The Mirage of Unity: An Essay on Pacific Ocean Diplomacy in the BBNJ Era
The Pacific gathered in one place an illustration of unity to strengthen a chorded voice calling for ocean equity, robust area-based management tools, and meaningful benefit-sharing mechanisms. Speeches, photo ops, and official statements reinforced the narrative of solidarity, underscoring the "Blue Pacific Continent" as a single, powerful bloc. But this dome of harmony deserves a closer appraisal.
Approaching 50/50: Micronesia’s Silent Exodus
In the North Pacific, a quiet crisis is unfolding - one not defined by catastrophic storms or political turmoil but by an increasing absence. In the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and the Republic of Palau, nearly half of each nation’s population now lives outside its borders.