Vanuatu’s new prime minister says the Pacific island nation will likely need to rethink a security agreement signed with Australia. Less than a day into his tenure, Sato Kilman said the parliament was unlikely to ratify the agreement, with questions raised about it being in Vanuatu’s best interests. “What I’ve heard is that it may be difficult to get ratification from parliament, so my view would be to revisit the agreement with both sides,” he told the ABC. He also hit back at reports about his political alignments as western…
Tag: Australian foreign policy
Australia’s big bet is that Asia still matters to the US. But does it really? Sam Roggeveen
Australia has made its big bet on the US based on the key assumption that Asia really matters to Washington. Australia is placing a lot of chips on the red, white and blue, so we had better be sure that this assumption holds up. Does it? Some who question American staying power in Asia argue that the US simply isn’t strong enough to maintain its leadership – it is too politically dysfunctional, racially divided and economically unequal. We shouldn’t dismiss such concerns, especially the increasingly realistic fear that the next…
Detained Australian writer fears he may die of kidney condition in China jail
Detained Australian writer Yang Hengjun fears he could die in a Chinese prison from a worsening medical condition he says is not being properly treated. He has told supporters he is in pain from a large cyst on his kidney. The Australian government is being urged to intervene and secure, through diplomatic means, his release to Australia on medical parole. “If something happens with my health and I die in here, people outside won’t know the truth. That is frustrating,” Yang said from detention. “If something happens to me, who…
Anthony Albanese vows to press Xi Jinping to remove trade barriers on Australian wine, lobster and beef
Anthony Albanese has promised to stand up for Australian wine, lobster and beef exporters when he meets with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, as early as next month. The prime minister said in a speech on Monday night that recent progress was “the result of the deliberate, consistent and principled approach we have taken to stabilising the relationship”. While welcoming Beijing’s decision to scrap hefty tariffs on Australian barley, Albanese said he would press for other trade impediments to be removed. Albanese said the resumption of the barley trade between…
Cheng Lei: journalist detained in China says she longs for sunlight, outdoors and family in ‘love letter’ to Australia
As she marks three years of imprisonment in China, the Australian journalist Cheng Lei has written a “love letter” to Australia, saying she longs for the sunlight, the outdoors and her family. Cheng says she misses “the black humour of Melbourne weather, the tropical theatrics of Queensland and the never-ending blue skies of Western Australia”. “Most of all I miss my children,” Cheng said in a statement read out to Australian consular officials in a visit last month. Her children, now aged 12 and 14, live with their grandmother in…
Pro-democracy advocate says Australia should prepare to lay future sanctions against Hong Kong officials
An Australian citizen who the Hong Kong authorities have vowed to “pursue for life” has risked further ire from Beijing by calling on the Australian government to consider future sanctions against Chinese officials. Kevin Yam, one of eight overseas-based pro-democracy advocates accused of “encouraging sanctions … to destroy Hong Kong”, said the city’s descent into increasingly repressive rule had been “gut-wrenching”. In his most extensive interview since arrest warrants and “bounties” were announced last month, the Melbourne-based lawyer also expressed concern for two other Australian citizens detained in China. Yam…
Australia warns of economic weakness in Pacific as it outlines development goals – without mentioning China
Australian officials have sounded the alarm about rising debt levels and economic “fragility” among Pacific countries amid increasing competition with China for influence. On Tuesday the Australian government will publish the first update of its international development policy in a decade, with a focus on the Pacific, south-east Asia and south Asia. The policy is not backed by any new foreign aid funding, but the government wants to use “blended finance” tools to encourage the private sector to lend money, especially for climate-related projects in south-east Asia. The government will…
China agrees to scrap barley tariffs in easing of trade tensions with Australia
China has agreed to scrap its 80% tariffs on Australian barley, in a major win for Canberra’s push to ease trade barriers between the two countries. The tariffs were first imposed in 2020 at the height of tensions, and prompted a lengthy challenge by Australia through the World Trade Organization. In a notice on its website published on Friday, China’s commerce ministry announced that “in view of the changes in the market situation of barley in China” it was “no longer necessary to continue to impose anti-dumping duties and countervailing…
Ongoing detention of Cheng Lei without verdict ‘damages China’s standing’ worldwide, partner says
The partner of detained Australian journalist Cheng Lei says a decision to delay the verdict in her case “unnecessarily damages China’s standing”, potentially harming efforts to repair the diplomatic relationship. Cheng was subjected to a closed trial in Beijing on 31 March 2022 over national security-related accusations, but has yet to be informed of a verdict. The decision was due last week but has now been delayed for a further three months, the latest in a series of extensions. Her partner, Nick Coyle, said the delay was “deeply disappointing”. “There…
Chinese intelligence expected to monitor Australia’s Talisman Sabre military exercises
The Australian defence force expects that Chinese intelligence will seek to monitor Talisman Sabre, a military training exercise involving 30,000 personnel from 13 countries including the US and Pacific neighbours. There is precedent for such monitoring attempts. In 2021, the Australian government said it was keeping an eye on the Chinese auxiliary general intelligence vessel Tianwangxing as it approached Australia’s east coast in the run-up to Talisman Sabre. Germany and Indonesia will be among the countries participating for the first time in Talisman Sabre. The two-week exercise begins on Friday…