Students
Visit Konan Community College
KONAN CITY,
Japan (COM-FSM News, July 02, 2014) — Ten COM-FSM Students and one
chaperone flew to Konan City Japan to attend the Aichi Prefecture Konan
Community College Student Exchange Program. The event is from June 30, 2014 to
July 6, 2014.
The students
will be engaged in different type of activities such as visiting historical
landmarks, meeting and staying with their host families, and get involved in
different types of cultural activities.
Konan city and
the College have been active in sending exchange students to explore and learn
each other’s cultures. An exchange group recently visited the College on March
2014.
The students
were led by the MicroJapan student organization President Rico Rico and Vice
President Ryan Eliwise. Participants include Florianop Bonapart Jr, Jordan
Ehsa, Pamela Fredrick, Kevin Jr. Kiyoshi, Kimberlyann John, Charles Johnson
Jr., Relly Rico, Zoyal Sigrah, and their chaperone Magdalena Johnson.
Federated
States Of Micronesia Submits Nomination For Forum SG Job
PALIKIR, FSM (Islands
Business/PACNEWS, July 01, 2014) — Fabian Nimea, who is the head of a
private development consulting firm, has been nominated by the Federated States
of Micronesia (FSM) government for the Forum Secretary General post.
Nimea, who is
from Chuuk state in the FSM, was educated in the United States, where he
attained a master's degree in international relations from Creighton University
in Nebraska in 1991.
Returning home
after finishing university studies, he went to work for the FSM Development
Bank in Pohnpei as a loan manager for five years.
He moved to the
Bank of FSM first as its Vice President and Chief Lending Officer for two
years, and then for slightly over a year he was promoted to Executive Vice
President/Branch and Credit Administrator at the Pohnpei bank headquarters. He
left the bank in late 2000 and later set up his own consulting company.
From 2007 to the
end of 2011, he directed the FSM government's Office of Statistics, Budget and
Economic Management, Overseas Development Assistance, and Compact Management,
known as SBOC, which combined budget formulation and administration, planning,
coordination of overseas aid, and administration of U.S. Compact funding.
He has continued
with private consulting, both as an advisor to FSM President Manny Mori in 2011
and more recently as a sustainable development advisor to AOSIS at the United
Nations.
Elilai
Restaurant Changes Ownership
KOROR, Palau (Oceania
TV News, July 01, 2014) — The elegant dining restaurant located on the hill
in Ngerkebesang overlooking Koror and named after Palau’s flower, Elilai, has
been taken over by a successful local businessman, Jeff Barabe, also the owner
of OTV. Mr. Barabe’s father is the CEO of a food company in Miami, Florida,
making this new venture a likely match.
Elilai was first
opened in 2007 by a Japanese furniture designer, Takauya Mizokami. Mr.
Mizokami moved back to Japan and recently resigned all of his interest in the
Elilai Restaurant. Mr. Barabe saw an opportunity to make Elilai the
first world class dining experience in Micronesia and stepped up to the
challenge.
Elilai serves
international cuisine in a stunning atmosphere. According to Mr. Barabe,
Elilai will continue to cater to high-end tourists bringing them the finest
food, service and view in Palau. Jeff Barabe is inspired by his former boss,
Robert DeNiro, who founded the the award winning restaurant Tribeca Grill in NY
and will be using some of the same successful techniques to appeal to high end
tourists..
In the coming
months, Mr. Barabe will focus on updating the menu with new choices both for
dining and drinks. He explained: “It is our goal to make the entire
dining experience worthy of the spectacular view Palau offers. We will be
adding new items to the menu, expanding our drink list with new wines and new
signature cocktails, and making improvements to the overall ambiance.” He
intends to make Elilai the place you want to bring your guests to showcase the
best of Palau. He will be training the current staff and hiring
additional staff to meet the high demands of a world-class
restaurant. Locals will be given hiring preference while local
diners receive a %15 discount.
Mr. Barabe will
also continue to operate Roll’em Productions and Oceania Television Network
(OTV) as it expands in the region. Barabe’s wife, Kassi Berg, also
recently started a new local business, partnering with attorney Larry Goddard,
to create The Pacific Development Law Group.
Eyewitness
Accounts Reveal Rock Island Tragedy Was Not An Accident
KOROR, Palau (Oceania
TV News, July 01, 2014) — OTV has learned that earlier reports of the rock
island boat collision being an accident are false and instead was an
intentional act possibly involving criminal negligence and murder.
On Sunday
afternoon the Social Security Administration outing was winding down at soft
coral arch in Palau’s rock islands. While children swam in the blue water and
families relaxed in the sun, a speedboat driven by Brian Simer reversed across
the lagoon and then suddenly went into full throttle taking aim at the back of
the passenger boat owned by the government.
The speedboat
slammed into the rear of the government boat crawling up onto the engines and
immediately injuring at least one person with an impact to the head. The
speedboat then slipped back into the water to hit the boat a second time in the
rear port side throwing those inside the government boat to the floor and into
the water. While victims of the rampage swam for help, the speedboat made
several wild turns in the lagoon and then lined up for the final attack.
The speedboat
headed straight for the port side of the government boat where 9-year-old Jonas
Markub was attempting to climb up from the water. At the last second the
speedboat made a sharp turn to the right but it was too late. The forward
force of movement only caused the speedboat to slide sideways resulting in a
side impact crushing the boy between the two boats. The boy was pulled
from the water on to the rocks but he would not survive the severe internal
injuries.
Witnesses also
stated that the boat driver, Brian Simer, had been drinking and displaying
erratic and dangerous behavior for hours before including running aground at
Milky Way tourist site and then driving wildly through shallow waters only a
few feet from where children were swimming.
The boat driver
responsible for the assault is the husband of Ulai Teltull who is the
Administrator of the Social Security Administration. Ulai Teltull was on the
boat with Simer throughout the whole incident, including when Simer displayed
dangerous behavior at Milky Way.
Simer reportedly
has a history of abuse and violence in the home.
Lawsuit
Planned To Allow Guam Residents To Vote For President
HAGÅTÑA, Guam (Pacific
Daily News/PIR, July 02, 2014) — Whether residents of Guam should be able
to vote for President may be brought up in federal court.
We the People
Project, a nonprofit organization that aims to fight for the rights of
residents in Guam and other U.S. territories, is hoping to file a federal
lawsuit on the issue by fall, according to a press release.
"It's
simple—the right to vote for president should not depend on where you
live," Neil Weare, president and founder of the project, said in the
release "That's not how democracy is supposed to work. Guam's sons and
daughters proudly serve in uniform to defend democracy overseas; they should
have the right to fully participate in democracy at home."
The organization
is encouraging Guam residents to participate in a survey online, which will
help find people who support the purpose of the lawsuit, according to Leevin
Camacho, one of the attorneys working on the case.
Currently about
1,000 residents from Guam and other territories have completed the survey, the
release stated. The organization hopes to reach 2,000 responses by the end of
summer.
"So long as
Guam is part of the United States and residents of Guam are U.S. citizens, we
should enjoy equal rights, including the right to vote for president,"
Camacho said. "This new federal lawsuit will argue for expanded voting
rights while leaving open the question of Guam's future political status and
self-determination."
Guam
Economy Stable, CNMI Tourism Growing: Bank Report
SAIPAN, CNMI (Marianas
Variety/PIR, July 02, 2014) — The latest First Hawaiian Bank report says
Guam’s economy is "stable," "resilient" and remains
"promising" while noting "continuing solid growth" in the
CNMI’s only industry, tourism.
In her report,
University of Guam-Pacific Center for Economic Initiatives resident development
economist Dr. Maria Claret M. Ruane said there are several factors affecting
the CNMI economy in 2014: the settlement agreement that reduced the retirees’
paychecks by 25 percent; the Saipan casino law; and the impending wage
increase.
CNMI visitor
arrivals, Dr. Ruane reported, grew by 12 percent in 2012, and by 9.6 percent in
2013.
"Data for
2014 show promise, with 89,992 visitors arriving in January and February, up
6.75 percent from a year earlier," she added.
The numbers show
that the CNMI is approaching the numbers posted prior to the Japan Air Lines
pullout in 2005.
Guam’s tourism
numbers have grown tremendously with 1.334 million arrivals.
Dr. Ruane cited
factors that could affect the CNMI’s economic recovery: the Retirement Fund
challenges and the federalization deadlines.
Owing to the
government’s failure to pay its contributions to the pension fund due to
declining revenue collection, retirees brought action in federal court in 2009
culminating in a settlement agreement that effectively deferred 25 percent of
retirement benefits and guaranteeing the entry of a $779 million consent judgment
in the event of the government’s failure to make its annual payments to the
Settlement Fund.
The government
is mandated to make minimum annual payments to the settlement fund: $25 million
in 2014; $27 million, 2015; $30 million, 2016; $33 million, 2017; $45 million,
2018; $44 million, 2019; $43 million, 2020; $42 million, 2021; $41 million,
2022; $40 million, 2023; and $39 million 2024.
Dr. Ruane said
these obligations and other annual payments necessitated the revision of the
CNMI budget, "created the pressure to legalize casino gambling on
Saipan" and authorized the Commonwealth Development Authority to float
pension obligation bonds for the first time.
Moreover, the
federalization deadlines continue to add to the mix of uncertainties in the
CNMI.
Dr. Ruane said
another round of federal minimum wage increase is set for September 2014 which
will bring the CNMI rate to $6.05 from $5.55 an hour.
"The CNMI
economy continues to hang in the balance, with the pending minimum wage
increase and deadline with regard to CNMI-specific visa categories for hiring
foreign workers and attracting foreign investors," she added.
More Sign
Up To Pacific Fisheries Surveillance Treaty
FAKAOFO, Tokelau
(FFA/PACNEWS, July 02, 2014) — Three Forum Fisheries member countries
today signed on to the Pacific’s milestone Fisheries Surveillance Treaty (FST),
aimed at curbing illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing.
Signature of the
governments of Australia, Niue and Solomon Islands were added to the FST on the
margins of the 10th Ministerial Meeting of the Forum Fisheries
Agency (FFA), which comes to a close later today in Tokelau.
Australia was
represented by Senator Richard Colbeck while Niue’s Fisheries Minister Billy
Graham Talagi signed on behalf of his government and his counterpart from
Solomon Islands Alfred Ghiro signed on behalf of his country.
The three countries
now join eight other FFA signatories to the Agreement on Strengthening
Implementation of the 1992 Niue Treaty on Cooperation in Fisheries Surveillance
and Law Enforcement in the South Pacific.
Welcoming the
signing, FFA Director-General James Movick thanked “the foresight and
leadership of those FFA members who have ratified the subsidiary agreement to
the Niue Treaty. In the last six months, we have seen Palau, the Cook Islands,
and Nauru ratify the Niue Treaty Subsidiary Agreement (NTSA). This phenomenal
progress demonstrates the region is working to ensure protection and
enforcement against illegal fishing. I commend this milestone in regional
solidarity showing what national efforts towards common regional interests can
achieve.”
The Cook
Islands, FSM, Nauru, Palau, PNG, Marshall Islands, Samoa and Tuvalu are the
current signatories to the NTSA since its adoption in November 2012—with Nauru
being the latest to ratify following on from Palau and the Cook Islands earlier
this year. The multilateral NTSA strengthens the implementation of the Niue
Treaty endorsed by all FFA member countries in 1992. It covers flexible
cooperation in a broad range of activities and the sharing of fisheries data
and intelligence for fisheries and broader law enforcement purposes.
“I am pleased to
see the latest signatures and ratifications are in keeping with the spirit of
the original 1992 Niue Treaty on Cooperation in Fisheries Surveillance and Law
Enforcement in the South Pacific, and the 2012 multilateral NTSA,” says Movick.
The Director
General noted the NTSA “as the most comprehensive effort yet amongst the
Pacific nations to cooperate on surveillance and data sharing to fight illegal
fishing in this region, and welcome Australia to the list of signatories while
also congratulating the Republic of Nauru on its recent ratification. This
means the next country to ratify will bring the NTSA into force.”
He says the
renewed regional momentum against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing
is evidence that Forum Fisheries members are fully aware of the need for strong
surveillance as a major part of their management of their ocean boundaries.
Environment
Group Offers $9m For Pacific Biodiversity Projects
GLAND,
Switzerland (Radio Australia, July 02, 2014) — An environmental group is
offering $US9 million in grants to help non-government organizations fund
projects in Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.
The
International Union for Conservation of Nature says it wants to fund work that
will protect biodiversity in the region.
The IUCN's Luisa
Tagicakibau-Moce says there are countless habitats that need protecting and is
calling for groups to submit proposals.
"These
islands are highly biodiverse and hold exceptional cultural and linguistic
diversity," she told Pacific Beat.
"There are
so many threats to these biodiversities, which are human induced and include
increasing population, lack of awareness, unsustainable economic
development."
The IUCN is
targeting 20 key biodiversity areas covering 1.5 million hectares.
"There are
so many cultural and linguistic diversities at play in this region and because
only a few people are speaking certain languages, they're fast
disappearing," Ms. Tagicakibau-Moce said.
"And that's
often leading to an increasing erosion of traditional knowledge and practices.
These people are the real stewards of biodiversity."
The money is
being provided by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, which is a
collaboration of seven different bodies including the European Union, the
Japanese and French governments and the World Bank.
The IUCN says
groups have until August 26 to submit proposals for funding.
Australia
Launches New Pacific Patrol Boat Program
AUSTRALIA,
Oceania (The Diplomat, July 02, 2014) — In an attempt to bolster its
influence and help improve regional security, Australia has announced a new
Pacific Patrol Boat Program that will provide new patrol boats to twelve
Pacific nations. The $1.88 billion program was announced on June 17 by
Australia’s foreign and defense ministers. The new vessels will replace those
previously donated by Australia that are approaching the end of their service
life. The announcement signals Australia’s intention to keep its role as a
regional leader through security assistance to its less wealthy island
neighbors.
The new
all-steel patrol boats will replace the twenty-two 162-ton Pacific-class patrol
boats that Australia donated to its neighbors between 1987 and 1997 in the
first Pacific Patrol Boat Program. The original impetus was the passage of the
1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). UNCLOS divided
formerly international waters mainly through the establishment of Exclusive
Economic Zones (EEZ) that extend 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers, or 230
miles) from the shores of each country. This had a particular impact on the
small Pacific island states as they suddenly acquired the responsibility to
police and regulate activities across vast stretches of water. For example,
Kiribati alone has 3,441,810 square kilometers of EEZ, the 13th largest in the
world, larger than the total land area of India. The new program will deliver
patrol boats to Tonga, the Solomon Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Fiji,
Tuvalu, Kiribati, Samoa, Vanuatu, the Federated States of Micronesia, the
Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Cook Islands – the original
recipients of the program. In addition, Timor-Leste may become a beneficiary of
this new program, raising the total number of recipients to thirteen.
These patrol
boats have enabled countries with limited fiscal resources to patrol their
territorial waters and EEZ. The lightly armed vessels, rarely featuring more
than a medium machine gun, are suitable for maritime surveillance and patrol,
as well as fisheries protection. The main concern, then as now, is that
countries lacking the capability to monitor, police, and enforce the law in
their EEZs could be the victim of overfishing by other states’ fishing fleets.
The new program has an increased focus on combating transnational crime and, in
the case of Timor-Leste, will likely also focus on combating illegal human
migration – a particularly sensitive issue for Australia. They are not,
however, combat vessels. In fact, the recipients of the previous Pacific Patrol
Boat Program’s vessels varyingly operate them through their small defense
forces or their police services. It is unlikely that such countries even have
the fiscal and technical resources to operate true combat vessels, such as
missile boats.
Yet such small
existing and future craft are constrained in their ability to monitor and
police the vast EEZs of their countries. With limited range, these vessels
would have to be supplemented by larger, more expensive, and more complex ocean
patrol vessels. Still, the existing and future boats provide the island nations
a platform that allow their governments to more effectively administer their
territorial possessions, respond to humanitarian emergencies (including search
and rescue), and have helped to increase the number of trained mariners. Of
course, the programs also provide jobs in Australia and boost its influence in
the Pacific region.
While Australia
has long maintained an interest in assisting Pacific island nations in terms of
development and governance, including improving security, there is an undoubtedly
important diplomat dimension. Australian Defence Minister David Johnston
declared that the security and stability of the Pacific Island states are “[a]
fundamental strategic interest” to Australia. The diplomatic aspect is not,
however, one-sided. Pacific Island states appreciate the assistance. The March
2014 statements of the Federated States of Micronesia’s Secretary of Foreign
Affairs, Lorin S. Robert, make this clear. Referring to the Pacific Patrol Boat
Program, he remarked: “We cannot overemphasize its importance and its utility
not only in ensuring maritime surveillance and law enforcement but also in
addressing emergency relief operations, apprehending and preventing sea-borne
security threats and delivering needed government services to outlying remote
islands in the federation.” A 2011 report estimates the economic loss due to
illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing to the Pacific island states to be
around $1.6 billion annually, equivalent to 40 percent of the value of the
annual catch. Such figures are even more concerning when the size of the
economies in question is taken into account.
The Australian
government intends to continue funding both the vessels’ construction and
life-time sustainment, as well as personnel costs. Australia will also continue
training the crews. The government estimates the construction costs to be $559
million and the sustainment and personnel costs over thirty years to be $1.3
billion. The expense is justified by the enhancement of Australia’s leadership
and influence, and the improvement in regional security and stability.
Moreover,
Australia’s efforts signals that it intends to retain a leadership role at a
time when China, Japan, France, and the United States are stepping up their
involvement in the region. These countries are helping Pacific island states
improve their maritime infrastructure, assisting their economies through
development aid and, in some cases, providing materiel support for police and
military forces. Japan, of course, has already made high-profile donations of
patrol vessels to the Philippines and Vietnam. To date, China has not adopted
this model of maritime security assistance, instead focusing on providing
discounts and soft-loans for African and Asian countries to make maritime security
related purchases. Australia’s Pacific Patrol Boat Program may provide a model
for other states seeking to increase their influence in the Pacific region, and
beyond.
-END-
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