Australia is set to provide 4.6 billion Australian dollars (US$3 billion) to British industry to support the construction of nuclear-powered submarines and ensure its new fleet arrives on time, the two countries said Friday. The announcement came a day after the two countries signed a defense and security pact to better meet challenges such as … Read more
At the culmination of his recent visit to India from March 10-13, New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters remarked that the India-New Zealand relationship was entering a “new phase.” Since the 1990s India has moved from being a “peripheral concern” for New Zealand to a country with which it has tried to establish a “core … Read more
Australia’s primary security problem is an emotional one. Australia is a country so deeply unsure of itself that it exists in a constant state of anxiety about its place in the world, and in particular over its strategic relationship with the United States. Illustrating these anxieties, this week Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell made what … Read more
Australia received its most senior Chinese leadership visit in nearly seven years Wednesday, with stability a key theme of the discussions between the countries’ foreign ministers. China’s Wang Yi met with his counterpart Penny Wong in Canberra on his tour of Australia and New Zealand. It was the highest-level meeting in Australia between the nations … Read more
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington is his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy coincidence that the visit is taking … Read more
The cancellation of West Victorian electronic music festival Pitch was a waking nightmare. After pushing ahead in the face of earlier warnings from fire authorities, organizers were forced to pull the pin on its second day amid extreme heat and a death from a suspected drug overdose. On March 10, around 17,000 patrons were evacuated … Read more
As Houthi rebels continue attacks on ships in the Red Sea, companies the world over are feeling the pain, with Australia no exception. An Australian livestock shipment bound for Israel in January was ordered back by its government due to the threat of Houthi attacks, only re-embarking in March after the Australian Defense Force stepped … Read more
The protracted Compacts of Free Association saga may imminently conclude, if the U.S. Senate passes the omnibus bill designed to avert yet another government shutdown by the deadline of midnight, March 8. Tucked away in section G, under “other matters,” is the legislation approving the third round funding renewal for the 20-year agreements that bind … Read more
As part of strengthening the Royal Australian Navy’s surface combat fleet capability, Australia is planning to build a new general-purpose frigate. Now the Albanese government has listed the Mogami-class frigate of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) as one of the four candidates for the navy’s next frigate, with the other three vessels being selected … Read more
The fallout continues from the spate of deadly unrest in the capital of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby, and other urban centers on January 10, prompting the declaration of a state of emergency. Then on February 18, scores of people were killed in tribal fighting in the highland province of Enga. These incidents continue to … Read more