https://www.scmp.com/rss/520227/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Attempts to finalise a landmark treaty combating plastic pollution descended into disarray on the penultimate day on Wednesday as dozens of countries rejected outright the latest draft text, leaving the talks in limbo. With some 30 hours left to seal a deal among the 184 countries gathered at the United Nations in Geneva, states lined up to slam the proposed text put forward by talks chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso. The larger bloc of more ambitious countries blasted the dearth of legally binding... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3321779/plastic-pollution-talks-disarray-nations-reject-draft-treaty?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3321779/plastic-pollution-talks-disarray-nations-reject-draft-treaty?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Aug 2025 18:59:31 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo The cynicism is breathtaking. Or maybe it’s just foolishness. With Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te and his minions at the Democratic Progressive Party, it’s often hard to tell. While Israel is busy committing genocide in Gaza, and Jewish settlers and the military are running rampant across the occupied West Bank, Taipei has pledged to donate to an Israeli settlement for a health project there. At least 964 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed between the start of the Gaza war in... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3319302/taiwan-donation-vow-israeli-settlement-cynical-and-foolish?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3319302/taiwan-donation-vow-israeli-settlement-cynical-and-foolish?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Jul 2025 13:00:20 +0000 Reuters Reuters Tuvalu, a tiny Pacific nation that scientists predict will be submerged by rising seas, said it was seeking written assurance from the United States that its citizens would not be barred from entry after being apparently mistakenly included in a list of 36 countries facing visa bans. An internal diplomatic cable signed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio showed the United States, which has already barred entry for citizens from 12 countries, was considering expanding travel restrictions to the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3316568/tiny-pacific-nations-fear-us-travel-bans-why?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3316568/tiny-pacific-nations-fear-us-travel-bans-why?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Jul 2025 02:02:08 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk More than 3,000 Tuvaluans have applied for a landmark climate visa to move to Australia, as rising seas threaten to engulf vulnerable areas of the South Pacific island. Australia last week opened a new visa category specially set aside for adult citizens of Tuvalu following the groundbreaking climate migration pact, Falepili Union, signed in 2023. About 3,125 Tuvaluans – accounting for nearly a third of the population – had already entered the ballot within four days of its opening, Agence... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3316097/australias-landmark-climate-visa-attracts-thousands-seeking-refuge-rising-seas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3316097/australias-landmark-climate-visa-attracts-thousands-seeking-refuge-rising-seas?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Jun 2025 08:28:10 +0000 China’s engagement with the Pacific has once again been placed under the microscope after the announcement that it signed a “strategic partnership” with the Cook Islands. This comes after a security agreement China signed with the Solomon Islands in 2022 and a proposed agreement involving 10 Pacific countries that was put on hold after objections from some Pacific states, significant pushback from Australia and tensions with the United States. Unsurprisingly, the news of the deal between China... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3299560/new-zealand-need-not-fear-chinas-growing-ties-pacific-nations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3299560/new-zealand-need-not-fear-chinas-growing-ties-pacific-nations?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Feb 2025 21:30:07 +0000 Researchers from mainland China are taking aim at an established language theory promoted by Taiwan’s ruling party in its efforts to carve out a separate identity for the island. The latest salvo in the debate over the “Out of Taiwan” hypothesis came last month from a mainland academic who said the origins of the Austronesian peoples were in the mainland’s southeast coastal region – and not the self-ruled island. The Austronesians are a group of ethnic communities spread across a vast region of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3298411/why-out-taiwan-language-theory-cross-strait-battleground?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3298411/why-out-taiwan-language-theory-cross-strait-battleground?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:08:33 +0000 Athletes on Tuvalu train on the airport runway in the absence of a running track, but the tiny Pacific nation will still manage to send a one-man sprint team to the Paris Olympics. Karalo Maibuca will jet across the world to race for Tuvalu in the men’s 100 metres at next month’s Games. The 25-year-old was flag-bearer three years ago in Tokyo, a role he will reprise in the French capital – he is his country’s sole representative. Tuvalu has a population of around 11,000 and is made up of a... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3267245/paris-olympics-tuvalu-nation-where-athletes-train-airport-runway-send-one-man-team?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3267245/paris-olympics-tuvalu-nation-where-athletes-train-airport-runway-send-one-man-team?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Jun 2024 16:00:09 +0000 Australia will quadruple its financial help to Tuvalu, a Pacific Island nation at risk from rising seas, to cement a landmark climate migration and security deal as China also courts small island states. On a visit to Tuvalu, foreign minister Penny Wong said on Wednesday evening Australia has committed A$110 million (US$72.27 million) in its national budget to Tuvalu. The sum includes A$50 million (US$32.85 million) to build the first undersea cable connecting the island’s residents to global... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3261903/australia-boosts-funds-taiwan-ally-tuvalu-counter-mainland-chinas-pacific-influence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3261903/australia-boosts-funds-taiwan-ally-tuvalu-counter-mainland-chinas-pacific-influence?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 May 2024 12:00:29 +0000 Taiwan has pledged to secure ties with Tuvalu following the South Pacific island state’s decision not to switch recognition to Beijing. Tuvalu is one of Taiwan’s dozen remaining allies, and a leadership contender in last month’s general election had said the small state should consider making the switch. But after being sworn in on Wednesday, Prime Minister Feleti Teo and his seven cabinet ministers, who won office, reaffirmed the country’s ties with Taiwan in a statement of priorities. “The new... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3253681/taiwan-thanks-tuvalus-new-government-retaining-diplomatic-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3253681/taiwan-thanks-tuvalus-new-government-retaining-diplomatic-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Feb 2024 10:03:20 +0000 Tuvalu on Monday announced former attorney general and fisheries official Feleti Teo as its new prime minister, after he was elected unopposed by lawmakers in the Pacific nation, officials said. Former Prime Minister Kausea Natano, who had backed long-standing relations with Taipei, lost his seat in a closely watched January 26 general election amid a geopolitical tussle for influence in the South Pacific. Tuvalu, with a population of about 11,200 spread across nine islands, is one of just 12... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3253174/tuvalus-taiwan-ties-balance-pacific-nation-gets-new-prime-minister?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3253174/tuvalus-taiwan-ties-balance-pacific-nation-gets-new-prime-minister?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Feb 2024 01:30:12 +0000 The pro-Taiwan leader of the Pacific Islands nation of Tuvalu, Kausea Natano, lost his seat in an election closely watched by Taiwan, mainland China and the US, results showed on Saturday. Tuvalu, with a population of about 11,200 spread across nine islands, is one of three remaining Pacific allies of Taiwan, after Nauru cut ties this month and switched to Beijing, which had promised more development help. Prime Minister Natano had pledged to continue support for Taiwan, a diplomatic ally since... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3249991/tuvalus-pro-taiwan-pm-kausea-natano-loses-seat-election-keenly-watched-beijing-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3249991/tuvalus-pro-taiwan-pm-kausea-natano-loses-seat-election-keenly-watched-beijing-us?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Jan 2024 03:40:24 +0000 Australia won’t interfere in any moves by the Pacific nation of Tuvalu to end its diplomatic relationship with Taiwan, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said, following media reports that it could follow Nauru’s lead in shifting its alliance to China. Tuvalu’s foreign policy is a matter for the Pacific nation alone, Wong said at a press conference in Canberra on Tuesday. Any decision on its recognition of either Taiwan or mainland China is “not something we would be intervening in.” “It’s a sovereign... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3249436/australia-says-it-wont-interfere-if-taiwan-ally-tuvalu-shifts-diplomatic-ties-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3249436/australia-says-it-wont-interfere-if-taiwan-ally-tuvalu-shifts-diplomatic-ties-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Jan 2024 03:49:08 +0000 After 30 years of debate, a climate change reparation fund was finally adopted on the first day of the Cop28 meeting in the United Arab Emirates on November 30. It is designed to compensate vulnerable small nations and allow them to cope with the impacts of climate change – but a recent agreement between Australia and the small Pacific nation of Tuvalu provides a different and what some see as a worrying template. Although the “Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union” – which in the Tuvalu language... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3243631/australia-tuvalu-treaty-sparks-migration-fears-threat-sovereignty-amid-climate-battle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3243631/australia-tuvalu-treaty-sparks-migration-fears-threat-sovereignty-amid-climate-battle?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Dec 2023 09:25:45 +0000 Australia’s climate resettlement scheme with Tuvalu offers citizens of the sinking Pacific island a pathway to “migration with dignity”, but the defence conditions of the two countries’ upgraded ties show it is not a “free lunch” amid Beijing’s increased economic and defence activities in the region, analysts said. Following a key meeting of Pacific leaders on Friday, Australia and Tuvalu announced a new comprehensive partnership, the Falepili Union, that would offer special Australian visas... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3241372/tuvalus-climate-deal-australia-comes-trade-china-deepens-pacific-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3241372/tuvalus-climate-deal-australia-comes-trade-china-deepens-pacific-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Nov 2023 11:00:20 +0000 Citizens of the climate-threatened Pacific nation Tuvalu will get “special rights” to live and work in Australia under a landmark treaty unveiled by the two countries on Friday. Unveiling a compact that includes freedom of movement and defence guarantees, prime ministers Anthony Albanese and Kausea Natano said the two nations would work to tackle climate change, while preparing for the worst. The treaty would also commit Australia to defend Tuvalu in the case of foreign invasion or natural... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3241043/australia-offer-tuvalu-citizens-climate-refuge-landmark-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3241043/australia-offer-tuvalu-citizens-climate-refuge-landmark-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Nov 2023 06:56:02 +0000 The foreign minister of Tuvalu pulled out of the United Nations Ocean Conference opening in Portugal on Monday after China blocked the participation of three Taiwanese included in the tiny Pacific island nation’s delegation list, according to Radio New Zealand. Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, is not a member of the United Nations and its citizens are unable to attend UN events as representatives of Taiwan. Tuvalu Foreign Minister Simon Kofe withdrew from the conference after... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3183245/tuvalu-minister-pulls-out-un-ocean-conference-after-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3183245/tuvalu-minister-pulls-out-un-ocean-conference-after-china?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Jun 2022 11:07:45 +0000 I was born in 1953 in Branscombe, a small village in Devon (in southwest England), and we lived a couple of miles outside the village. Although I was born eight years after the second world war, we still had rationing, so it was fairly austere. My father was a farm labourer, my mother worked for the market garden and I had a younger brother and sister. It was a tremendous place to grow up, we had the beach in the summer and shooting in the winter, but I knew there were no jobs unless I wanted to... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/3165424/ship-captain-who-rescued-crashed-plane-hong-kongs-harbour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/3165424/ship-captain-who-rescued-crashed-plane-hong-kongs-harbour?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Feb 2022 05:15:09 +0000