Chinese officials arrived in Vanuatu shortly before the June 27 raid in which the six were detained, and helped identify the premises in the capital, Port Vila, from where they were suspected of running the scam, the Vanuatu Daily Post reported.

The 17 vessels sanctioned by the Treasury include tankers registered in the Bahamas, Cameroon, Comoros, Gambia, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Palau, Panama, San Marino, Sierra Leone, Vanuatu, and Zanzibar.

MELBOURNE, Australia—Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Jan. 14 he will visit Fiji and Vanuatu this week as part of a push to offset China's growing influence in the South Pacific.

Vanuatu is located on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a region prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity.

(Nicholson Naki/Vanuatu Red Cross Society)

SYDNEY—Australia promised on June 25 to bolster the cybersecurity capabilities of Vanuatu as it agreed to begin negotiating a security treaty with its Pacific neighbor.

SYDNEY—Australia promised on June 25 to bolster the cyber security capabilities of Vanuatu as it agreed to begin negotiating a security treaty with its Pacific neighbor.

As of next month, Vanuatu will ban the importation and local manufacturing of non-biodegradable plastics, reported The Vanuatu Independent. Polystyrene takeaway boxes used for food are also covered by the ban which comes into effect Jan. 31.

"Today marks a significant step in the Vanuatu-Australia relationship. "With the signing of the long-awaited Nakamal agreement, Australia and Vanuatu are close neighbours, trusted partners."

It comes as Australia's efforts to secure a similar agreement with Vanuatu were dealt a blow following interventions from Beijing.

Other forum members that have severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of Beijing include Vanuatu in 2004, Kiribati in 2019, and Nauru in 2024.

They were taken from countries across the region, including Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, and Fiji. By Tess Ikonomou

at the request of the Government of Vanuatu."

Security Deal With Vanuatu Falls Through A day earlier, Albanese left Australia hoping a $500 million (US$327 million) security agreement with Vanuatu Prime Minister Jotham Napat could be locked in.

Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and his Vanuatu counterpart Jotham Napat will also not be attending, with Samoan leader La'auli Leuatea Schmidt another notable absence. Albanese's travel plans will be unchanged, despite the late withdrawals.

TAKARA, Vanuatu— Many people living in this coastal village in Vanuatu believe the March cyclone that sent waves surging through their homes was the latest and most dramatic sign of climate change.

The leaders from Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu are out, while there are conflicting reports about the participation of counterparts from Nauru and New Caledonia.

In fact, despite signing a deal last week with Australia, Vanuatu authorities maintain an ongoing allocation of CCP law enforcement.

Vanuatu Red Cross President Hannington Alatoa speaks at the third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai on March 15, 2015. Cyclone-devastated Vanuatu was declared a state of emergency on March 15.

Vanuatu time about 30 kilometres west of Vanuatu's capital Port Villa, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

NATO Pledges Arctic Security to Trump Russia Rebuilds Arctic Bases Near US Why the Arctic Matters to All Parties Australia, Vanuatu Sign Pact Amid China Concerns Views expressed in this video are those of the host and guest(s) and do not necessarily

One oil tanker, owned by Riqueza Group in Hong Kong but flying the Vanuatu flag, has delivered millions of barrels of Iranian crude to China this year, according to the U.S. Treasury.

In fact, Vanuatu still retains the option to attract Chinese investment in critical infrastructure, and only a week before signing the deal, the CCP renewed its police presence locally.

Vanuatu-based Interchange Group is working on implementing the TAMTAM system, the world’s first Science Monitoring and Reliable Telecommunications (SMART) cable set to connect Vanuatu to New Caledonia, a project contracted to Alcatel Submarine Networks

Vanuatu ministers hinted at concerns that inking a deal with Australia could affect its relationship with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), one of its major creditors.

The heads of Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, and the French territory of New Caledonia did not travel to Palau.  U.S.

But the Australia-Vanuatu deal never came into force. It caused considerable concern, with many Vanuatu MPs upset with then-Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau's handling of the agreement.

Debt Traps   The Lowy Institute report notes that China’s lending boom from the mid-2010s is now maturing, leaving Tonga, Samoa, and Vanuatu with “substantial debt obligations to Beijing.”

Australia recently secured the $500 million Nakamal Agreement with Vanuatu, which rules out the use of its territory for foreign military bases, after a false start last September over concerns in Port Vila that the agreement may lead to Beijing being

This week, Barrett will travel to Vanuatu for further discussions with that country's police leadership. "The message from Pacific leaders is clear.