News Highlight
The Solomon Islands has suspended entry into its waters for foreign navy ships until the adoption of a new process for approval of port visits.
Key Takeaway
- The step follows an incident last week when a United States Coast Guard could not make a routine port call because the government did not respond to a request for it to refuel and provision.
About the Solomon Islands
- The Solomon Islands is a country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu.
- Honiara, the country’s capital, is situated on Guadalcanal, the country’s largest island.
- The Solomon Islands archipelago, which includes the North Solomon Islands, gave the country its name (a part of Papua New Guinea).
Oceania
- Oceania is a collective name for the islands scattered throughout most of the Pacific Ocean.
- Oceania has traditionally been divided into four parts: Australasia (Australia and New Zealand), Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.
- Australasia:
- In the broadest sense, it has been taken to include Australia (with Tasmania) and New Zealand, the Malay Archipelago, the Philippines, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.
- Melanesia:
- Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.
- It extends from New Guinea in the west to Tonga in the east and includes the Arafura Sea and a few thousand islands.
- Micronesia:
- Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean.
- Polynesia:
- Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific oceans.
Content Source: The Hindu