China has made it clear who it wants to win Solomon Islands’ upcoming election, and there is little surprise it is the pro-Beijing candidate Manasseh Sogavare. The increase in Chinese investment in Solomon Islands is the political ticket Sogavare and his coalition members need to win back power after the April 17 poll. Sogavare’s Democratic … Read more
The conversations rumbling around Australia about nuclear power are a small victory for pro-nuclear advocacy. Long dormant, the nuclear debate, has recently reinvented itself for a new era. This time, it is to fix climate change. The win is only “small” because Australia is a long way from building and operating a nuclear power facility. … Read more
This could be a watershed week for New Zealand’s international relations. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, is heading to Washington, D.C., for a full week of meetings. The surprisingly lengthy trip just happens to coincide with a major trilateral summit of leaders from the United States, Japan, and the Philippines. And a media report over … Read more
After years of negotiations, the third iteration of the Compacts of Free Association (COFA) between the United States and the countries of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), are nearing completion. “Compact III” was signed into law in the United States on March 9, shortly after … Read more
China on Thursday said it will lift tariffs placed on Australian wine over three years ago, in a sign of improving ties between the two countries. China’s Ministry of Commerce said the decision will take effect Friday. China imposed tariffs on Australian wine in 2020 during a diplomatic feud over Australia’s support for a global … Read more
In recent years Australia has started to shift its focus westward. While the Pacific Ocean and Southeast Asia have been deemed primary areas of interest for the country, the Indo-Pacific construct has led Australia to take its Indian Ocean opportunities more seriously. Mostly this has led to greater cooperation with India as the region’s primary … Read more
Recently the idea of a “whole-of-nation” approach to Australia’s international engagement has taken root inside the federal government and the foreign policy community. This idea means that everything that occurs within the country is potentially impactful on Australia’s influence in the world. It is not only the prime minister’s office or the Department of Foreign … Read more
In February, Australia announced that it plans to dramatically increase the size of its navy over the next decade. If successful, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) would more than double the number of its major surface combatant ships, from 11 to 26 vessels. This would be the largest the RAN has been since the end … Read more
The battle lines have been drawn over Australia’s energy future. With the nation committed to net zero emissions by 2050, the Albanese Labor government is committed to renewables. The Coalition wants nuclear. Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s vision for meeting Australia’s energy needs would include large-scale nuclear power plants and small modular reactors, a technology that … Read more
Members of a U.S. Senate hearing on March 14 said that Washington’s relationships with Pacific Island countries are based on respect. If this is true, the United States must compensate and apologize to Marshallese victims of U.S. radiation experiments that began in the 1950s. The Marshall Islands is a crucial U.S. partner, with a diaspora … Read more