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☆ ‘Heart-breaking’: Refugees once detained offshore by Australia warn the UK government not to push through its Rwanda policy
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Antoinette Radford | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

The policy enjoys bipartisan political support in Australia, with both the coalition and Labor governments backing offshore detention. And on face value, the UK’s proposed offshore detention policy follows a similar model to that of Australia. Australia’s own offshore detention policy has been heavily criticized and fraught with controversy – but still seems to exert considerable appeal for some UK politicians. Another difference between two nations stems from the fact Australia does not have a human rights charter, Tubakovic said. She notes that the UK is still bound by human rights obligations, particularly as a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Persons: CNN — “, Behrouz Boochani, “, ”, Boochani, Mostafa Azimitabar –, –, ” Azimitabar, Rwanda Bill, Dan Kitwood, Rishi Sunak, Tony Abbott, Jonas Gratzer, Alexander Downer, Downer, Tamara Tubakovic, “ It’s, Tubakovic, David Gray, ” Tubakovic Organizations: CNN, Kurd, European, of Human, Australia’s Department of Home Affairs, Labor, Refugee Council of Australia, ‘, Conservative, English Channel, UK Border Force, University of Melbourne, University of Oxford, Human Rights, of Human Rights, UN, Reuters Locations: New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Iran, Indonesia, Australia, Nauru, Manus, Melbourne, United Kingdom, Rwanda, England, Britain, British, France, Sydney

The decision scraps duties as high as 218% on Australian wine exports to China, its largest overseas market once worth more than 1 billion Australian dollars ($653 million). The Australian government said it welcomed Beijing’s decision “which comes at a critical time for the Australian wine industry.”“Since 2020, China’s duties on Australian wine effectively made it unviable for Australian producers to export bottled wine to that market,” the statement read. “There are a lot of people in the Australian wine industry who will be reaching out for a good glass of wine tonight and feeling a whole lot happier about their future,” Bruce Tyrrell, managing director of Tyrrell’s Wines in New South Wales, told CNN. Annual wine production hit its lowest point in more than 15 years during 2022-2023, Wine Australia said. Lee McLean, head of national association of grape and wine producers Australian Grape & Wine, said industry groups were working with the Australian government to “ensure a coordinated re-entry” into the market.

Persons: ”, “, that’s, ” Bruce Tyrrell, Lee McLean, ” McLean, Anthony Albanese’s, Albanese, Wang Yi, Penny Wong, Yang Hengjun, Wong Organizations: Sydney CNN, China’s Ministry of Commerce, Canberra, World Trade Organization, Tyrrell’s, CNN, Wine Australia, Global, Wine, China’s Foreign, Anthony Albanese’s Labor, China’s, Ministry, Australian Locations: Hong Kong, Sydney, China, Australia, Beijing, New South Wales, Wine Australia, United Kingdom, Europe, China’s

☆ China and New Zealand pledge deeper trade and economic cooperation
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | In Ying-Shan-Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

China and New Zealand are working toward implementing an upgraded version of the free trade agreement between the two countries. Wang met New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay during an official visit to New Zealand. New Zealand was the first developed country to sign a bilateral free trade deal with China in 2008. China's door to the world will open even wider, Wang said, pledging to forge closer cooperation with New Zealand in the next decade and emphasizing on the need to safeguard free trade. He will be holding the seventh China-Australia Foreign and Strategic Dialogue with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong in his visit to Australia.

Persons: Wang Yi, Wang, Todd McClay, McClay, Winston Peters, China's, Peters, Penny Wong Organizations: Xinhua, New Zealand Trade, New Zealand, Foreign Affairs, Australian Foreign Locations: China, New Zealand, New, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Tibet, Zealand, South, Sea, Taiwan Strait, Taiwan, Beijing, Philippines, Wang, Australia, Mar

☆ Why Australia keeps an arm’s length from South China Sea tensions, even as it draws closer with the Philippines
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Kathleen Magramo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —When Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. addressed the Australian Parliament last week there was no mistaking the fighting talk. The Philippines accused China's coast guard of setting up the barrier at the mouth of the disputed fishing ground. That meeting will also be attended by several other nations with territorial disagreements with China – including Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia. Collin Koh, research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said Australia was unlikely to back any tough language at the summit pertaining to the South China Sea or any other hot-button issue. As Bisley put it, “We don’t like what China does, but we’re not going to put ourselves in harm’s way.”

Persons: Ferdinand Marcos Jr, ”, Marcos, Rodrigo Duterte, –, Thomas Shoal, David, China’s, Marcos ’, China –, Scott Morrison, Collin Koh, Penny Wong annouced, Anthony Albanese, Albanese, Lukas Coch, Susannah Patton, it’s, ” Patton, China’s aggressions, Wang Wenbin, Nick Bisley, Bisley, we’re Organizations: CNN, Maxar, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, China, Rajaratnam, of International Studies, Australia, Australian, Partners, Reuters, South China, Southeast Asia, Lowy Institute, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, La Trobe University Locations: Philippines, China, South China, Manila, China’s, Philippine, Scarborough, Scarborough Shoal, Hague, United States, Canberra, Australia, Melbourne, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, Beijing, Singapore, South, Penny Wong annouced Canberra, Southeast Asia, Japan, India

An Australian writer and businessman who has been detained in China since 2019 has been declared guilty of espionage and was given a death sentence with two years’ probation on Monday, in a blow to warming relations between Australia and China. If Mr. Yang does not commit any crimes in those probationary two years, the sentence can be commuted to life imprisonment, Penny Wong, the Australian foreign minister, said in a statement. She described the verdict as “harrowing.”The long detention of Mr. Yang — who is also known by his legal name, Yang Jun — has been one of the sources of tensions between Australia and China. Now the severe sentence may again weigh on relations, which had been improving after the election of a new, center-left Labor government in Australia in 2022. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, visited Beijing late last year and has pressed for Mr. Yang’s release.

Persons: Yang Hengjun, Yang, Penny Wong, Yang —, Yang Jun —, Anthony Albanese Organizations: China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Labor Locations: Australian, China, Australia, Beijing

☆ Australian writer Yang Hengjun given suspended death sentence in Beijing
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A Beijing court on Monday handed Australian writer Yang Hengjun a suspended death sentence, five years after he was first detained in China and three years after a closed-door trial on espionage charges. Yang's sentence was confirmed by another human rights lawyer in Beijing who has been following his case. Yang's family was "shocked and devastated by this news, which comes at the extreme end of worst expectations", said a family spokesman in Sydney. Australia had said it was troubled by repeated delays in Yang's case, and had advocated for his well-being, including access to medical treatment "at the highest levels". A Beijing court heard Yang's trial in secret in May 2021 and the case against him has never been publicly disclosed.

Persons: Yang Hengjun, Yang, Feng Chongyi, Penny Wong, Wong, Dr Yang Organizations: Australian Locations: Beijing, China, Australian, New York, Guangzhou, Sydney, Australia, United States

☆ U.S. Needs to Work With Greater Intensity in the Pacific - NZ for Min
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

“Pillar two (of AUKUS) is the examination we're going to look at beginning tonight and tomorrow and going forward," he told Reuters in an interview. New Zealand has had a nuclear free policy since the 1980s and there has been no indication this will change. Peters also said the U.S. had neglected the Pacific since the Second World War, and that had created a vacuum that others had filled. "They've have certainly upped their game, but they need to work with greater intensity on the immediate problems at the ground level of many of the island nations,” he said. Peters did not mention China by name, but jostling between Washington and Beijing for influence in the Pacific has increased in recent years over issues including security, defence, aid and infrastructure.

Persons: Lucy Craymer WELLINGTON, Winston Peters, Peters, ”, Lucy Craymer, Lincoln Organizations: Reuters, Foreign, Pacific Locations: New Zealand, Australia, Britain, U.S, Washington, Wellington, “, China, Beijing

☆ Australian Foreign Minister Calls for 'Sustainable Ceasefire' at Start of Middle East Tour
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-14 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Lewis JacksonSYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's foreign minister called on Monday for a "sustainable ceasefire" in Gaza as she left for a Middle East tour that includes a visit to the occupied West Bank and meetings with the families of Israeli hostages. "Our position is that we want to see a sustainable ceasefire and that we see an international humanitarian, immediate humanitarian ceasefire as a step towards that," Wong said at a news conference ahead of her departure. "No ceasefire can be one sided and no ceasefire can be unconditional." Wong will then travel to Jordan before visiting the West Bank, where she will meet representatives of communities affected by violence from Israeli settlers. "I will make clear Australia’s support for Palestinians’ right to self-determination and commitment to meeting humanitarian needs in Gaza and the West Bank," she said.

Persons: Lewis Jackson SYDNEY, Penny Wong, Wong, Israel, Lewis Jackson, Neil Fullick Organizations: West Bank, United, UN Locations: Gaza, Jordan, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Australia, U.S

☆ Australia's Albanese to highlight trade on China visit as ties warm
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A quarter of Australia's export earnings come from China, more than the next three trade partners, the United States, South Korea and Japan combined, Albanese said on Tuesday. "Trade as an anchor provides stability and certainty to allow greater engagement while we navigate uncertain currents and obstacles that lie beneath," said Australia China Business Council president David Olsson. Chairman of the Business Council of Australia's global engagement committee, Warwick Smith, said Albanese would highlight the complementary nature of bilateral trade in a speech on Sunday to 500 business people. DIFFICULT TOPICSChina has lauded the visit's timing, on the 50th anniversary of the first to China by an Australian leader, then Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. Although the Albanese government has put dialogue at the centre of its approach to China, most policy remains the same, he said.

Persons: Anthony Albanese, Albanese, Xi Jinping, Richard Marles, David Olsson, Li Qiang, Fortescue, " Olsson, Warwick Smith, Gough Whitlam, Penny Wong, Xiao Qian, Richard Maude, Thomas, Maude, Kirsty Needham, Robert Birsel Organizations: SYDNEY, Australia China Business, Fortescue Metals, Rio Tinto, BHP, Business Council, Asia Society Australia, America, Thomson Locations: China, Shanghai, South, Beijing, Australia, United States, Canberra, Britain, Washington, South Korea, Japan, Rio, CIIE, Philippines, Taiwan

☆ Who was Hardeep Singh Nijjar and what just happened between Canada and India?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Blair Gable/ReutersIndia responded hours later by rejecting Trudeau’s allegations, accusing Canada of harboring terrorists and claiming its inaction against extremists had been a “long-standing” concern. Nijjar’s death in June shocked the Sikh community in Canada, one of the largest outside India with more than 770,000 members. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun told CNN that Nijjar was asked to be careful and avoid giving “big talks” or he would be targeted. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with the youngest son of Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau while attending a ceremonial reception at the Presidential Palace in New Delhi on February 23, 2018. When Trudeau visited India in 2018, his calendar, which was light on diplomatic meetings, was seen by many as a “snub” from New Delhi.

Persons: Justin Trudeau, Trudeau, Canada wasn’t, ”, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, cratering, Nijjar, Melanie Joly, Blair Gable, –, “, Hardeep Singh, India’s UAPA, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Pannun, Harsh Pant, Modi, Narendra Modi, Canada's, PRAKASH SINGH, ” Pant, Michael Kugelman, Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak, Australia’s Anthony Albanese, Adrienne Watson, Penny Wong, I’m, ” Kugelman, would’ve “, Kugelman, Canada would’ve Organizations: CNN, Canadian, Canada, Reuters, Canada –, British Columbia Gurdwaras, India’s, Indian National Investigation Agency, Khalistan, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Justice, Observer Research Foundation, India's, AFP, Getty, Indian Army, South Asia Institute, Wilson Center, British, National Security, Australian Foreign Locations: India, New Delhi, United States, Canada, Ottawa, Indian, Reuters India, Canadian, British, Ontario, India’s Punjab, New York, AFP, Toronto, China, Australia, Britain, New Zealand

REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON/SYDNEY, Sept 20 (Reuters) - A cross-party delegation of Australian lawmakers that traveled to the United States seeking the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said they had a productive discussion in Washington with the U.S. Justice Department. The group of Australian lawmakers urged U.S. officials to drop their attempts to extradite Assange from a British prison to the United States, where he is wanted on charges over WikiLeaks' release of confidential U.S. military records and diplomatic cables. "We had a fair hearing and we had a productive discussion," Australian Senator Peter Whish-Wilson said after the meeting. The delegation included lawmakers from the Labor government, the opposition Liberal and National parties, and the Greens. Labor Member of Parliament Tony Zappia said Australians believed Assange, an Australian citizen, had been punished enough and that his charges should be dropped.

Persons: Julian Assange, Alkis, Assange, Peter Whish, Wilson, Tony Zappia, Zappia, Assange's, Anthony Albanese, May, Albanese, Penny Wong, Kanishka Singh, Kirsty Needham, Stephen Coates, Michael Perry Organizations: WikiLeaks, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, U.S . Justice Department, U.S, Labor, Liberal, National, Greens . Labor, Department of Justice, Justice Department, Australian, United Nations General Assembly, Thomson Locations: Britain, U.S, Athens, Greece, SYDNEY, United States, Washington, Australian, Afghanistan, Iraq, Australia, New York, Sydney

The tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions came after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada was investigating “credible allegations” linking India to the June killing of Canadian citizen and prominent Sikh leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India’s foreign ministry on Tuesday responded in kind, saying it had expelled a senior Canadian diplomat based in India. “The concerned diplomat has been asked to leave India within the next five days,” it said in a statement. We have conveyed our concerns at senior levels to India,” a statement shared with CNN said. That operation caused huge anger within the Sikh community and Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards in the aftermath.

Persons: Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh, ” Trudeau, Mélanie Joly, ”, Trudeau, Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak, “, ” Nijjar, Nijjar, Penny Wong, Narendra Modi, Modi, Guru Nanak, Indira Gandhi, Gandhi Organizations: CNN, Ottawa, British, Sikh Organization, India’s, Indian National Investigation Agency, Khalistan, Government of, Canadian Government, Reuters, Canadian, Relations, Analysts, Indian Army, of, Air Locations: India, New Delhi, Canada, Indian, Ottawa, Canadian, Surrey, British Columbia, Government of India, Canada’s, Toronto, of Canada, Punjab, Britain, Pakistan, Air India, Australia

☆ Australian PM to visit China this year after 'progress' on ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese along with the Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong smile during the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, September 6, 2023. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/Pool Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Australia and China have made progress in returning to "unimpeded trade" but more progress is needed, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday as he met Chinese Premier Li Qiang at a regional summit in Indonesia. "The progress we have made in resuming unimpeded trade is good for both countries and we want to see that progress continue," Albanese said in his opening comments at the meeting. Li said he welcomed Albanese to visit China this year, and Albanese said he would. "I look forward to visiting China later this year to mark the 50th anniversary of Prime Minister Whitlam’s historic visit," Albanese said in a statement after the meeting, referring to the first visit to communist China by an Australian leader, then prime minister Gough Whitlam, in 1973.

Persons: Anthony Albanese, Penny Wong, Willy Kurniawan, Li Qiang, Albanese, Li, Whitlam’s, " Albanese, Gough Whitlam, Cheng Lei, Yang Hengjun, Kirsty Needham, Robert Birsel Organizations: Australian, Australian Foreign, ASEAN Summit, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Jakarta, Indonesia, Australia, China

☆ China, Australia Hold First High-Level Dialogue in Three Years in Beijing
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Joe CashBEIJING (Reuters) - China and Australia should "seriously consider" what they have learned from halting their high-level dialogue over the past three years, Li Zhaoxing, a former foreign minister, said on Thursday, as the talks restarted in Beijing. China accounts for nearly one-third of Australian trade, while Australia is China's eighth-largest trade partner. Diplomatic exchanges have been ramping up since Australia elected a Labor government in May 2022 and China lifted tariffs on its barley exports. "Over the past decades... China has not posed any threat to Australia, and will not do so in the future. The Australian delegation also includes former Liberal foreign minister Julie Bishop, whose inclusion was to show bipartisan political support, the statement said.

Persons: Joe Cash, Li Zhaoxing, Li, Craig Emerson, Penny Wong, Julie Bishop, Emerson, Anthony Albanese, Li Qiang, Whitlam’s, " Albanese, Kirsty Needham, Christian Schmollinger Organizations: Joe Cash BEIJING, Australia, Labor, Australian, Australian Foreign, Liberal, Australia's, ASEAN Locations: China, Australia, Beijing, Canberra, Jakarta, Sydney

☆ Australian journalist held in China writes 'love letter' home
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Australian journalist Cheng Lei poses for a selfie at an unknown location in this undated handout photograph obtained by Reuters on August 11, 2023. Nicholas Coyle/Handout via REUTERSSYDNEY, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Australian journalist Cheng Lei, detained in China on national security charges, has described how standing in sunlight for just 10 hours a year feels in a "love letter" to her country. Her first public statement since her arrest came in what she called a "love letter to 25 million people" which was dictated to consular staff during a visit and released by her partner. The Australian government has repeatedly raised concerns about her detention, which came as China widened blocks on Australian exports amid a diplomatic dispute that is gradually easing. Albanese on Sunday said the barley decision was positive, but he wanted "other impediments to be removed ... included in that, the detention of the Australians, including Cheng Lei".

Persons: Cheng Lei, Nicholas Coyle, Handout, Cheng, I've, Anthony Albanese, Albanese, Nick Coyle, Lei, Coyle, Penny Wong, Ms Cheng, Wong, Kirsty Needham, John Stonestreet, Stephen Coates Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS SYDNEY, Sunday, China - Australia Business Council, Thomson Locations: Australian, China, Beijing, Canberra, Australia

☆ U.S. to help Australia develop guided missiles by 2025
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"We are pursuing several mutually beneficial initiatives with Australia's defence industry, and these include a commitment to help Australia produce guided multiple launch rocket systems... by 2025," Austin told a press conference. Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken are in Queensland state for the annual Australia-U.S. The U.S. will help Australia produce guided multiple-launch rocket systems by 2025, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday, after the two nations' top officials pledged to engage with China but also oppose it if needed. U.S Secretary of State Blinken said "chief" among Saturday's high-profile talks with Australia was a shared commitment to a free and secure Indo-Pacific region. The games, however, were put on hold after an Australian military helicopter participating in the exercises crashed into the ocean, with at least four people onboard feared dead.

Persons: Richard Marles, Penny Wong, Antony Blinken, Defense Lloyd Austin, Austin, Lloyd Austin, Marles, Blinken Organizations: Australian, Defense, Conference, Queensland Government House, Austin, . Ministerial, Labor, U.S, Australia, Talisman Sabre Locations: Brisbane, U.S, Australia, Queensland, China, Taiwan, Australian, Ukraine, Russia, Beijing

☆ Australia PM says Hong Kong bounty on overseas activists 'unacceptable'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said on Tuesday eight overseas-based Hong Kong activists who were issued with arrest warrants for alleged national security offences would be "pursued for life". Hong Kong police have offered rewards of HK$1 million ($127,656) for information leading to the arrest of the eight, including Melbourne lawyer and Australian citizen Kevin Yam, and former Hong Kong lawmaker Ted Hui, who has lived in Australia since 2021. "It's just unacceptable," Albanese said of the Hong Kong announcement in a Nine television interview. The Hong Kong activists are accused of asking foreign powers to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and China, and are wanted under a national security law that Beijing imposed on the former British colony in 2020. Chinese and Hong Kong authorities say the law has restored the stability necessary for preserving the Asian financial centre's economic success.

Persons: Anthony Albanese, John Lee, Kevin Yam, Ted Hui, " Albanese, Penny Wong, Kirsty Needham, Jamie Freed Organizations: SYDNEY, Australian, Hong, Hong Kong, HK, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, Melbourne, Australia, China, Beijing, British

☆ Australia trade minister flies to China to lobby for 'full' restoration of exports
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Trade Minister Don Farrell arrived in Beijing on Thursday for a three-day visit to meet with his counterpart, Wang Wentao, according to the Chinese commerce ministry. It’s the first visit to China by an Australian trade minister since 2019. “I will be advocating strongly for the full resumption of unimpeded Australian exports to China — for all sectors — to the benefit of both countries,” he added. As a result, Australian exports to China fell by 13% in 2022, compared to the previous year, according to Chinese customs data. In March, Australia’s exports to China hit a record high, with the value of shipments reaching 19 billion Australian dollars ($12.8 billion).

☆ Exclusive: Biden to sign defence pact in Papua New Guinea, with eyes on China
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Washington is seeking to deter Pacific island nations, which span 40 million kilometres of ocean, from security ties with China, a rising concern amid tensions over Taiwan. Biden will visit PNG capital Port Moresby on May 22 on his way to a summit of the Quad countries - the United States, Japan, India and Australia - in Sydney, the White House has confirmed. There he will meet 18 Pacific island leaders. Biden's meeting in person with Pacific leaders is seen in the region as a major step in restoring trust. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was told by Pacific leaders in Fiji last year: "We have felt at times, to borrow an American term, like a flyover country.

SYDNEY, April 11 (Reuters) - Australia has reached an agreement with China to resolve their dispute over barley imports, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Tuesday, the latest sign of improving ties between the countries. Australia will suspend its case at the World Trade Organization (WTO) while China conducts a review into duties imposed on the grain, Wong told a news conference. "China has agreed to undertake an expedited review of the duties imposed on Australian barley over a three-month period, that may extend to a fourth, if required," she said. "In return, we have agreed to temporarily suspend the WTO dispute for the agreed review period." Australia lodged a formal complaint with the WTO in 2020 over anti-dumping and countervailing duties imposed by China on Australian barley, one of several sources of friction between the two countries in recent years.

☆ China firm wins Solomon Islands port project as Australia watches on
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Solomon Islands and China have consistently denied that their security pact would allow a naval base. The Solomon Islands Infrastructure Development Ministry has said that there will be no expansion of the port for dual use," a spokesperson for Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said on Wednesday evening. Delegations from China and the United States are visiting Honiara this week, competing for influence in the strategically-located Pacific islands nation. "This will see the rehabilitation of the old Honiara international port and construction of the Honiara domestic port and two provincial ports," the Solomon Islands government said in a statement. "It is not about bases it is about access," Connolly, a former military officer, said, referring to the security pact between Honiara and Beijing.

☆ China firm wins tender to redevelop Solomon Islands port
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"This will be upgrading the old international port in Honiara and two domestic wharves in the provinces," Qaqara said. The Solomon Islands and China have denied the security pact would allow a naval base, however. Delegations from China and the United States are visiting Honiara this week, competing for influence in the strategically-located Pacific islands nation. "This will see the rehabilitation of the old Honiara international port and construction of the Honiara domestic port and two provincial ports," the government said in a statement. Writing in the Australian Foreign Affairs this month, Connolly noted that ADB infrastructure contracts in the Pacific islands had been dominated by Chinese state companies who offered the lowest bids.

☆ U.N. aviation council votes to hear MH17 case against Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Allison Lampert | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MONTREAL, March 17 (Reuters) - The United Nations aviation council on Friday voted to hear a case against Russia over the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, the foreign ministers of Australia and the Netherlands said. Australia and the Netherlands initiated the action over MH17 last year at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The ICAO upheld its jurisdiction to hear the matter during a session on Friday, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a written statement. Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra called the decision to hear the case "an important step towards establishing the truth, justice and accountability". In October, Russia failed to win enough votes at ICAO's triennial assembly to keep its council seat.

☆ 'No magic wand' in Ukraine war, says UK's Wallace on question of supplying jets
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Elizabeth Piper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PORTSMOUTH, England, Feb 2 (Reuters) - British defence minister Ben Wallace said there was "no magic wand" that could help Ukraine in its fight against Russia, when asked on Thursday about the possibility of supplying British fighter jets to be used by Ukrainian forces. "There is no magic wand in this horrendous conflict," Wallace told reporters at Portsmouth in southern England, home to a naval base. Earlier on Thursday, Sunak's spokesman said the quickest a pilot could learn to fly a British fighter jet was 35 months. "Even if tomorrow morning we announce that we were going to put them in fast jets, that would take months," Wallace said. On Wednesday, Wallace said Britain had not made a "solid decision" not to send its fighter jets to Ukraine but does not think it is the right approach at the moment.

☆ China boosts coal output, eases Australia ban to bolster energy security
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Muyu Xu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SINGAPORE, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The increasing need to secure energy supplies after easing COVID-19 restrictions has pushed China to gradually resume Australian coal imports and urge domestic miners to boost their already record output. "Many miners would welcome the opportunity to renew their commercial relationships in China for both metallurgical coal and thermal coal." read moreAmong them, China Energy Investment Corp has placed an order to import Australian coal which could load later this month. read moreMarket participants expect more firms to be granted permission to buy Australian coal in the coming months. HIGHER QUALITYChina purchased more than 30 million tonnes of coking coal and nearly 50 million tonnes of thermal coal from Australia before buying stopped.

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