bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sectionsV2 {
    value {
      __typename
      ... on Section {
        name
        published
      }
      ... on VideoSection {
        name
        published
      }
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      ... on Node {
        __isNode: __typename
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sectionsV2 {
    value {
      __typename
      ... on Section {
        name
      }
      ... on Node {
        __isNode: __typename
        id
      }
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sectionsV2 {
    value {
      __typename
      ... on Section {
        relatedNewsletters {
          ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
          id
        }
      }
      ... on Node {
        __isNode: __typename
        id
      }
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...hooksInlinePlusWidgetContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
  ... on Video {
    youtubeId
  }
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on SectionUnion {
  __isSectionUnion: __typename
  ... on Section {
    name
  }
  ... on VideoSection {
    name
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sectionsV2 {
    value {
      __typename
      ... on Section {
        entityId
      }
      ... on Node {
        __isNode: __typename
        id
      }
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sectionsV2 {
    value {
      __typename
      ... on Section {
        entityId
      }
      ... on Node {
        __isNode: __typename
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sectionsV2 {
    value {
      __typename
      ... on Section {
        entityId
      }
      ... on VideoSection {
        entityId
      }
      ... on Node {
        __isNode: __typename
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sectionsV2 {
    value {
      __typename
      ... on Section {
        name
      }
      ... on VideoSection {
        name
      }
      ... on Node {
        __isNode: __typename
        id
      }
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksInlinePlusWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sectionsV2 {
    value {
      __typename
      ... on Section {
        name
      }
      ... on Node {
        __isNode: __typename
        id
      }
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


types

sectionsV2

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

Maria Siow

Trust in the United States’ commitment to Pacific island nations – and its influence in the region – risks further erosion as Washington faces scrutiny over its failure to deliver on financial pledges.
Last month, leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) sent a letter to the Trump administration, voicing concerns about what they described as a widening gap between American promises and actual delivery.
Among the unfulfilled commitments is US$200 million in new funding announced in 2023, according to Collin Beck, permanent secretary at the Solomon Islands’ Foreign Affairs Ministry, who spoke to New Zealand media on April 22.
The region’s leaders are seeking direct discussions with Washington to resolve these issues, alongside grievances over US President Donald Trump’s import tariffs and millions of dollars reportedly owed for tuna-fishing rights in Pacific waters.

The PIF, which comprises 18 countries and territories, works to foster cooperation on issues from economic development to climate change. But its trust in Washington has been tested.
The fissures deepened earlier this year when US Agency for International Development (USAID) funding was frozen in February, jeopardising Pacific programmes covering healthcare, governance and women’s economic empowerment.
The US has historically been a major Pacific partner – ranking as the region’s fifth-largest donor over the past decade, behind Australia, China, Japan and New Zealand. In 2023, Washington reopened its embassy in the Solomon Islands after a 30-year hiatus and established a diplomatic presence in Tonga, but those gestures have been undermined by other actions since Trump took office.
On the trade front, nations like Papua New Guinea and Tonga face the baseline 10 per cent tariff Washington imposed on all countries last month, while Vanuatu, Nauru and Fiji have been slapped with levies of 22, 30 and 32 per cent, respectively, which are set to take effect from July.
Gaps between US commitments and actual delivery have shaped American engagement for decades
Solstice Middleby, former Australian diplomat
“Gaps between US commitments and actual delivery have shaped American engagement for decades,” said Solstice Middleby, a former Australian diplomat to the Pacific and a PhD candidate in Pacific regionalism at the University of Adelaide.
The decision by Pacific leaders to write to the Trump administration reflected their determination to hold Washington accountable, Middleby said.
“However, based on historical patterns, Washington is likely to offer affirming language while continuing to focus on its own strategic and commercial interests,” she said.
“Pacific leaders are likely to continue to engage pragmatically with the US, asserting Pacific-led priorities rather than relying on unpredictable external partnerships.”
Middleby added that while some uncertainty was normal in the early days of any US administration, Trump’s actions – from tariffs to aid cuts and a push for offshore resource exploitation – “point to a deeper and more worrying trend for the Pacific”.
Resource tensions
Recent executive orders targeting offshore fisheries and critical minerals were a sign of Washington’s intent to step up extraction activities, Middleby said.
On April 17, Trump issued an order to “unleash American commercial fishing in the Pacific”, removing key protections for nearly 1.3 million sq km (500,000 square miles) of a marine protected area. Critics warn the move threatens the region’s biodiversity.
Middleby advised that the PIF should assert sovereignty over its resources and deepen partnerships beyond traditional donors in response.
Anne-Marie Schleich, a retired German envoy to the region, noted a small recent victory for Pacific nations: after high-level talks, PIF officials succeeded in reinstating US$9 million in funding for the Pacific Resilience Facility, which aims to mitigate climate and disaster risks.
Pacific leaders have also sought long-term support for the facility from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, said Schleich, who is now an adjunct senior fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.
US-Pacific relations had improved during former president Joe Biden’s tenure, with trust gradually rebuilt, she said. But much of that progress has been unravelled by Trump’s approach, which has spanned trade turmoil, aid cuts, withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate change and pro-fossil fuel policies.
Schleich said the region had become more pragmatic and now had more options.
“Geopolitical wrangling has also led to other donors stepping in. China will certainly try to step into this vacuum,” she said.

Great power competition had opened opportunities for Pacific leaders to advance key issues such as climate change and infrastructure investment, Schleich argued. “No doubt they will use it over the next four years,” she said.
Charles Hawksley, an associate professor of politics and international studies at the University of Wollongong, said the US Congress had previously supported increased aid to the Pacific, but such an outcome now seems unlikely.
“My feeling is that the Trump administration is very much focused on politics within the continental US, and it does not have a strong sense of how soft power can work globally,” Hawksley said.
For Pacific nations, trade, economic development and food security remain vital, with climate change topping the list of challenges. These countries are among the most vulnerable to rising sea levels, shifting rainfall patterns and higher temperatures, according to Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO.

Squandering influence
Moses Sakai, a research fellow at Papua New Guinea’s National Research Institute, emphasised the need for Pacific nations to bolster intraregional cooperation, with the coming PIF summit in Solomon Islands this September emerging as a priority.
He said the US must move beyond pledges to deliver tangible action on climate change and similar areas of cooperation.
Other nations have already demonstrated their willingness to step in. China, for instance, built facilities in Solomon Islands for the 2023 Pacific Games, strengthening its ties with the region. Over the past decade, Beijing has increased aid, diplomacy and security cooperation with Pacific nations.
“The PIF has shown it wants to engage with development partners who are serious about helping the Pacific islands,” Hawksley said. “They are learning to leverage donors to get what they need.”
He said the US risked losing its foothold in the region if it continued to prioritise short-term gains over long-term partnerships.
“The combination of tariffs and aid cuts may end up squandering what little influence the US has left in the Pacific,” Hawksley said.


Pacific island nations see a US pullback – will China step up?

Former US president Joe Biden (centre) stands with Pacific Islands Forum leaders at the White House following a summit in 2023. Photo: AFP

US President Donald Trump meets fishermen and women from American Samoa at the White House on April 17. Photo: EPA-EFE

People protest against the Trump administration shut down of USAID in February. Photo: AFP

A police patrol car provided with aid from the Chinese government is seen in Solomon Islands capital Honiara last year. Photo: AFP

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The Pacific Islands Forum wants answers from Washington over its unmet financial pledges to the region, including US$200 million in funding


The Pacific Islands Forum wants answers from Washington over its unmet financial pledges to the region, including US$200 million in funding.


Pacific island nations see a US pullback – will China step up?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The Pacific Islands Forum wants answers from Washington over its unmet financial pledges to the region, including US$200 million in funding

The Pacific Islands Forum wants answers from Washington over its unmet financial pledges to the region, including US$200 million in funding