Pacific Beat

Landowners in Vanuatu are hoping for a fair deal as international cruise ship company Royal Caribbean signs a 75-year lease on the island of Lelepa.

One of the Pacific's most vocal leaders has said China's growing presence and influence in the region is "disturbing", and Australia's attempts to strengthen ties to the Pacific are doomed to fail if it does not adequately address climate change.

On the program: One of the Pacific's most vocal leaders, Enele Sopoaga, says Australia's attempts to strengthen regional relationships will fail unless it does more to tackle climate change, and landowners in Vanuatu react to an international cruise ship company signing a 75-year lease on their land. We take a look at what analysts make of the Pacific Pledge, the United States' renewed presence in the region through millions of dollars in aid, increased security and climate change assistance.

On the program: Several senior Pacific leaders call on China to be an 'ally' to the region on the issue of climate change, suggesting the large Asian powerhouse could do more to reduce its carbon emissions, and the search for the missing US aviator Amelia Earhart continues unabated, decades after she took off from PNG, never to be seen again. We take a look at the latest search efforts, this time in Kiribati.

The Kiribati government say the remote island of Nikumaroro could have the potential to be a micro tourism site — that's because a team of experts believes it could be where the plane belonging to the American aviator Amelia Earhart crashed, even though their recent expedition failed to find any conclusive evidence supporting that.

Experts hose down claims that China has been involved in "debt trap diplomacy" in the Pacific, but give a warning on unsustainable debt levels, if things remain "business as usual".

On the program: China is ramping up its relations with Pacific nation, with a forum in Samoa's capital Apia today it will spruik its major global infrastructure program the Belt and Road Initiative, and why the race is on to save some of the oldest audio recordings of traditional Pacific songs and dances.

A team from the United States have secured funding to digitize anthropologists' field recordings from the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, to make sure these records are preserved for generations to come.

On the program: The ABC can reveal that Solomon Islands' largest and most populous province declares it doesn't want to do business with Chinese operators -- it's more fallout from the national government's decision to switch its diplomatic ties to the government in Beijing, and as Frank Bainimarama was in Australia to spruik Fiji's business potential, it was announced back home that he won't face any charges over an alleged assault incident.

The unofficial Tongan team playing in the very first Rugby League Nines World Cup in Sydney have pledged to deliver an authentic performance for their fans. In light of the sustained success of rugby sevens, the International Rugby League is hoping nines will do for league what sevens have done for rugby union.