14/05/2026
Tonga's Prime Minister says his government will stick to international law despite earlier commitments to deep sea mining.
Lord Fakafanua says there'll be no mining in Tonga's own waters, and decisions beyond those waters will be guided by science.
"It’s legislatively protected in Tonga, and we haven’t fully committed to mining. We are in the process of exploration until we have scientific consensus of its potential negative effects; we will have to review that when the time comes," he said.
Listen to the full Pacific Beat interview: https://www.abc.net.au/pacific/programs/pacificbeat/tonga-pm/106677668
