Australia will elevate its relations with Papua New Guinea to the same level as the US and New Zealand, with a major defence treaty set to be signed as soon as next week. Delayed last month due to political complications within the PNG government, the new treaty won approval from prime minister James Marape’s cabinet ministers on Wednesday night. The Pukpuk mutual defence treaty will establish Australia’s first new alliance since the Anzus agreement was signed in 1951. Pukpuk will require both countries to come to the aid of the…
Tag: Australian foreign policy
Vanuatu open to signing deal with Australia but will not be subject to ‘bullying’ from larger countries
Vanuatu remains open to signing a wide-ranging deal with Australia but must assert its sovereignty and will not be subject to pressure or “bullying” from larger countries, the country’s internal affairs minister, Andrew Napuat, said. Australia failed to seal the $500m Nakamal agreement in Port Vila last month amid concerns from Vanuatu that it would block other countries providing infrastructure funding. Weeks later, Vanuatu said it planned to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to deepen policing cooperation with China. While Napuat said the two deals were separate, the stalled…
Albanese hopes China’s reported BHP iron ore ban ‘very much short-term’ as ASX dips
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, will meet with the boss of BHP amid a shock report that the world’s largest mining company faces a Chinese blockade on its iron ore shipments. Beijing’s state iron ore buyer has told steelmakers to pause imports of BHP ore, amid hardball negotiations over the price of the crucial resource, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. Chalmers said the reports were “concerning” but ultimately a matter for the company to work through. “I’ll have discussions with [BHP chief executive] Mike Henry about that in due course, when we…
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…
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:…
China and Russia increasingly working ‘in tandem’ to undermine faith in governance, top Finnish official claims
Finland’s political state secretary for foreign affairs and defence has claimed China and Russia are increasingly working “in tandem” to disrupt and interfere in free societies, and undermine faith in governance. In an interview with Guardian Australia to mark his official visit to Australia and New Zealand, Pasi Rajala said Russia would not be able to sustain its war in Ukraine without help from Beijing, including through supply of critical technology and the proceeds of oil and gas sales. Sign up: AU Breaking News email “You need to expose what…
Who else was in Daniel Andrews’ group photo with Xi, Putin and Kim?
A number of world leaders gathered in Beijing at a second world war commemoration parade on Wednesday, in a display designed to show off China’s military strength and geopolitical might. The presence of leaders such as Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un at the event has led to some western political and economic analysts describing it as a meeting of the “axis of upheaval”. After the parade, Russian state agency Sputnik released a group photo, featuring some expected – and unexpected – faces. Here’s who’s who. Who’s who at…
What is Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door, the Buddhist group at the centre of an alleged spy case in Australia?
A controversial Buddhist organisation, at the centre of an alleged Chinese espionage case in Australia, has raised concerns about Beijing keeping tabs on Chinese diaspora overseas. Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door is an international Buddhist organisation with multiple chapters in Australia. This month, a Chinese-born woman was charged with reckless foreign interference, accused of spying on the group’s Australian branches and its members on behalf of the Chinese Communist party’s intelligence organs. Australian police have said the investigation is ongoing and more people could be charged. Guan Yin Citta practises…
Penny Wong complained to China about intimidation of exiled Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigners
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, complained about the targeted intimidation of exiled pro-democracy campaigners from Hong Kong directly to her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, during a bilateral meeting in Kuala Lumpur. The July meeting was the first face-to-face discussion between the pair since two Hong Kong activists wanted for alleged national security crimes were subjected to anonymous letters offering Australian neighbours $203,000 to inform on them. The letters are now being investigated by the countering foreign interference taskforce, which is led by Australia’s federal police and the domestic intelligence…