Perched high above Canberra stands a stylised American eagle statue on a towering column. Colloquially derided as the Phallus in Blunderland or the Chicken on a Stick, the Australian-American Memorial was paid for by mid-century Australians “to commemorate the service and sacrifice of American men and women in the defence of Australia” during the second world war. But there is perhaps another way to interpret an 80-metre statue high above Australia’s defence headquarters: that of a malevolent power monitoring a subordinate. For seven decades Australia has sought and found security…
Tag: Australian foreign policy
Russia’s war in Ukraine carries a warning for Australia: prepare for possible conflict in the Asia-Pacific
Military experts and diplomats agree new strategies and tactics – drone-based or otherwise – playing out in Ukraine’s theatre of war may be replicated closer to home Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast It’s early morning at the sprawling 32 Tactical air base in Łask, a couple of hours outside the Polish capital of Warsaw, and the late autumn wind is sharp. Nearby, a crew of Australians are wrapping up the deployment of an E-7 Wedgetail surveillance plane, sent to the country to assist Nato’s…
Australia says ‘deeply concerning, destabilising’ Chinese exercises near Taiwan risk inflaming regional tension
Australia says it is deeply concerned about Chinese military exercises near Taiwan, and has raised the issue with Chinese officials. In a statement released on Wednesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) said the large-scale simulations risked destabilising the region and could result in an accident or escalation. The People’s Liberation Army launched the expansive surprise attack simulation on Monday, calling the war games “Justice Mission 2025”. Dfat said the exercises were “deeply concerning, destabilising and risk inflaming regional tensions”. “Australia strongly opposes any actions that increase the…
Australia tracking Chinese navy flotilla in Philippine Sea as Marles announces major defence overhaul
The Albanese government has announced a major overhaul of the defence department, aimed at tackling budget and timeline blowouts, on the same day it confirmed Australia was tracking a Chinese navy flotilla in the Philippine Sea. In the biggest changes to the defence bureaucracy in Australia since the mid-1970s, Labor will merge three agencies: the capability acquisition and sustainment group, the guided weapons and explosive ordinance group, and the naval shipbuilding and sustainment group. It will establish a new independent delivery agency to manage billions of dollars of complex defence…
John Kerry urges Australia to take ‘hard-nosed’ approach with world’s biggest fossil fuel-producing countries at Cop31
Australia’s government, which will preside over the next UN climate summit, should gather the world’s 25 biggest greenhouse gasemitting countries and push them to draw up a roadmap to end the era of fossil fuels, former US secretary of state John Kerry has said. Only by “hard-nosed” confrontation with fossil fuel producers, and reducing their consumption in major economies, would the world be able to tackle the climate crisis, he said. Australia’s climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, has been given the role of “president of negotiations”, even though…
‘China is watching’: Finland warns defeating Russia’s invasion of Ukraine key to stability in Indo-Pacific
Defeating Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is critical to restraining China in the Indo-Pacific, Finland’s defence minister has said, warning Europe and democratic partners, including Australia, face a fight of global consequences. Antti Häkkänen praised Donald Trump’s decision to impose sanctions on two Russian oil companies last week, calling the move a major sign of resolve by the US president against Vladimir Putin’s three-year long war. In an interview with Guardian Australia at the ministry of defence in Helsinki, Häkkänen said the West’s willingness to stay the course in opposing Russia’s…
The world dropped the ball on critical minerals and China pounced. Is it too late for Australia and the US to close the gap?
Almost eight years to the day after the last Holden rolled off an Adelaide factory assembly line, Anthony Albanese announced a $13bn deal with Donald Trump to help champion a domestic rare-earth industry. Announcing the deal this week in Washington, the prime minister called it “a really significant day” that would take the relationship between the two countries “to the next level”. “We’re just getting started,” Albanese said. The US president claimed “in about a year from now, we’ll have so much critical mineral and rare earths, that you won’t…
Australia and the US have signed a critical minerals deal to take on China’s monopoly. Here’s what you need to know
1. Albanese named two ‘priority projects’ in Australia The Australian prime minister specifically referred to two “priority projects”, one by Alcoa and the other by Arufura Rare Earths, that will get an injection of capital from the government as part of a broader list. The first is a proposed gallium plant in Western Australia, to be co-located at one of Alcoa’s alumina refineries. Gallium is a strategic mineral vital for modern technologies like military equipment – including in advanced electronic warfare systems such as missile guidance technology and radar. The…
Australia says Chinese fighter jet released flares near RAAF aircraft in ‘dangerous’ incident
The acting prime minister, Richard Marles, has condemned the “unsafe and unprofessional” behaviour of the Chinese military, saying a fighter jet released flares close to an Australian surveillance plane over the South China Sea. Australia’s defence forces expressed “concerns” about the incident in a statement, saying it posed a risk to Royal Australian Air Force personnel and their aircraft. No injuries or damage was sustained as a result of actions. It is at least the third such incident in the past 18 months, with similar contested encounters occurring in February…
China’s reported BHP iron ore ban has wide-ranging ramifications. Here’s what to know
China, via a state-run enterprise, has reportedly banned its steel manufacturers from buying iron ore from Australian mining giant BHP, amid a strategic bid by Beijing to reduce prices of the crucial steel-making commodity. While it is a commercial dispute, the fight has wide-ranging political ramifications, given the threat to Australia’s biggest export, valued at more than $100bn a year, and the possibility Canberra is drawn deeper into the fight. Even if the impasse is resolved promptly, it could prove to be a foreshock that warns of an economic earthquake…