Hi Vandoo,
Yes and no. The Kiribati weapons like the one that started this thread are unique to that archipelago. Shark teeth on weapons are found all over the place, including on clubs in Indonesia. If we want to get technical, there are different ways of attaching the teeth to the club, and the Kiribati came up with one way (where the teeth are tied to thin splints of wood, which is tied to the club) that so far has only popped up there and maybe on Truk/Chuuk in knuckle dusters.
As for warfare, where to start? Supposedly, the northern Kiribati group were invaded and taken over by a group of exile Samoans. These islanders were known for raiding the southern islands for slaves, women, and whatever. Even today, northern Kiribati is governed by chiefs, while the southern islands are governed more democratically by groups of elders.
There are lots of stories of groups from Tonga, Samoa, and Fiji raiding outlying islands, and occasionally, outlying islands returning the favor. The Fijians thought it was proper to launch their warships (the ndruas) over the bodies of 4-5 human sacrifices (captured from...?). The Carolines were even raided by one or two Papuan tribes.
Let's not forget the Hawaiian wars of conquest, ending with Kamehameha. Or Easter Island. Or whatever happened to the Henderson Island/Mangareva group, which was totally depopulated by the time Europeans arrived.
Or the history of conquest and blackbirding that started when the Europeans arrived.
Island warfare was a small-scale affair, if only because tens to hundreds, rarely thousands of people were involved, not the tens of thousands we think about with modern European warfare. Still, they were pretty serious affairs.
I agree that coral atolls are small and fairly limited, but that also made them vulnerable, and there's no real place to hide on a small atoll, either. So they fought.
Fortunately, at least in Micronesia, they typically had enough ties with other islands that, if things got bad enough, through storm, drought, or war, the survivors could move in with relatives on other islands, until they rebuilt their gardens and could resettle.
Best,
F
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