4.30am Kaipara, New ZealandJames Brady, farmer We’ve got a small dairy farm, north of Auckland. We milk 200 cows and have a small amount of beef cattle and young stock. We start about 4.30am in the morning – checking cows, feeding, milking and then we do it again in the afternoon. Most of the day is spent tending to stock, moving animals, and we’re busy renewing pastures at the moment. Diesel is our main fuel – we run two tractors and machinery. We have quad bikes that run on petrol.…
Tag: Pacific islands
New Zealand signs defence pact with Cook Islands after quarrel over China deal
New Zealand and the Cook Islands have signed a defence and security declaration, ending a year-long diplomatic row that erupted after the Cook Islands struck strategic agreements with China. The Cook Islands was a dependent New Zealand colony from 1901-65 but has since operated as a self-governing nation in “free association” with New Zealand. Its roughly 17,000 citizens hold New Zealand citizenship. There are obligations between the two nations to regularly consult on matters of defence and security. In February 2025, New Zealand expressed “significant concern” about a lack of…
‘A free limo is hard to turn away’: how car diplomacy turbo charges politics in the Pacific
At a ceremony in January, a shiny black luxury sedan rolled into the leafy, rain-soaked ground of Fiji’s state house. It was a gift from China to the Pacific nation’s president, Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, who thanked Beijing for the “beautiful limousine”. The vehicle given was a Hongqi or “Red Flag” car, the same brand used by China’s leader, Xi Jinping, during military parades. It is an example of China’s “prestige diplomacy”, says Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the US-based Stimson Center. “This is more symbolic than substantive,”…
‘Hard to say who’s winning’: China and Australia battle for influence in Solomon Islands policing
At a church hall on the outskirts of Honiara, dozens of community leaders gathered for a training session organised by the Chinese police, alongside local Solomon Islands officers. Among them is Ben Angoa, who has enthusiastically embraced the training, as well as other things China has provided: solar lighting, sewing machines, soccer balls, and even noodle-making lessons. “We really love China,” he says. The sessions – along with the provision of blue uniforms, flashlights and fleets of police cars – are among the many ways Beijing supports Solomon Islands policing.…
Australia ‘increasingly alone’ in countering China’s influence in Pacific, aid report shows
Australia is “increasingly alone” in countering Beijing’s influence in the Pacific and remains the largest foreign aid donor to the region as the US and other western partners cut funding, a new report shows. The 2025 Lowy Institute Pacific Aid Map, released late on Sunday, tracks official development finance (ODF) from 2008 to 2023. It finds ODF to the Pacific fell by 16% in 2023 to US$3.6bn, marking a second consecutive year of record decline in development support. Australia makes up 43% of official development finance in the region, four…
In the depths of the ocean, a new contest between the US and China emerges
Deep below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, the seafloor is dotted with clusters of brown and black rocks, each containing valuable metals. The rocks, known as polymetallic nodules, hold reserves of critical minerals that could be used to power clean energy and fuel a new industrial future. In the Cook Islands, a nation halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand, exploration vessels are mapping the mineral-rich seabeds. Here, the US and China are both exploring the resource potential – setting up a new strategic battle between the world’s two most…
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…
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…
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…
‘Everyone should be worried’: life in the crosshairs of China’s ‘Guam killer’ missiles
Like most people living in Guam, Jacqueline Guzman is used to hearing about the threat from China. The US territory of about 170,000 people lies in the Pacific Ocean and despite growing geopolitical tensions in the region, the cost of living rather than military aggression is front of mind for many residents. Guzman says she is worried “about paying bills” and has trust in the US government to protect her. But that certainty shifted slightly this month when the threat catapulted into the headlines, as Beijing used a military parade…