and Russia threatens Pacific According to the South Korean military, North Korea has also deployed thousands of troops to support Russian forces in the war against Ukraine. 16/04/2025
Earth News La Niña has ended. What does it mean for this year’s weather? Longer-term weather forecasts are more difficult to establish when the phenomenon is not present. 11/04/2025
Europe News France and Indonesia sign deal to boost security in Indo-Pacific The Indonesian naval chief of staff, Admiral Muhammad Ali, said the project would address various maritime security challenges, including piracy, terrorism and other illegal activities. 26/03/2025