By Pacific Island Times News Staff The U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard have begun their joint patrol in the Western Pacific under the Oceania Maritime Security Initiative to reduce and eliminate illegal, unregulated, unreported fishing, combat transnational crimes, and enhance regional security, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command announced. Cmdr. Richard Skinnell, USS Mobile’s commanding officer, said the maritime security initiative, which began March 20, "is imperative to ensure

By Mar-Vic Cagurangan After three days of marathon special session, Guam senators on Friday night passed an administration-endorsed measure supporting a 22 percent raise to the government’s general pay plan. The amended version of the bill appropriates $21.3 million for the general pay plan, which covers all positions not included in the pay structures for nurses, educators, attorneys and executive employees. Senators amended the bill to lower the appropriation from the initi

By Mar-Vic Cagurangan Closing off more areas around the Pacific Remote Islands would only invite foreign vessels to poach into the U.S. waters, American Samoa Delegate Uifa’atali Amata Radewagen said, opposing the Biden administration’s new plan to expand the existing monument. Radewagen criticized the administration for not making any effort to discuss the plan with the Pacific delegations prior to announcing the initial process to expand the Pacific Remote Islands Marine Mo

By Gina Tabonares-Reilly Chief Federal Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood on Friday retained the three-decade-old injunction on a public law banning abortion on Guam, denying Attorney General Douglas Moylan’s plea to have it lifted. The federal judge pointed out that while arguing that the legal basis for the permanent injunction no longer exists, Moylan failed to address whether the change in law in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health warranted the removal of the permanent injunct

United has no clear answer that can appease protesting island residents By Bryan Manabat and Mar-Vic Cagurangan Passengers traveling between Honolulu and Los Angeles— with an air travel distance of 2,558 miles and travel time of five hours and 25 minutes— pay a minimum roundtrip airfare of $357. Local residents traveling between Saipan and Guam— which are located 136 miles from each other— fork out between $580 and $600. "There is no way a 30-minute flight should cost anyone

By Pacific Island Times News Staff Caught in a tug-of-war between the world's superpowers, the Solomon Islands sought to strengthen its relations with the United States and Japan. However, the Solomon Islands government said Washington's investments in the Pacific islands region were misplaced. Leaders of the South Pacific nation raised concerns that "billions of dollars spent on military equipment is taking the world’s attention away from combating climate change," exacerbat