New Caledonia

Associate membership for its unincorporated territories may give Washington a greater interest in Pacific regionalism, but will need to be managed carefully to make sure full member states drive PIF agendas. 

After months of violence, New Caledonia independence groups will turn to the PIF in hopes of buoying their case for self-determination from France.

The first step to resolving the New Caledonia crisis is for France to return to the resolve it demonstrated in the mid-1990s and drastically alter its course – fast. 

The quotidian legacies of colonialism in the Pacific are dramatically shaping the present. 

Those detained are suspected of having a role in the deadly violence that wracked the archipelago starting in mid-May.

Violence flared on May 13 over the government’s attempt to change voting lists in the French Pacific territory, which Indigenous Kanaks say would marginalize their voices.

Supporting separatism in France’s overseas territories has become a top priority as Baku seeks to punish France for its longtime sympathy for Armenia.

The violent unrest in New Caledonia is alarming. Sadly, the island territory is no stranger to violence.

France imposed a state of emergency for the first time since 1985 as protests against voting reforms morphed into violence.

Two of France’s most senior ministers visited New Caledonia recently as discussions around the nation's political relationship with France continue.

With Macron's visit to New Caledonia, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea, he has a chance to address France's shaken legitimacy in the Pacific.