Anything China does on energy and climate change is very big news. Its plans ripple around the world, whether that’s in changing the demand for fossil fuels or affecting the impacts on the planet from global heating. On Thursday, Australia woke to the news that China’s president, Xi Jinping, had told the United Nations that for the first time his country was setting a target to cut – in absolute terms – its greenhouse gas emissions. In a video address, Xi said China’s emissions would fall by 7% to 10%…
Tag: Australia news
Horror film digitally altered in China to make gay couple straight
An Australian horror film featuring a scene with a same-sex wedding was reportedly digitally altered for release in mainland China, transforming the gay couple into a heterosexual one, provoking outrage from viewers who spotted the change. The critically acclaimed film Together, starring Dave Franco and Alison Brie, was released in selected cinemas in China on 12 September. It follows the journey of a young couple who move to the countryside and encounter mysterious and grotesque changes to their bodies. In one scene, which features a wedding between two men, one…
China issues warning to Papua New Guinea over defence deal with Australia
China has urged Papua New Guinea not to sign a treaty that could restrict or prevent it from cooperating with another country, days after Australia failed to secure a defence pact with the Pacific nation. In a statement on Facebook late on Thursday, the Chinese embassy in Papua New Guinea said it respected the country’s “right to conclude a bilateral treaty with other countries on a voluntary basis”. “However, such a treaty should not be exclusive in nature, nor should it restrict or prevents a sovereign country from cooperating with…
Australia’s failure of diplomacy in PNG shows we can’t – and won’t – understand our Pacific neighbours | Allan Behm
Anthony Albanese’s 10 days in the Pacific have been less than stellar. Last week, he could not land a $500m economic and security agreement with Vanuatu, the second such rebuff from Vanuatu in as many years. The idea that Australia should exercise veto rights over Vanuatu’s relationship with third parties (which is code for China) did not strike its advocates as a bridge too far. Just a month ago, Australian ministers initialled the Nakamal agreement, apparently unaware of the opposition and resentment within both government and opposition ranks in Port…
Anthony Albanese fails to seal defence treaty between Australia and PNG
Anthony Albanese’s strategy of pushing back against China in the Pacific has been dealt another blow, with a major defence treaty with Papua New Guinea delayed amid concerns about sovereignty. A deal was expected with the former Australian colony this week but the prime minister is set to leave Port Moresby without signing the so-called Pukpuk mutual defence treaty with his counterpart, James Marape, on Wednesday. Albanese downplayed the delay earlier this week, suggesting cabinet deliberations had been held up due to commemorations of PNG’s independence. Instead the two governments…
Australia-PNG defence treaty: countries to agree to defend each other from military attack as China’s Pacific influence grows
Australia and Papua New Guinea will agree to defend each other in the event of a military attack, part of a landmark defence agreement due to be signed on the sidelines of celebrations to commemorate the country’s independence this week. Anthony Albanese and PNG’s defence minister, Billy Joseph, both downplayed a delay to the deal being formalised, insisting the plan known as a Pukpuk treaty won’t affect sovereignty in the former Australian colony. Designed to push back against China’s expansionist attitude to Pacific countries, the deal is the latest negotiated…
Billion-dollar coffins? New technology could make oceans transparent and Aukus submarines vulnerable
Military history is littered with the corpses of apex predators. The Gatling gun, the battleship, the tank. All once possessed unassailable power – then were undermined, in some cases wiped out, by the march of new technology. “Speed and stealth and firepower,” the head of the Australian Submarine Agency, Jonathan Mead, told the Guardian two years ago of Australia’s forthcoming fleet of nuclear submarines. “The apex predator of the oceans.” But for how much longer? In the first quarter of the 21st century, nuclear submarines have proven a formidable force:…
Albanese went to Vanuatu to sign a $500m agreement – but leaves empty-handed thanks to concerns about China
The federal government is racing to save a major new agreement with Vanuatu, after Anthony Albanese’s plans to sign the deal were rebuffed over concerns about infrastructure funding from China. Speaking alongside Vanuatu’s prime minister, Jotham Napat, on Tuesday, Albanese said he was confident the Nakamal agreement will be “able to be signed soon”, talking up cooperation and proper process with Vanuatu’s governing coalition. The Australian prime minister travelled to Port Vila before this week’s Pacific Islands Forum, hoping to sign the agreement, which would see Australia spend up to…
Pacific Islands Forum: climate crisis tops agenda as China exclusion casts shadow over leaders meeting
Climate change, rising seas and China’s push for influence are set to dominate talks at the Pacific Islands Forum in Solomon Islands this week, in a meeting already marked by geopolitical tensions. The lead up to the forum has already been fraught with tensions after Solomon Islands prime minister Jeremiah Manele excluded external partners – including China, the US and Taiwan – from discussions. A proposal to declare the Pacific an “Ocean of Peace” and the climate crisis are among the key issues likely to be discussed as Pacific leaders…
China’s military follows Australian and Canadian warships in Taiwan Strait accusing them of ‘provocation’
Australian and Canadian warships sailing through the sensitive Taiwan Strait have been followed and warned by China’s military, with Beijing describing the incident as a provocation. The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theatre Command said the Australian guided-missile destroyer Brisbane and the Canadian frigate Ville de Quebec were engaged in “trouble-making and provocation”. “The actions of the Canadians and Australians send the wrong signals and increase security risks,” it said. A spokesperson said the Canadian armed forces do not comment on sail plans for currently deployed ships. The spokesperson said the…