Fiji

Pacific Island leaders have kicked off their annual summit in the Solomon Islands, with climate change and security expected to take centre stage amid the battle for influence in the region between China and the United States.

The weeklong gathering began in Honiara on Monday with a meeting of the group’s small island states.

The leaders of the 18-member forum, including Australia and New Zealand, will head to the seaside settlement of Munda for a retreat on Thursday.

Notably, this year’s summit will take place without the forum’s two dozen donor partners, including China, the US and Taiwan, after a dispute over Taipei’s attendance caused the Solomon Islands to bar those observers.

Among 18 forum members, three have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, three have defence compacts with the US, and several are French territories. Thirteen of the members have ties with China.

Divavesi Waqa, the secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum, said this year’s meeting will cover “regional priorities”, including “climate change, ocean governance, security, [and] economic resilience”.

“These are not just policy issues. They are lived realities for our people,” Waqa told reporters on Sunday.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele, who welcomed leaders from neighbouring countries to Honiara, said the meeting’s theme “Lumi Tugeda: Act Now for an Integrated Blue Pacific Continent” reflected the “urgency for regional unity and action”.

“If ever there was a time that demanded strengthened Pacific regionalism and collective action, it is now,” Manele said, according to a statement.

The Solomon Islands leader, who has sought to strengthen relations with Australia after Western criticism of his predecessor’s close ties with China, has previously defended his decision to bar foreign observers.

Manele told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) last month that the decision was temporary while the forum updates its procedures for non-member participation.

“The Pacific region must always lead, drive and own their own agenda and not be distracted by divisive issues pushed by external media,” Manele said, in apparent reference to reports that the decision was related to a decision not to include Taiwan in this year’s meeting.

“We are not under pressure from any external forces,” he said.

“Let me be very clear: Solomon Islands is a sovereign nation. Our government acts in the best interests of our nation and the region.”

At this year’s forum, the Pacific Islands leaders are expected to sign the Fiji-proposed “Ocean of Peace” Declaration, which the country’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said comes as the Pacific region has “endured catastrophic calamities caused by climate change” as well as “its rich resources exploited by many”.

The proposal includes guiding principles, including “protecting and recognising the Pacific’s stewardship of the environment” as well as “peaceful resolution of disputes” and “rejection of coercion”, he said.

According to ABC, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will arrive in Honiara on Wednesday after visiting Vanuatu, where he is expected to sign a landmark pact to strengthen economic and security ties.

Vanuatu recently led an important case before the International Court of Justice, which saw the United Nations’ top court rule that states must act urgently to address the “existential threat” of climate change by cooperating to cut emissions.

Australia’s bid to host next year’s COP31 climate change meeting, as a Pacific COP, will be on the agenda in Honiara, amid criticism of Canberra’s mixed record on reducing its own emissions and fossil fuel exports.

Australia has previously pledged to work closely with its island neighbours to raise awareness of the challenges they face from rising sea levels and worsening storms.

The forum’s 18 members are Australia, the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.

Alesandra Dubin has flown business class with six airlines including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic but her favourite is one you might never have heard of

For the majority of us, jetting off on holiday means squeezing into an economy seat. The luxury of Business Class is often just a pipe dream due to its hefty price tag.

Yet not all business class experiences are equal. Travel expert Alesandra Dubin has sampled the business class services from six top airlines and has singled out one as particularly exceptional.

Speaking to Business Insider, one of her favourites wasn’t one of the big guns like Etihad, British Airways or Virgin. Instead, it was Fiji Airways‘ business class service. She said: “Flight attendants were attentive from the start, offering pre-flight drinks and warm towels, and there was even complimentary WiFi, a rare perk.”

Following a scrumptious vegetarian meal, Alesandra managed something almost unheard of on long-haul flights – a solid seven hours of sleep.

She attributes this remarkable feat to the Airbus A350’s ultra-comfortable seats that fully recline. She elaborated: “The seat, with direct aisle access, a 17-inch screen, ample storage, and lie-flat recline, was super comfortable.”

Alesandra also enjoyed the novelty of watching the plane’s landing gear via external cameras displayed on her seat-back screen.

Although it was her first time flying business class with Fiji Airways, she expressed eagerness to repeat the experience.

British readers will be pleased to know that Alesandra also spoke highly of UK-based airline British Airways in her international travels.

She lauded the “exceptional” meals on board and was particularly impressed with the beverages, noting: “The wine selection was well-curated, and I opted for a glass of delicious port with my cheese plate.”

Although British Airways didn’t offer complimentary wifi, she considered the £20 charge for in-flight internet to be “fairly priced.”

Virgin Atlantic also received praise but fell slightly short in Alesandra’s view due to the food being “a bit less plentiful” than desired on a 10-hour journey, and the 22-inch seat felt somewhat snug and tricky to adjust.

However, she acknowledged that Virgin’s onboard bar area made it an excellent choice for larger groups flying together.

When it comes to domestic flights within the United States, the travel guru was unequivocal in her preference. She stated: “If you ask me, there’s no superior US airline to Delta, and the competition doesn’t even come close.”

In her opinion, Delta One, which is marketed as business class, actually rivals first-class offerings with its private mini-cabins.

Delta’s perks include free wifi and lie-flat seats that are not only extremely comfortable but also simpler to adjust than those on Virgin, despite being slightly narrower.

Following an exclusive transfer from her plane to a connecting flight via Porsche, Alesandra expressed that Delta’s VIP treatment solidified its position as her top airline choice.

Fiji: Rayasi, Ravouvou, Maqala, Tuisova, Wainiqolo; Muntz, Kuruvoli; Mawi, Ikanivere (c), Doge, Nasilasila, Mayanavanua, Tagitagivalu, Canakaivata, Mata.

Replacements: Matavesi, Hetet, Tawake, Vocevoce, Tuisue, Wye, Armstrong-Ravula, Botitu.

Scotland: Rowe, Graham, Redpath, Jordan, Steyn; Burke, Dobie; Sutherland, Ashman, Millar Mills, Sykes, Gilchrist, Ritchie, Darge (c), M Fagerson.

Replacements: Turner, Hepburn, Hurd, Williamson, Bayliss, Horne, Hastings, Smith.

Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)

Foreign minister Wang Yi is meeting top diplomats from 11 Pacific nations in the Chinese city of Xiamen.

China is hosting a high-level meeting with 11 Pacific Island nations as it seeks to deepen ties and build what it calls a “closer” community with “a shared future” in the strategic region.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is chairing the meeting in the city of Xiamen on Wednesday.

The president of Kiribati, Taneti Maamau, and top diplomats from Niue, Tonga, Nauru, Micronesia, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Cook Islands, Fiji and Samoa are attending.

The two-day meeting is the third such gathering, but the first to happen in person in China.

Al Jazeera’s Katrina Yu, reporting from Beijing, said the diplomats are expected to discuss trade, infrastructure development, poverty alleviation, sustainability and climate change.

“For China, this is an opportunity to extend its influence and expand economic ties at a time when the United States is showing very little interest in this region, and we know increasingly that many of those countries are more aligned on China on things like investment, infrastructure, trade and even security assistance,” she said.

Global uncertainty

The meeting comes as United States President Donald Trump’s cuts to foreign aid and the threat of tariffs fuel global uncertainty. Analysts say this has left the door open for China to step in.

“This lack of certainty makes the US a very challenging partner to work with,” said Tess Newton at the Griffith Asia Institute. “Whereas other partners including China can offer, well you know we were here yesterday, we’re here today, and we expect to be here tomorrow.”

The Chinese foreign ministry, announcing the meeting last week, said the objective of the meeting was to “jointly build an even closer China-Pacific Island countries community with a shared future”.

Analysts say that for Beijing, that translates to greater economic aid, diplomatic engagement and the pursuit of a regional security pact.

China has already signed a security accord with the Solomon Islands in 2022, a year after deploying police to the ground in the capital, Honiara, following a series of riots there.

Beijing has also sent advisers to Vanuatu and Kiribati and wants to lock in a similar pact with other island nations.

“What China is trying to do … is to insert itself as a security player and in some cases through the angle of contributing to the individual security needs of Pacific countries such as policing,” said Mihai Sora, director of the Pacific Islands Program at the Lowy Institute in Australia.

The meeting in Xiamen is “an opportunity for China” to push its goals “in its own space, on its own turf and on its own terms,” he added.

Taiwan

The topic of Taiwan, the self-ruled island that China claims as its own and lies off the coast of Xiamen, is also expected to be discussed at this meeting.

China has been gradually whittling away at the number of countries in the Pacific that retain ties with Taiwan, and in January of last year, Nauru also switched recognition to Beijing.

Taiwan now has three remaining allies in the region – Marshall Islands, Palau and Tuvalu.

Al Jazeera’s Yu said the region is of strategic, military and diplomatic significance for China.

“If you look at the region, these countries are very small, their economies are small and only one of them has a population that exceeds one million. That is Papua New Guinea,” she said.

“But the region is strategically extremely important to Beijing because it’s home to crucial shipping lanes, deep sea cables, deep sea ports and potential mineral deposits underwater. Militarily, it could be strategically important, because if there could be any conflict in the future, this area could be important in terms of launching potential forward attacks on US territory, and also US ally Australia is very close by.”