Pacific news in brief for 15 August

Fiji

Fiji now has 11 political parties registered to contest the upcoming general elections.

The Fiji Sun says Fiji's Registrar of Political Parties, Ana Mataiciwa, approved the registration of the Liberation of Fiji Party (LFP) this week.

Mataiciwa says the LFP, registered under the Political Parties (Registration, Conduct, Funding and Disclosures) Act 2013, had met all legal requirements.

Fiji Liberation Party join a list of new parties launched over the last 24 months, including One Nation, NeXTGEN Alliance Party, People First, Kingdom Unite All Peoples Party and We Unite Fiji Party.

Fiji's elections are expected to be held by February next year.

Tuvalu

Tuvalu's Prime Minister Feleti Teo has invited Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to attend the Pre-COP31 Leaders' Event in Tuvalu in October.

The invitation came during Teo's courtesy meeting in Funafuti with Japan's Ambassador to Fiji, with accreditation to Tuvalu, Hiroshi Tajima, in Funafuti.

The meeting focused on strengthening bilateral cooperation and discussions on climate change, regional cooperation, peace and security, and other areas of mutual interest.

Teo said he'd welcome direct participation between Japan and Pacific leaders on climate change, resilience and climate finance

West Papua

A new satellite fire-monitoring platform, FireWatch, had detected more than 96,000 hotspots across Indonesia as of late last month, including Papua region..

All up, an estimated approximately 103,000 hectares of land burned nationwide during the first half of 2026,

It includes a high numbers of hotspots in South Papua, where large-scale agricultural development has transformed vast areas of lowland forest and wetlands.

Environmental groups say it highlights the need to assess ecological and hydrological risks before converting peatlands for development.

And as El Nino tightens its grip, forecasters warn the fire risk could increase more.

Guam

US Pacific territories are under the microscope as Washington is launching a taskforce to fight birth tourism, where foreigners come to the country to have children.

Key hotspots for birth tourism include Guam and the Northern Marianas.

The US State Department says the taskforce will review the birth tourism space - and either kick out those come in for it, or shut the gate on them when they try.

So far it says it has revoked more than 600 US visas from foreign nationals across the globe, calling birth tourism a pervasive practice.

Republicans have targetted special visa waivers allowing Chinese nationals to travel to these territories.

Northern Marianas

The Northern Mariana Islands' delegate to the US Congress wants the territory to receive half of any federal revenue generated from potential seabed mining around the islands.

The US has recently invited bidders for seabed mining licenses in American Samoa, and will soon do the same for the CNMI.

A keen Republican supporter of President Trump, but a critic of his critical minerals agenda, Kimberlyn King-Hinds said a 50/50 split of the licensing revenue from mining companies is only fair.

She said it would be too difficult to lobby against seabed mining in the area altogether, but with a lack of science, there are dangers that ought to be addressed.

It comes as the US considers issuing up to six mineral leases east and west of the Marianas, with the Western area coming within 54 miles of Saipan.