Flags of Pacific Islands Forum member nations flutter outside the Tanoa International Dateline Hotel in Tonga's capital of Nuku'alofa on Sunday 25 August 2024. The 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting will be held in Tonga between 26-30 August 2024. [Source: AAP Image/Ben McKay]

A 6.6 magnitude earthquake has rattled the opening day of the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Tonga.

Epicentred about 200km north of Nuku’alofa, delegates felt a long, rumbling tremor as well as aftershocks during proceedings.

There have been no immediate reports of damage or tsunami threats issued.

“I thought I was just hungry, but no, it was an earthquake!” French Polynesia President Moetai Brotherson said.

The earthquake was nothing new for the region, which regularly encounters natural disasters at scale.

In 2022, Tonga and the region was struck by a tsunami from the huge Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai undersea volcanic eruption.

Mr Brotherson suggested Monday’s earthquake was almost fitting, given the PIF summit’s theme of “Transformative Resilient Pasifiki”.

“These natural disasters are reminders from nature that we are so tiny. They command us to look at our resilience and the capacity that we can develop together,” he said.

More than 1500 delegates are expected in Nuku’alofa this week for the five-day summit.

The Kingdom of Tonga has hustled to be ready on time, erecting fast-build accommodation to house the influx and opening giant new school buildings for major meetings.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addressed Monday’s opening ceremony, which celebrated the diversity of the region.

Mr Guterres said the region’s ambitions for a “fossil fuel-free Pacific (was) a blueprint for the G20 and the world”.

“The biggest emitters must step up and lead, by phasing out the production and consumption of fossil fuels and stopping their expansion immediately,” he said.

“When governments sign new oil and gas licenses, they are signing away our future.”

His comments are a clear repudiation of Australian and New Zealand plans to expand fossil fuel production.

The summit begins with three days of talks in Nuku’alofa before leaders head to the offshore island of Vava’u for a private retreat.

Several key leaders are yet to arrive.

Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Luxon are scheduled to land on Tuesday, while Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele and New Caledonia President Louis Mapou are also yet to check in.

Beyond climate change – the enduring threat to the region – the agenda inlcludes a broad range of issues, including unrest in New Caledonia, security issues and economic resilience.

The New Caledonia question is a particularly thorny one for countries, which many Pacific countries hoping a clear path to independence from France, which Paris opposes.

PIF will also consider adding two more nations – American Samoa and Guam – who have been recommended as associate members.

In addition to the Pacific meetings, the summit will also host external powers looking to engage local leaders.

The US and China are taking powerful delegations, while Taiwan confirmed its own mission on Sunday, alongside at least a dozen other countries.

Another is Turkey, which is Australia’s rival for the COP31 UN Climate Change conference in 2026.

Regional unity is a goal of the 18 PIF nations, given recent spats which nearly splintered the organisation.

In 2021, the five Micronesian nations gave notice they would leave over power-sharing concerns before a deal brokered by Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka – the Suva Agreement – rescued the situation.

“Everybody’s talking about unity,” Lowy Institute senior fellow Meg Keen said.

“The strong efforts to bring (Micronesia) back in really reflect a commitment broadly across the whole membership to hold a cohesive Pacific Islands Forum and region … because they know they have greater strength together.”