Abe returns home after visiting New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea

Global Post

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe returned to Japan on Saturday after making a weeklong three-nation tour of New Zealand, Australia and Papua New Guinea.

During the trip, Abe held summit talks with the prime ministers of each country -- New Zealand's John Key, Australia's Tony Abbott and Papua New Guinea's Peter O'Neill -- over such topics as trade and security.

==Kyodo

For a cleaner and safer Port Moresby

I received this note and picture from my good mate, Ron Gawi, who concurs with me on a cleaner and safer Port Moresby and PNG for all:

"Good afternoon bro. I continue to support you on your efforts at raising awareness on the state of filthiness of Port Moresby especially 'buai pekpek'. 
"See attached picture of a distasteful indecent graffiti painted across a fence opposite the Weigh Inn Hotel in Konedobu and can be seen going downhill from Burns Peak as you are passing the RPNGC headquarters looking straight ahead to the left and on a corrugated iron fence. 
"This repugnant graffiti has been there for many months and nobody seem to care or have any sense of decency, least of all NCDC to get do something about this disgraceful vandalism seen by the travelling public including overseas visitors.
"As a decent citizen, I will buy a can of grey spray paint this weekend and rid the wall of this embarrassing graffiti. 
"But my concern is who is responsible for this type of corrective actions ?
"Have a good weekend.

"Ron Gawi."

357 days to go

357 Days To Go Before the Pacific Games on July 4, 2015: Driving past Gordon Market this afternoon, while taking my kids out shopping, we came across smelly sewerage openly pouring out onto the road between the market and Gordon Police Barracks, something we thought had long been attended to.

358 days to go

358 Days To Go Before the 2015 Pacific Games on July 4:  2015:Walking to Waigani yesterday, I come across the drain which flows into the Sir John Guise Stadium - main venue of the 2015 Pacific Games - which reeks of smelly sewerage and is chock-a-block with plastic and other trash. 

Are we going to leave this till the last minute?

Abe reinforces Pacific relations as China seeks island toeholds

By Makiko Yanada / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer 

 China’s maritime expansion goes far beyond repeated intrusions into Japanese waters around the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture and territorial disputes with the Philippines and Vietnam, as the nation has been reaching for Pacific island nations, which have thus far been under the influence of the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

China has adopted an anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) strategy against U.S. forces, in which it establishes a so-called first island chain that extends from Honshu to Okinawa, past Taiwan and on to the Philippines, and a second island chain that stretches from Guam to Papua New Guinea and Micronesia. Palau and other island countries can be found in between the first and second island chains.
For China, the Pacific island states are strategically vital as they offer anchorage sites for China’s warships in the vast Pacific Ocean. On the back of great capital resources, China has been trying to win over local governments of those countries through financial support for constructing government buildings and other public facilities.
Resource development by Chinese firms has also been promoted at a rapid rate in such countries. China also deepened military exchanges with Papua New Guinea and Fiji through reciprocal visits by high-ranking military officials and other actions.
Amid such a situation, relevant countries such as Japan, the United States and Australia feel an increasing sense of caution against China because, should the current situation continue, the Pacific Ocean could become the “sea of China.”
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe chose Papua New Guinea as one of his destinations during his first Oceania tour over strong concern regarding China’s expansion. At a summit meeting between Abe and Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, scheduled for Thursday, they are expected to agree to bilateral cooperation mainly in the development of natural gas.

Abe also is seen to announce that Japan will provide support for building and improving infrastructure in the country through official development assistance programs.
Meanwhile, Australia and New Zealand have begun taking measures to strengthen maritime security cooperation by setting up a Pacific defense ministers’ meeting with Papua New Guinea and other countries last year, in addition to the Pacific Islands Forum, where leaders of Australia, New Zealand and 14 small island countries and territories meet.
The United States launched a fund to preserve the environments in Pacific island nations in March, while also gearing up support from the U.S. Coast Guard for maritime patrol activities by those island countries.

360 days to go

360 Days To Go Before the Pacific Games on July 4, 2015: Yesterday, I stopped outside SP Brewery, Gordon, to take pictures of the flags and banners for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who visits PNG for two days starting today, when I came across this very public drain next to the bus stop spewing sewerage and full of trash.

The Melanesian Festival of Arts and Culture has been going on for the last two weeks and ends tomorrow.

PNG court dismisses police application to set aside Prime Minister Peter O'Neill's arrest warrant

By Liam Cochrane, PNG Correspondent
ABC
 

PNG District Court rules against a police move to have Prime Minister Peter O'Neill's arrest warrant set aside.

PNG's Acting Police Commissioner Geoffrey Vaki at a media conference last month. (Credit: ABC)

Papua New Guinea's District Court has dismissed an application by the Acting Police Commissioner to have the arrest warrant against Prime Minister Peter O'Neill set aside.

Audio: PNG Correspondent Liam Cochrane with the latest from Port Moresby's District Court (ABC News)

The decision follows the National Court ruling earlier this week to uphold the arrest warrant as well as legal action in the Supreme Court yesterday to appeal against that judgement - an action which has been adjourned to next Thursday.
It is more than two weeks since Prime Minister O'Neill was issued with an arrest warrant after the country's anti-corruption agency Taskforce Sweep accused him of authorising fraudulent government payments worth millions of kina to local law firm, Paraka Lawyers.
PNG Correspondent Liam Cochrane told Pacific Beat that Friday's District Court ruling was consistent with the earlier National Court decision to allow Mr O'Neill's arrest warrant to stand.
In making a decision on Acting Police Commissioner Geoffrey Vaki's application, the judge noted that it was the responsibility of the Police Force to execute the arrest warrant.
"Regular listeners will know from our previous conversations though, that there's very little chance of that happening," Liam Cochrane said.
"The current Police Commissioner Geoffrey Vaki has indicated he's not going to do that and in fact gave an undertaking to the Supreme Court [on Thursday] that he would not pursue the arrest of the Prime Minister."
With consistent decisions in the District Court and the National Court, it's now up to Thursday's appeal in the Supreme Court to make a further ruling, he says.
That appeal is by Mr O'Neill himself with his lawyers appealing against the National Court decision that the arrest warrant stands.
There are two more appeals against the National Court decision - one by the Finance Minister James Marape and also by the State.

Legal action by the Police fraud squad

Meanwhile the Police fraud squad has also been in court in Port Moresby, trying to get legal backing so they are not required to hand over the file relating to the corruption investigation into Prime Minister O'Neill.
"They don't want to hand it over to the new Police Commissioner, effectively," Liam Cochrane said.
"So it's an urgent application to stop that and the judge adjourned that until Tuesday next week to hear whether they will or will not be forced to hand over [the file]."