AdminMay 5Solomon Islands, China and geographic metaphorsA recently signed Security Cooperation Framework Agreement between the Solomon Islands and China has generated more attention to the...
AdminApr 5Ambassadors galore now gracing the previously neglected Pacific islandsIn the middle of the international attention to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the freely associated states seem to be finally getting...
AdminFeb 9Pacific islands under siege by climate change or ChinaWhen island leaders are asked what is the major security challenge in the island Pacific, they uniformly reply “climate change.” This has...
AdminJan 7FAS and paused negotiations with USThis is a great time to be president of the three freely associated states (FAS). Presidents David Panuelo of the Federates States of...
AdminDec 10, 2021Iron island, tip of the spear or spear catcher?The ancient CHamorus and most traditional Pacific Islanders traded away lots of goods for “iron.” Pacific Islanders were familiar with...
AdminNov 7, 2021We are regional people. But from which region?The definition of “region” in the Pacific has always been an issue that divides as much as it unifies. How we define a geographic region...
AdminOct 1, 2021Living with AUKUS in the nuclear-free Pacific The recent Australia United Kingdom United States (AUKUS) agreement on nuclear submarines has much of the world scratching their heads....
By Robert A. UnderwoodSep 1, 20219/2 and 9/11: Dates that we should remember and learn fromSeptember will give us in Guahan and the United States two historical dates. They could have a great deal to do with our future in these...
By Robert A. UnderwoodAug 9, 2021Micronesians are dying from Covid in high rates. Or are they?There is nothing more revealing about the conditions of our existence than our income and our health. We expend great effort in acquiring...
By Robert A. UnderwoodJul 7, 2021Who are you? What are you? Mark the boxWhat is the difference between a label, a category and an identity marker? When we say we are something, we are embracing an identity...
By Robert A. UnderwoodJun 3, 2021Can they act in their own interest?Two events of international significance have potentially dramatic effects on these islands on both sides of the equator. The first is...
By Robert A. UnderwoodMay 6, 2021Racism is systematic, not just personalI had a long-distance relationship with the infamous George Wallace, the segregationist governor of Alabama. It was born in the civil...
By Robert A. UnderwoodApr 5, 2021Whipping Palau into shape: A conversation with President WhippsPalau President Surangel Whipps Pr. recently announced he was going to Taiwan as part of a tourism bubble between the two island nations....
By Robert A. UnderwoodMar 5, 2021Microrexit: Micronesia is no longer in the house For decades, islanders in the Pacific have been enthralled by concepts of regional unity and regional action. Beginning with the...
By Robert A. UnderwoodMar 2, 2021Commemorating a historical event 'with a more robust imagination' Following speech was delivered March 2, 2021 on the occasion of the 500th anniversary commemoration of the circumnavigation It is a...
By Robert A. UnderwoodApr 4, 2020Elected leaders in the time of the virusIn the middle of the pandemic, we are experiencing many things. We are having panic attacks, maniacal purchasing, emotional outbursts,...
By Robert A. UnderwoodDec 6, 2019Our rights are unalienableIn formal conferences, public meetings and private conversations over self-determination and self-government, we are treated to a series...