The US has stepped up its game in the Pacific after Kiribati opted out of the Pacific Island Forum meeting in Suva, Fiji, and withdrew the country from the 18-member group. On Tuesday, Kiribati islanders celebrated their Independence Day, however, President Taneti Maamau skipped the region’s first face-to-face meeting in three years as a matter of principle over a dispute involving its leadership, reported CNN.

US STEPS UP ITS GAME AS CHINA CIRCLES PACIFIC ISLAND NATIONS comes via ChinaTechNews.com.