The diplomatic chess board is getting complicated in the Pacific.
At least five Pacific leaders have pulled out of the annual Pacific Island Forum in Palau this week.
Meanwhile, China's Pacific envoy says there will be consequences for Taiwan being allowed to send representatives to the forum.
It's while the US and New Zealand team up to co-fund a Cook Islands port upgrade – a potential blow for China, who has a controversial "strategic partnership" with the island nation.
Today on The Front Page, University of Waikato international law professor Alexander Gillespie is with us to break down why leaders are skipping the forum and how China's leverage in the Pacific is changing.
Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.
Host: Chelsea Daniels
Editor/Producer: Richard Martin
Producer: Jane Yee

Debt vs delivery: the trust problem behind NZ’s borrowing debate
18:40

‘Meh’: Uni students unimpressed by National's loan plan
16:01

Inside the desperate response to Nepal’s devastating floods
14:11