A Pacific academic says deep connections between Pacific peoples may hold the key to resolving the crisis facing the Pacific Islands Forum.
Nauru, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia decided to withdraw from the Forum following the appointment of Henry Puna as its new secretary-general.
Tarcisius Kabutaulaka an Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Pacific Islands Studies at of the University of Hawaii Manoa says Micronesian leaders' falling out with their Forum counterparts is unprecedented.
But he says Pacific regionalism is about more than inter-governmental relations, its a connection between people, churches and civil society organisations across the Pacific.
The crowd gets into the spirit at the Pacific Games Opening Ceremony. Photo: Games News Service/Roland Setu
