Five Micronesian nations suspended on Saturday breakaway plans from a crucial Pacific Islands political bloc as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in the region.

The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru and Palau "have agreed to temporarily rescind their withdrawal" from the Pacific Islands Forum, the FSM foreign ministry said in a statement.

The five territories announced a year ago they were quitting the group after their nominee lost the vote for a new forum secretary general.

They said the majority decision by the 18-nation body to elect former Cook Islands prime minister Henry Puna had overridden an informal agreement that the position would be filled by Micronesia and had caused an irreparable rift.

However, in a statement the Micronesian leaders said they had discussed "specific substantive reforms of the Pacific Island Forum" and had given the forum until June for the reforms to materialise.

The announcement came as Blinken arrived in Fiji in a visit intended to highlight Washington's interest in the region where China has stepped up efforts to build footholds.

The Pacific Islands Forum was formed in 1971 to enhance the economic and social well-being of its 18 South Pacific islands nations which both the United States and China view as being in strategic locations.

Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Russian forces around Ukraine now 'north of 100,000': Pentagon
Washington (AFP) Feb 9, 2022
Russia continues to build up its forces along the border with Ukraine and has now deployed "north of 100,000" troops, the Pentagon said Wednesday. "We have continued to see even over the last 24 hours additional capabilities flow from elsewhere in Russia to that border with Ukraine and Belarus," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said. "We're not going to get into providing specific numbers but the numbers continue to grow," he said. Referring to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Kirby said "we main ... read more