Tonga

Tonga is a small Polynesian archipelago in the South Pacific and the only remaining constitutional monarchy in the region, with King Tupou VI as head of state and a prime minister leading an elected parliament that retains noble-reserved seats. It maintains close traditional ties with regional powers New Zealand and Australia and is increasingly courted by both Western partners and China, whose lending and infrastructure presence has made it a focal point of great-power competition in Oceania. As a member of the Pacific Islands Forum, Tonga's main fault lines a reader should track are debt sustainability, climate-driven displacement, and the balancing act between Beijing and traditional Western partners.