THE Pacific Islands Forum or PIF leaders meeting this week in Nukualofa, Tonga will discuss key issues on climate change and forest conservation.
Before departing Port Moresby on Sunday (25 August 2024), Prime Minister James Marape said “Pacific Island countries will continue our advocacy on the impact of climate change at established countries who are big carbon emitters to ensure climate change relief funds are made available to Small Island State for climate mitigation.”
He said, “Papua New Guinea is not a Small Island State. We are a big nation but we also have small island communities amongst us who face these climate changes.”
The PIF summit will also grace the presence of United Nations Secretary General, Mr Antonia Guterres.
PM Marape and UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres at PIF leaders meeting in Tonga.
PM Marape said Mr Guterres has requested specifically for Papua New Guinea to have a bilateral meeting with him.
Both leaders will discuss the progress of the Bougainville Peace Agreement; what is happening in Bougainville and PNG’s views on Forestry.
On the issue of West Papua’s ongoing struggle for independence, Prime Minister Marape said it is within the sovereignty of Indonesia to address issues relating to West Papua.
PM Marape met with Indonesian President Elect Prabowo Subianto in Port Moresby before departing for Nukualofa.
Prior to departure PM Marape was asked whether West Papua will be discussed openly at the summit, he responded saying just as PNG would not want its neighboring countries talking about sovereignty issues within its borders, Indonesia would not want its neighbors talking about West Papua and its sovereignty.
However, Mr Marape said all other areas of its relationship with Indonesia such as economy will be open for discussion. Indonesia’s incoming president indicated preservation and greater respect to indigenous views on customs, culture, land rights and indigenous heritages. But his visit was tainted when Indonesian Embassy officials banned Journalist and Benar News correspondent, Harlyne Joku from covering a joint press conference of both leaders.
The PNG Media Council condemned the action of Indonesian Embassy officials saying it was also shameful that PNG Government officials allowed this to happen to a PNG Journalist.
Over in Tonga, Benar News has reported that the 18 member Pacific Island Forum Leaders is underway with top diplomats from key partners including China and the United States gathered for a week of talks on decolonization of New Caledonia, climate change and regional security and cohesion.
Regional leaders will meet for the 53rdPacific Islands Forum in Tonga from the 26th to the 30th of August 2024.
This follows their recent visit to Japan in July for the Pacific Alliance Leaders Meeting [PALM 10]; Japan’s pillar of foreign policy with Pacific Island leaders.
High on the agenda in Japan was the dumping of nuclear waste water into the Pacific ocean; that agenda will again be a priority discussion among regional leaders in Tonga.
PIF Chair and Cook Islands Prime Minister, Mark Brown (left) with PIF Secretary General, Baron Waqa at 10th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM10)in Japan. [[Photo://Sincha Dimara-InsidePNG]]
The view taken by leaders headed by Pacific Islands Forum chair and Cook Islands Prime Minister, Mark Brown is that Japan’s treatment of the radioactive waste meets the standard set by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
When asked by the media if allowing Japan to dump nuclear waste or treated water in the Pacific Ocean was against the Rarotonga Treaty, Mr Brown said quote, “No, the water has been treated to remove harmful isotopes, so it’s well within the standard guidelines as outlined by the global authority on nuclear matters, the IAEA.“
This view is seen as Mr Brown backtracking on PIFs previous stand in 2023 where he said quote, “Our people do not have anything to gain from Japan’s plan but have much at risk for generations to come.”
Pacific Islands Forum Chair and Cook Islands Prime Minister, Mark Brown.[[Photo//PANG Communications]]
The Rarotonga Treaty, a Cold War-era agreement prohibits nuclear weapons testing and deployment in the region, but it does not specifically address the discharge of the treated nuclear waste water.
Another long-standing issue is the legacy of nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands by the US between 1946 and 1958. The United States Institute of Peace has reported that the impact of nuclear testing from cancer to displacement to environmental contamination still plague the Marshall Islands today.
Meanwhile, Pacific Civil Society organizations continue to condemn Japan’s action. Of the 1.3 million tonnes of ALPS treated nuclear waste water, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has conducted seven sets of dumping into the Pacific Ocean and the eighth is due to commence soon.
Japan itself is defending its action saying it will continue to follow international safety standards and ongoing monitoring by IAEA. It will continue to have dialogue with Pacific leaders and support initiatives that mobilizes Japan technology and financial resources.
The annual Pacific Island Forum leaders meeting in Tonga will convene and engage in discussions and agree on policies that benefit the people in the region.
ABC Pacific Beat recently reported that Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka gave strong backing to a plan to overhaul Pacific policing. Mr Rabuka also said he will make an apology to Melanesian leaders at the meeting in Tonga for failing to secure an agreement to visit Indonesia’s West Papua province.
At last year’s PIF Leaders meeting in Cook Islands, the Melanesian Spearhead Group appointed Mr Rabuka and PNG Prime Minister James Marape as the “Special Envoys” on West Papua.
Fiji’s Prime Minister said he is still committed to a visit and would like to make the trip after incoming Indonesian President Prabowo Subinato takes office.
Prime Minister Marape meanwhile is ready to welcome Indonesia’s President- today (Wednesday 21st August 2024). Both leaders’ bilateral agenda will include discussions on West Papua.
Niue, a Polynesian island nation located halfway between Fiji and Cook Islands has a population of over 1900. The island is a raised coral atoll with an area of approximately 261 square kilometers.
It is renowned as of one of the largest related coral atolls in the world and boasts over 100 coral species.
Niue hosts a diverse array of marine life including 300 fish species, sea turtles, dolphins, humpback and beaked whales and the world’s highest density of grey reef sharks.
Aerial view of the Island of Niue. [[Photo: By NASA]]
It’s waters remain largely unexploited and pristine with the goal to conserve the ocean for the benefit of the people and environment.
Niue is a small island developing state (SIDS) in free association with New Zealand. It has developed the Ocean Conservation Commitment or OCC Concept championed by local leaders along with a host of partner organizations.
As a SIDS, Niue has limited resources to undertake marine conservation and resilience efforts however through the combined efforts of its government, local organizations and communities, it has made significant advancement in its commitment, policy development and actions.
Niue is one of the first countries to protect 100% of its Exclusive Economic Zone and Territorial Sea under a comprehensive marine plan and 40% of the EEZ is marine protected area, a no-take zone.
After eight years of work, The Niue Ocean Wide (NOW) Project has evolved into the Niue & Ocean Wide Trust (NOW Trust) its unique approach seeks to create funding and sustainable best practices including effective compliance, monitoring, evaluation, transparency and accountability.
All these efforts to tackle climate change and create a resilient Blue Economy.
NOW Trust was created as a charitable trust under New Zealand Law. One way of generating funds through OCCs is enabling sponsors to make a contribution of NZ$12.50/km2 (per square kilometer) each year for 20 years equating to NZ$250.00. Sponsors receive information in the Annual Report and materials that provide impact stories from the communities.
This concept is advocated in Niue to encourage citizens to take ownership of protecting the ocean surrounding them.
As an OCC sponsor or NOW Trust Contributor, individuals or organizations will aid and empower the efforts of Niue to save its unique ecosystems.
JinNam Hopotoa, Project Communications Officer with NOW Trust makes a presentation on the Niue Ocean Wide Concept, during PALM 10 event in Tokyo, Japan. [[Photo: Sincha Dimara/InsidePNG]]
JinNam Hopotoa is the Project Communication Officer at NOW Trust. He recently made a presentation of their work during the Pacific Island Nations week in Tokyo in conjunction with PALM 10.
Organized by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation in Japan, island nations including Papua New Guinea showcased their products and culture to the Japanese people. This was done in the heart of Tokyo where the punctual Japanese public made an effort to purchase memorable items or stopped by for a chat to broaden their knowledge of the Pacific.
Sasakawa Peace Foundation Building – host Pacific Island Nations Week in Japan. [[Photo: By Sincha Dimara/Inside PNG]]
The two-week display (July 8 -19 2024) of dance and art cris-crossed the pacific with islanders representing Micronesia, Melanesia and furthest Polynesia.
JAPAN, Tokyo – Japan is hosting the 10th Pacific Island Leaders Meeting (PALM 10) from July 16th to 18th 2024 in Tokyo.
Following his visit to Indonesia, Prime Minister James Marape and a government delegation are in Japan to join other Pacific Island leaders to discuss regional matters and to strengthen ties.
Crucial on the agenda is the dumping of radioactive waste or ‘treated water’ into the Pacific Ocean.
The Japanese government says the Advanced Liquid Processing System or what it calls, ‘ALPS treated water’ from the Fukushima disaster in 2011 has a radioactive concentration far below regulatory standards and views this as safe.
While Human Rights groups and NGOs have voiced concerns on Fukushima, the Japanese Government has been explaining to the international community based on scientific evidence from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that it will ensure the nuclear treated waste will not cause harm to humans and the environment.
A major earthquake and tsunami occurred at Fukushima in 2011 destroying the nuclear power station.
Thirteen years on, the reconstruction of Fukushima is ongoing. Japanese citizens live normal in some parts of Fukushima while there are fewer restricted areas. This is essential for the decommissioning of the site and reconstruction of Fukushima.
Earlier in the evening (16th July 2024), Prime Minister James Marape, met with Japan’s Prime Minister, Kashida Fumio ahead of PALM 10.
Both leaders also discussed the ALPS treated water in which Prime Minister Marape again expressed his confidence in Japan’s measures to secure it.
The Japanese Prime Minister also extended his condolences to PNG for those whose lives were affected by the recent landslide in May and stated his wish to further strengthen bilateral relations towards Japan-Papua New Guinea 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
He expressed gratitude to PNG for ensuring stable access for Japanese fishing vessels in PNG waters, and conveyed the country’s decision to provide a fishery research vessel as well as fishery equipment.
Heads of 14 Pacific Island nations are in Tokyo for PALM 10, including Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown, who is head of the Pacific Island forum.
He conveyed the forum’s collective views on bilateral relations with Japan, in particular the Blue Pacific 2050 strategy. He called for peace and security in the region to safeguard the ocean, lands and common heritage.
Palm or Pacific Island Leaders Meeting is hosted every three years and is the pillar of Japan’s foreign policy with Pacific Island countries.
The Prime Minister of Solomon Islands has recently gone on a home-building spree, constructing eight valuable new houses in and around the capital city of Honiara.
KEY POINTS:
Despite earning a modest salary, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has in recent years rapidly expanded his real estate holdings, building at least eight new houses on three sites in and around Honiara.
Real estate experts said the houses would have cost at least $1.7 million to build, and perhaps as much as $3.2 million.
Financial experts said the value of the houses appears out of proportion with Sogavare’s known income. Some of the construction appears to have been funded by three separate mortgages granted on a single day in 2018, worth a total of over 7 million Solomon Islands dollars (over $900,000). Financial experts said Sogavare’s known income at the time was too low to typically be granted such loans — raising questions about how he obtained them.
By Aubrey Belford (OCCRP), Dan McGarry (OCCRP), Ofani Eremae (In-Depth Solomons), Charley Piringi (In-Depth Solomons), Gina Maka’a (In-Depth Solomons), and Ronald Toito’ona (In-Depth Solomons)
Manasseh Sogavare, the four-time prime minister of Solomon Islands, speaks proudly of his humble origins as a school dropout who once earned a living cleaning toilets and making tea for British colonial officials.
The 69-year-old premier is modestly paid by the standard of world leaders, even after he received a 39-percent pay bump this month that raised his annual salary to 428,560 Solomon Islands dollars, or SBD (around US$50,000).
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare. [[Photo credit: Dan McGarry/OCCRP]]
That relatively low paycheck, however, hasn’t stopped Sogavare and his wife, Emmy, from securing large loans and massively increasing their real estate wealth over the past several years, an investigation by OCCRP and In-Depth Solomons has found.
The couple have builtat least eight new houses on land they already owned in and around the capital, Honiara, reporters found. The construction costs are estimated to run as high as several million U.S. dollars.
One of the houses, a large, multi-story home in the hillside suburb of Tasahe, serves as the couple’s current residence. Other holdings include what are, by local standards, high-end rental properties in the neighborhoods of Lungga and Henderson, located near the Honiara airport.
[[Credit: Edin Pašović/OCCRP]]
Altogether, the houses are believed to have cost the Sogavares between SBD 14 million and SBD 26 million ($1.7 million and $3.2 million) to build, according to local property appraisers who reviewed land and mortgage records, satellite images, and drone photos provided by reporters. The estimates do not include additional costs, such as interior furnishings or landscaping.
The value of the properties appears out of proportion with Sogavare’s known earnings. The size and scale of the houses themselves also stand in stark contrast to the living conditions of most Honiara residents, who pay sky-high prices to live in often ramshackle and overcrowded housing.
With Sogavare seeking to secure a fifth prime ministerial term in key elections on April 17, anti-corruption experts say his fast-growing real estate portfolio — as well as the large loans he obtained to finance it — deserves closer scrutiny.
“He needs to explain to the people: Where did he get all this money from?” said Ruth Liloqula, who heads the Solomon Islands chapter of Transparency International.
Sogavare did not respond to questions from OCCRP and In-Depth Solomons.
“On a PM’s Salary? Definitely Not”
Located at the end of a secluded road overlooking the Ironbottom Sound, the Sogavares’ Tasahe home is still not widely known to the public.
The Tasahe property. [[Photo credit: Aubrey Belford/OCCRP]]
The house is situated on over 1,200 square meters of state land leased by the prime minister and his wife in 2007 but left empty for about a decade. While it’s not clear precisely when construction began, satellite imagery shows that the land went from being completely vacant in early 2017 to containing a completed structure by May 2019.
While the state-owned land it stands on cost relatively little, property valuers estimate the house itself cost between SBD 6 million and 10 million ($720,000 and $1.2 million) to build.
According to neighbors and real estate agents, the home was initially rented out to tenants. Financial records obtained by reporters show that by 2020, the Sogavares were receiving SBD 35,000 ($4,130) a month in rent.
The couple eventually moved into the home themselves after their existing residence — a plot of land in Lungga containing two houses — was damaged after it was targeted in 2021 by rioters opposed to Sogavare’s government. One house was ransacked in the incident; the other was burned to the ground.
When the Sogavares moved to Tasahe, construction crews descended on the Lungga site, demolishing the remaining structures and rapidly building three large new homes in their place.
The three newly constructed homes on the Lungga site. [[Photo Credit: Aubrey Belford/OCCRP]]
The Sogavares have also built homes at their Henderson property, which contained just one small house when they purchased the land in 2015.
Satellite images and drone photos show the plot being developed in stages, with two large houses erected sometime between early 2017 and early 2019. By April 2020, a third house had appeared, and a fourth smaller structure was added sometime in 2023. All four houses appear to be rental properties.
The Henderson property. [[Photo credit: Aubrey Belford/OCCRP]]
Accustomed to the usually sleepy pace of work in Solomon Islands, neighbors told reporters that they were stunned at the speed with which the new houses were built.
“Those of us living around here were so surprised to see three buildings completed in just less than a year, something a Solomon Islander normally couldn’t do,” said Rose Kairi, who watched the Lungga construction work from her home nearby.
Kairi said she saw trucks driven by what appeared to be Chinese workers drop construction materials at the site. Those carrying out the construction were mostly locals, she said.
Rick Houenipwela, himself a former prime minister who served directly before Sogavare’s most recent term, also lives close to the three new houses in Lungga.
Houenipwela’s own home is a sprawling structure cobbled together from typical local construction materials like gyprock, wood, and concrete blocks. He told reporters his own renovations had taken place at a pace typical of Solomon Islands: in fits and starts.
The Sogavares, he said, appeared to suffer from neither delays nor a shortage of money.
“The machines actually were just stationed there… Sometimes they would have work at night,” Houenipwela said.
“It was really quick by our standards,” he added. “And the standard definitely is high, good work. The material, of course, is of quality standard.”
While prime minister, Houenipwela drew on official income and benefits similar to Sogavare’s. He told reporters he had struggled to pay for his own home improvements, and did not understand how his successor could afford his own far more ambitious construction projects.
“On a PM’s salary? Definitely not.”
A History of Real Estate Controversies
This is not the first time the Sogavares’ real estate dealings have come into question.
In 2007, during Manasseh Sogavare’s second prime ministerial term, the couple raised eyebrows with the original purchase of the Lungga property.
The sale was made with the help of a SBD 2.5 million (about $350,000) mortgage from Australia’s ANZ bank — supported by a letter from the Embassy of Taiwan, in which the country’s government guaranteed that it would rent the property. Sogavare was a staunch ally of Taiwan at the time.
The loan and the Lungga purchase drew criticism from lawmakers, who accused him of exploiting his relationship with a foreign government for personal gain.
Sogavare defended himself, saying: “I do not see any law in this country that says once you become a prime minister you are not allowed to go to the bank and get a loan.”
“Taiwan came and said it is going to have a long term tenancy agreement with us,” he added. “Taiwan wanted to rent those two houses. What is wrong with that?”
Members of parliament, including those within his own governing majority, saw it differently. Sogavare was removed in a vote of no confidence later that year, in part due to the uproar over the land deal.
Another controversy swirled with the purchase of the Henderson land in 2015, after Sogavare had returned to serve a third term as prime minister. He and his wife bought the land, which satellite images at the time showed to contain a small dwelling, for SBD 1.5 million (about $190,000).
Questioned in parliament, Sogavare said he had obtained another loan to purchase the Henderson plot. “I wish I had 1.5 million,” Sogavare said at the time.
Land registry documents typically list all mortgages taken out against a property. However, reporters were unable to find any record there showing that Sogavare took out such a loan for Henderson at the time.
An Expensive Building Boom
While the land-purchase deals drew concerns, it has been the past six years that have seen the most dramatic expansion in the Sogavares’ real estate wealth.
In 2018, Sogavare’s lending relationship with Australia’s ANZ Bank — which had provided the mortgage for the Lungga purchase, as well as other smaller loans — ended for unclear reasons. He moved his business across to the French-owned BRED Bank, which on a single day in 2018 granted the politician and his wife three separate, and much larger mortgages worth SBD 7,161,590 ($916,688).
The loans were secured against the properties the couple had acquired in 2007 and 2015, as well as an older, more modest family home in the neighborhood of Vura.
The Vura property. [[Photo credit: Dan McGarry/OCCRP]]
There was just one problem, according to financial experts: The couple likely would not have been able to afford the loans at the time.
Manasseh Sogavare, despite his political longevity, has never served consecutive posts as prime minister in the rough-and-tumble world of Solomon Island politics. At the time BRED agreed to grant him the loans, he was serving as deputy prime minister, earning an annual government salary of just SBD 169,230 (around US$21,000), as well as a housing allowance of up to SBD 240,000 a year (roughly $30,000).
Nor did the couple have any other substantial sources of income. Company registry documents show the Sogavares had no declared business interests at the time.
That would have left the couple far short of the roughly SBD 824,000 (about $104,000) in mortgage repayments they would have owed each year (if calculated according to the central bank’s lending rate at the time, 10.7 percent, and paid out over BRED Solomon’s maximum available term of 25 years.)
Financial experts interviewed by OCCRP and In-Depth Solomons said such a shortfall would normally prompt a bank to turn the Sogavares away.
“Based on Sogavare’s income as deputy PM, it doesn’t look like that he’d be able to service that original loan just on his income alone,” said Matt Fehon, a Sydney-based forensic accountant. “There would have to be other sources.”
By 2019, Manasseh Sogavare had returned to the prime ministerial post for his current fourth term, providing a small boost to his salary. Emmy Sogavare soon launched a cafe business that made a modest income. Financial records show the couple also began renting out their former home in Vura for SBD 11,000 ($1,340) a month.
But even with those gains, the Sogavares’ earnings would still have been swallowed by mortgage payments.
[[Photo credit: Edin Pašović/OCCRP]]
Fehon said BRED Bank may have given the Sogavares a reduced interest rate or allowed them to defer repayments while they built their rental properties. The Sogavares may have also had a third party guaranteeing their loan, he said.
But such special treatment would be risky, and most international banks would have avoided issuing the loans altogether, Fehon said.
“The fact that the individuals are politically exposed persons, you’d want to do additional due diligence,” he said.
“The bank would need to look at the source of those funds, any additional funds, and make sufficient inquiries to satisfy themselves that they’re not illegal payments,” he said.
Such questions are more urgent given Sogavare’s past admission that he received a loan guarantee from Taiwan. While he was previously a staunch advocate of the self-governing island’s interests, he dramatically reversed course in his latest term by switching Solomon Islands’ diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China and signing a secretive security deal with Beijing.
The move has rattled the West and spurred an uptick in Chinese investment in Solomon Islands. China’s government also makes controversial payments known as “constituency development funds” to both Sogavare and his allies in parliament. The 2021 riots that damaged the couple’s Lungga property was driven in part by public anger over Sogavare’s switch in allegiance from Taiwan to China.
Graffiti on a building being reconstructed following the 2021 Honiara riots. [[Photo credit: Dan McGarry]]
Anti-corruption experts say that both Sogavare and BRED Bank should be transparent about how the loans were secured.
“Based on what you’ve outlined by way of the valuations, and his earning capacity, it appears he’s got a large loan and undertaken an expensive construction project that’s beyond his means,” forensic accountant Fehon said.
BRED Bank declined to comment.
“We are not allowed to comment on confidential information regarding our clients,” bank spokeswoman Leila Salimi said.
Making Up the Difference
While questions remain about the Sogavares’ ability to repay the mortgages, property valuers say the loans would not even have been enough to cover the ambitious construction spree the couple would soon embark on.
If estimates from local land valuers on the cost of construction are correct, the roughly SBD 7 million from BRED would cover only half, or even less, of the total construction costs.
[[Photo credit: Edin Pašović/OCCRP]]
Reporters were unable to find any indication on public land documents showing fresh loans to help cover the construction of the three recently constructed Lungga homes, which according to valuers’ estimates, likely cost a total of SBD 4 million to SBD 8 million (about $470,000 to $940,000) to build.
However, part of the cost appears to have been covered by an insurance payout of SBD 2 million (around $235,000), according to three sources with knowledge of the matter.
And even though the Sogavares may have lacked the initial funds to pay for their construction and loans, that would no longer be the case. With the homes complete, they can now bring in a handsome rental income that far outstrips the prime minister’s official salary.
Neighbors and real estate agents told reporters that at least some of the couple’s new homes in Lungga and Henderson are currently being rented out. Reporters were unable to learn how much these tenants are paying, but financial records from the previous rentals of two houses owned by the Sogavares, as well as estimates from local real estate agents, suggest that the couple could be earning well over SBD 100,000 ($11,800) a month in rent.
Prominent Fiji-based businessman Zhao Fugang is a trusted advocate for China’s interests in the Pacific. But Australian law enforcement and intelligence agencies suspect he plays another part: as a senior organized crime leader. Fugang has not been charged with any crime.
KEY POINTS:
Since mid-2023, Australian law enforcement and intelligence agencies have secretly designated Zhao Fugang a top international organized crime figure.
Zhao is alleged to be a senior member of a syndicate involved in drug smuggling, money laundering, and human trafficking. There is no record of Zhao ever being charged in Australia or elsewhere. Authorities have not publicized any evidence against him and he denies any wrongdoing.
Australian law enforcement officials have shared intelligence on Zhao with Fiji in an effort to get local authorities to move against him.
From his perch at the hilltop Yue Lai Hotel, China-born entrepreneur Zhao Fugang enjoys a panoramic view of Fiji’s seaside capital, Suva.
But Zhao’s hotel is not just the headquarters of his local business empire, which has stretched from tourism to property development. It’s also the base for the businessman’s parallel job: promoting China’s influence in the Pacific country.
The imposing red-and-black hotel is a favored venue for the local Chinese embassy’s official functions, where Zhao has rubbed shoulders with senior Fijian officials. It’s also home to an official “service center” for Chinese citizens, which has played a public role in fostering security ties between China and Fiji.
Zhao Fugang’s Yue Lai Hotel, located in Suva, the capital of Fiji. [[Photo credit: OCCRP]]
The businessman’s role is typical of Beijing’s steady efforts to build its footprint in the Pacific Islands. The ruling Chinese Communist Party often uses prominent members of the overseas diaspora as proxies to push Chinese interests, under a strategy it calls the “United Front.”
As Western countries fret over China’s rising influence in the strategically important Pacific islands, Australia — a key U.S. ally — has set its sights on Zhao, a joint investigation by OCCRP and Australia’s Nine media outlets have found.
In secret, Australian law enforcement and intelligence agencies believe that Zhao is not merely a businessman or political operative. They suspect he is also a senior organized crime figure — and they’re pushing Fiji to move against him.
Reporters pieced together an understanding of Australia’s targeting of Zhao by reviewing documents circulated among law enforcement agencies and conducting interviews with Australian, U.S., and Fijian security officials.
Australia’s top criminal intelligence body, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, went to the extraordinary step of adding Zhao to its registry of Australian Priority Organization Targets in mid-2023, reporters have learned. The list of priority targets is secret, and includes about a dozen top suspected criminals, typically based abroad, who are deemed to be “the most significant threats facing Australia.”
Zhao’s designation is the first time a known political operative has been added to the list, and is an acknowledgement that China is believed to be using organized criminal networks as proxies to push its interests in the Pacific, said John Coyne, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
“This is the beginning of a journey to really look inside to identify… what else is happening across the Pacific in terms of this interference, how else are we seeing that sort of merging or graying the line between organized crime figures and also people who are working for the Chinese government,” Coyne said.
Reporters found that Australian law enforcement has since at least 2021 suspected that Zhao is a senior member of a transnational syndicate that has been active in the region for decades and “likely has good access to corrupt officials,” according to one document.
The syndicate is allegedly involved in crimes including human trafficking, money laundering, and the large-scale flow of drugs to Australia. Its senior members had a “demonstrated ability to coordinate their operations in the region,” the document says.
Zhao has never been charged in Australia with any crime, nor have authorities made their suspicions public.
Inclusion on the list is based on intelligence and is not proof of wrongdoing. The list is circulated among Australia’s main law enforcement agencies as part of a strategy to use the full force of the government to take apart the most complex and tough transnational criminal networks.
Fiji’s Home Affairs and Immigration Minister, Pio Tikoduadua, confirmed that Australian authorities had shared intelligence with him that raised “serious” concerns about Zhao.
Tikouadua said in an interview that Fijian law enforcement may “act on something that has been raised with us by foreign intelligence,” but added that the allegation “must have some basis in fact and in law for us to be able to respond to it.”
During a brief exchange with a reporter at his hotel, Zhao denied any involvement in criminality. Asked if he worked on behalf of the Chinese government, he gave a one word answer: “Yes.”
Zhao Fugang. [[Photo credit: Nine]]
China’s embassy in Suva declined to answer questions about Zhao, a naturalized Fiji citizen, and said all questions should be directed to local officials.
“The Chinese government attaches great importance to and is fully committed to protecting the safety and lawful rights and interest of overseas Chinese nationals. We always ask overseas Chinese nationals to comply with local laws and regulations, and not to engage in any illegal activities,” the embassy said.
“Your suspicion of the relation between Chinese government and Chinese community in Fiji is entirely groundless.”
Pacific in Play
The intense Australian focus on Zhao comes amid rising Western concerns about China’s ambitions in the Pacific Islands.
China has in recent years managed to establish formal ties with the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, and Nauru, convincing them to abandon diplomatic recognition of Taiwan, a U.S. ally that Beijing considers a “renegade province.”
In 2022, China signed a secret security pact with Solomon Islands, a leaked draft of which appeared to allow Beijing to send security forces to the country “protect the safety of Chinese personnel and major projects.” The announcement of the agreement sparked concern in Washington, D.C., as well as the capitals of Australia and New Zealand.
Those Chinese inroads followed earlier gains in Fiji during the authoritarian rule of former Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, who came to power in a 2006 coup and was voted out in late 2022. Under Bainimarama, Fiji and China inked a bilateral policing agreement in early 2011, complete with deliveries of equipment and training.
Former Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama (left) with Cao Gangchuan (right), former Minister of National Defense of the People’s Republic of China, in a meeting in Beijing, China, in 2005. [[Photo credit: Imago/Alamy Stock Photo]]
The pact was “extraordinary in terms of the level of detail,” said Graeme Smith, an expert on China and the Pacific at the Australian National University.
“It’s detailed to the extent there’s even a hotline that you could call in the event of any problem,” he said. “Like, literally 24/7 in Beijing, there would be someone to pick up the phone and say, ‘Here we are. We’re ready to jump on a plane.’”
That’s exactly what Beijing did in 2017, sending an aircraft full of police officers to Fiji to round up scores of suspects in an online fraud operation and bring them back to China. The operation, in which the suspects were marched onto the aircraft by Chinese police and placed in black hoods, was heavily criticized by Fiji’s opposition. After Barinimarama was voted out of power, the new government quickly suspended the policing agreement.
Chinese media reports and press releases show that, from at least 2014, Zhao promoted himself as an “adviser” to Bainimarama. Zhao’s exact relationship with Bainimarama’s government is unclear, but both analysts and former government insiders have said that Zhao made efforts to forge personal relationships with the prime minister and other top officials.
Bainimarama even presided over the opening ceremony for Zhao’s Yue Lai Hotel in 2014. The event is commemorated on a plaque embedded near the hotel’s entrance — which was covered up with a sticker after Bainimarama was voted out of office.
Zhao did not respond to written questions. When approached by a reporter for Nine at his hotel, Zhao said he had simply been acquainted with Bainimarama because the former premier had dined at the hotel restaurant.
“Everyone knows Frank,” said Zhao, referring to the former prime minister by his first name before snapping a photograph of the reporter.
Bainimarama did not respond to a request for comment.
China’s “Front Man” in Fiji
Zhao’s role as a representative of Beijing is spelled out in detail in Chinese media reports and official documents.
Since at least the mid-2010s, Zhao has held a series of senior positions at organizations controlled by the United Front Work Department, an office of the Chinese Communist Party that, among other things, coordinates efforts to use China’s diaspora abroad to influence local elites and push Beijing’s interests.
Zhao has held leading positions in United Front groups, including an organization for the northern Chinese diaspora in Fiji, according to Chinese state media. He has also headed a Fiji-based organization of diaspora Chinese advocating for the “reunification” of Taiwan with China.
At one point, Zhao served on the council of an Australia-Pacific Taiwan reunification body headed by Huang Xiangmo, a Chinese billionaire and Australian political donor. Huang had his Australian permanent residency canceled and was barred re-entry to the country in 2019 after the domestic intelligence agency alleged that he was interfering in Australian politics on Beijing’s behalf. Huang has denied the allegations of foreign interference.
Chinese-language media reports show that Zhao has made trips back to China to meet with United Front officials, and in 2017 and 2019 attended the organization’s flagship annual assembly.
Meanwhile, in Fiji, Zhao set about building high-level ties.
“He’s really in many ways the front man for the Chinese state in Fiji,” said Smith, of the Australian National University. “There’s no other serious player in town.”
With Zhao’s help, China “got in very, very deep and very, very close” to Bainimarama’s government, he said.
‘Not a Friend’
Zhao appears to have played a key role in promoting China’s security interests in Fiji.
In 2016, company registry documents and media reports show that Zhao set up at his hotel an official Overseas Chinese Service Center. Beijing has denied claims from Western governments and researchers that these centers are part of a global network of offices that have, in some cases, been used to monitor Chinese citizens abroad. China says the purpose of the offices is to help Chinese citizens carry out banal tasks like renewing official documents.
As head of the center, Zhao attended and played host to several high-level meetings on security cooperation, according to reports in Chinese-language media. Senior Fijian police officers attended these meetings, as well as local Chinese business leaders and embassy officials.
At first glance, it may seem strange that a person trusted by China’s government to support its law enforcement efforts in Fiji is suspected by Australia of being involved in serious organized crime.
But expertssay that China has a track record in using “patriotic” organized crime figures as proxies abroad, particularly when part of the job is to influence local elites.
“You need fixers. You need people who know people. And often criminals have a really good Rolodex,” ANU’s Smith said.
“If you can find people that are successful businesspeople and involved in criminal activities, then they’re often your most effective vectors in-country, because they know people and they’re willing to do the stuff that the state doesn’t want to do.”
Previous OCCRP reporting has revealed how the Chinese government has relied on dubious businesspeople –– including a notorious triad leader nicknamed ‘Broken Tooth’ –– to advance its interests elsewhere in the Pacific.
Australia’s suspicions about Zhao’s alleged criminal connections also come amid mounting concern over a rise in drug trafficking through Fiji, which sits between Latin America and deep-pocketed buyers in Australia and New Zealand.
Zhao Fugang (right) stands with Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka (second from left) during an event with the Chinese Embassy at his Yue Lai Hotel in 2023 to celebrate the Chinese New Year. [[Photo credit: Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in The Republic of Fiji]]
OCCRP reported last year on how neglect by senior leaders in Fiji’s previous government led to an explosion of methamphetamine and cocaine smuggling through the country. Fiji Police seized a record 4.8 tons of meth in January — a haul worth hundreds of millions of dollars that would be enough to supply all of Australia for nearly six months. OCCRP and partners are not alleging that Zhao is involved in the recent seizures.
Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said in an interview that he was unaware of Australian claims that Zhao is involved in organized crime.
Rabuka’s government announced in mid-March that it was restarting the policing agreement that it had suspended last year. But the prime minister nonetheless said he had concerns that China’s government may have links to organized crime groups active in Fiji.
“I do not want to… open the door to someone that could turn out to be not a friend,” said Rabuka.
The Australian High Commission in Papua New Guinea has responded to social media users’ questioning a joint exercise between the Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR) and the PNG Defence Force’s First Royal Pacific Islands Regiment (1RPIR).
In a statement released by Australian Authorities, Australian Defence Advisor to Papua New Guinea, Colonel Travis Gordon said the training in question is a continuation of a long history of cooperation between ADF and PNGDF that stretches back decades.
“1 RAR’s travel to PNG is the first rotation this year of the longstanding Olgeta training series, focused on activities to enhance PNGDF capability and capacity. Planning for this rotation commenced in August 2023,” said Col. Gordon.
Following the announcement of a team from ADF’s 1RAR preparing to travel to Papua New Guinea, many social media users questioned the role of the Australian Army in PNG.
Thus the head of the Australian Defence Force in country says the trainings is part of the longstanding Defence ties between Australia and Papua New Guinea, the ADF regularly deploys Mentor Training Teams to work alongside the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF).
“The partnership between the ADF and the PNGDF plays a vital role in the broader relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea,” Col Gordon explained.
These teams deliver training and activities with the PNGDF on a rotational basis, returning to Australia upon completion of their training activities.
The 1 RAR’s deployment to PNG is only for the purpose of participating in the next Mentor Training Team activity.
The beautiful Yule Island in Central’s Kairuku district is commemorating the 100th anniversary of the death of Lieutenant Léon BOURJADE, a French flying ace in the First World War who died in 1924.
The restored plaque of Lieutenant Léon BOURJADE.
As part of the celebrations, crew members of Auguste Bénébig a French navy vessel based in New Caledonia, anchored on the island and performed a memorial action through the cleaning and restoration of the grave of Lieutenant Léon BOURJADE. Famous for his “acrobatic” landings, his name is still associated with aviation through the expression “landing like Bourjade”.
French Navy vessel Auguste Bénébig at anchor on Yule Island, Kairuku District.
French Ambassador Guillaume Lemoine, European Union Ambassador Jacques Fradin and Central Governor, Rufina Peter were part of the dignitaries to the island.
The commemoration ceremony of Lieutenant Léon BOURJADE comes days after the first official visit of General Yann LATIL, Commander of the French Armed Forces in New Caledonia (FANC), to Papua New Guinea. He made a 3-days official visit to Port Moresby at the end of February, where he met officials from Department of Defence and PNGDF to sign a 2024-2025 cooperation plan.
French Ambassador Guillaume Lemoine (right), European Union Ambassador Jacques Fradin (obscured), crew members of Auguste Bénébig and Central Governor Rufina Peter (center) laying wreaths in honour of Lieutenant Léon BOURJADE
The FANC enable France to have permanent military presence in the Pacific Region in order to protect French interests in the region and maintain France’s military partnerships in this area of strategic interest.
With over 1,650 military personnel, the FANC provide regular support for missions involving government action at sea. They have the capacity to intervene in the event of a security or climatic crisis affecting the area. The FANC regularly share their expertise in the field of HADR and maritime security with the security and defence forces of partner countries in the Pacific.
Tuvalu, a picturesque island nation nestled in the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean is currently grappling with a relentless onslaught of storm surges and towering waves, wreaking havoc on coastal communities.
As with most island nations, spring tides occur, in the case of Tuvalu, February’s king tides is nothing like before. The island’s one main road has succumbed to the fury of nature, submerged beneath torrents of seawater, exacerbating the already dire situation faced by Tuvaluans.
With this year’s storm surges and the rising sea inundating vital transportation routes, many of the island’s inhabitants are questioning their future in the face of unyielding climate crisis. The only main road, the lifeline connecting communities and providing the flow of essential services recently became an impassable river filled with water, displaced rocks and coastal waste.
The flooding of the main road in Tuvalu has taken its toll on underground electricity generation. Homes, business and essential services are now grappling with the harsh reality of life without electricity for hours even days. This not only disrupts daily lives but also poses significant risks to public health safety. Papua New Guinea, the largest island in the pacific also face such ferocity within its coastal communities.
Scientists have predicted that Tuvalu might be submerged within 50 to 100 years but Tuvaluans are optimistic. Many young people are questioning themselves whether to continue living in Tuvalu and what the future holds for them and their families. The spectre of displacement and the ever-present threat of climate related devastation loom large, provoking deep seated concerns about the sustainability of life on the island.
A Chinese-born businesswoman accused of taking part in an audacious plot to fly a light plane packed with drugs from Papua New Guinea to Australia allegedly ordered a co-conspirator to pay into a bank account in the name of PNG’s former Migration Chief in order to obtain a visa, court filings show.
Mei Lin, 41, was arrested and charged in Brisbane, Australia, in January for allegedly playing a key role in facilitating a “black flight” in March 2023 that carried over 71kg of methamphetamine from a remote PNG airstrip to the Australian town of Monto.
Lin, a naturalized PNG citizen, has denied the charges.
According to a statement of facts submitted by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to a Brisbane court last week, Lin allegedly instructed one of her co-accused, Australia-based businessman Chun Li, to pay A$10,000 (US$ 6,546) to a Sydney bank account last February in order for Li to obtain a visa in order to travel to PNG and take part in the drug trafficking scheme. The money was allegedly transferred in mid-February last year.
The account at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia is simply listed in the police document as belonging to a “Stanis”. However, by using the bank’s online payment system, reporters were able to confirm that the branch and account numbers in the police document matched the full name of Stanis Hulahau, PNG’s then-chief migration officer.
Hulahau has not been charged with any crime.
“[I] am not aware of the transaction and will have to check with my Bank in Australia,” Hulahau wrote in response to questions from Inside PNG, adding that “the visa was granted electronically so there is no way I will be involved in this process.”
“I have no link to Mei Lin on the drug issue and [have] not assisted Mr Chun Li’s visa or travel to PNG to participate in drug activity as I am a leader who leads the fight against drug[s] in PNG,” he said.
The then Chief Migration Officer, Stanis Hulahau.
Hulahau resigned as migration chief earlier this month after reporting by Inside PNG, OCCRP and the ABC revealed that companies tied to Lin had received Australian government money under a controversial program to care for refugees and asylum seekers in PNG. Known as the PNG Humanitarian Program (PHP), the PNG government-administered arrangement is now under investigation over allegations that contracts had been improperly doled out and money had gone missing.
An Inside PNG-OCCRP investigation last month revealed how Lin had built a web of business ties with some of PNG’s most influential people. They include Moses Maladina, a former deputy prime minister who owns a company, Chatswood PNG, where Lin was previously employed and which has been a key contractor in the migration scheme. Maladina has denied any wrongdoing.
Lin was granted bail last week and is in Brisbane awaiting trial.
The latest police filing also contains new details alleging that last year’s black flight, if successful, was likely intended to be the first of many bringing drugs to Australia.
Police allege that Lin used a specialized encrypted communications device, under the handle “Make it Rain”, to coordinate the drug flight with members of an Australia-based syndicate that included local pilots.
The flight was intercepted in Monto on March 21 after the group had made previous unsuccessful attempts to fly to Australia, the AFP statement said. Police allege that the group intended the black flight to be the first in an “ongoing commercial business of importing methamphetamine from PNG to Australia”.
Police also stated that a forensic comparison showed similarities between the meth found on the black flight and an earlier stash of 125kg of meth seized in PNG in November 2022. Two Malaysians and two PNG nationals were reportedly charged over that previous haul.
Eight people have been charged so far over the black flight in Australia, while six others, including Chun Li, have been charged in PNG.
The case comes amid fears that PNG could become an increasingly important staging point in the lucrative trade bringing drugs to Australia, one of the world’s most expensive narcotics markets. Papua New Guinea suffers from endemic corruption, poverty and violence, and experts say organized criminals are seeking to build influence with local elites.
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