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into announcements and documents. However, this takes the recognition of the Pacific’s own framework to another level. It is particularly significant given that Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe coined the term Indo-Pacific, which many in the Pacific islands region have resisted.
PALM10 sees a move to an “All Japan” approach to working with Pacific partners. Whilst several Japanese agencies are referenced in the outcome documents, the most notable is the prominence of the Japanese Self-Defense Force in future engagement.
Japan’s military impacts in the Pacific islands region are well known and loom large in the regional memory. While the PALM10 action plan references the continuation of activities related to World War II, such as retrieval of remains and clearance of unexploded ordnance, new activities will see the Japanese presence in the region take on a markedly military aspect.
This will add to what is an already crowded environment in which defense diplomacy has been increasing in recent years. However, Japan’s use of this strategy has been relatively limited until now.
Are We Seeing the End of ECOWAS? (Eddy Micah, Mimi Mefo Takambou, and Isaac Kaledzi, DW)
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has been facing turmoil following the recent exits of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali from the bloc. The three countries, which are all currently under military rule, formed a new security alliance last September, known as the Alliance of Sahel States, after cutting their ties with ECOWAS.
The decision of exit the bloc came in protest of ECOWAS’ policy of condemning the coups that took place in those countries and imposing sanctions, including the threat of military involvement.
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have said they will to use their new union to fight off any external aggression.
Flooding Drives Liberia to Mull Capital City Move (Agence France-Presse / VOA News)
Severe flooding in Liberia has led a group of senators to propose relocating the capital city away from overcrowded and poorly managed Monrovia, a suggestion met with a mixture of enthusiasm and hesitancy in the West African country.
Flash floods triggered by torrential rains between the end of June and early July left nearly 50,000 Liberians in urgent need, the national disaster management agency said.
The flood-prone capital was particularly badly hit, owing in part to overpopulation, a poor sewage system, and a lack of building regulation.
Meeting to discuss the persistent flooding problem, a