Pacific diplomacy with an environment angle: Japan is stepping up engagement across the Pacific, pairing environmental protection work with disaster-resilience, maritime cooperation and expanded security assistance—highlighted by moves with Fiji and the Solomon Islands and a new low-interest loan to Honiara. US-Pacific infrastructure and climate-resilience push: At a second White House summit, Biden announced US recognition of Niue and the Cook Islands and promised new money for regional infrastructure, including undersea cable connectivity, plus US$40 million for secure, sustainable, resilient infrastructure and climate-resilient development. Regional environment governance: Wallis-et-Futuna is chairing the SPREP Executive Board meeting for the first time, with a focus on ensuring smaller territories’ environmental concerns are heard. SPREP priorities on the “triple planetary crises”: SPREP’s Director General stressed work tackling climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, alongside disaster risk pressures, as the 5th Executive Board reviews funding and future initiatives. Fisheries sustainability and monitoring: Samoa is calling for stronger fish stock monitoring and better protection of EEZs, warning that without it only a few countries benefit—while coordinating regional operations that also target illegal fishing and trafficking, including coordination involving Niue. Climate summit spending debate: Australia’s A$20m bill to host a Fiji-based Pre-COP31 climate meeting is sparking political heat in Canberra, with critics saying the cost should not come at the expense of households’ cost-of-living pressures.