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☆ PNG Assures Australia on Security Ties as Leader Marape Arrives on Visit
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

Australia and the United States have been alarmed by China's security ambitions in the Pacific Islands region since Beijing struck a security and policing deal with Solomon Islands. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma urged PNG to reject a security deal with China, in comments reported by the Sydney Morning Herald on Monday. PNG would not strike a security agreement with China, he said in an interview with the ABC broadcast on Wednesday. China "understand clearly where we stand on security in the region and that is with our close traditional partners, Australia, U.S., New Zealand", he added. Even before the riots, he had pointed to law-and-order concerns and said boosting security would help to attract foreign investment in PNG's burgeoning resources sector.

Persons: James Marape, Marape, Justin Tkachenko, Tkachenko, Richard Verma, Tkatchenko, Penny Wong, Kirsty Needham, Michael Perry Organizations: SYDNEY, Papua New Guinea, Reuters, U.S, Sydney Morning Herald, Australian, ABC Locations: Papua New, Canberra, Australia, China, United States, Beijing, Solomon Islands, Port Moresby, U.S, , New Zealand

☆ Australia and China: Rebound in Ties Threatened by Death Sentence for Australian Writer
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

China's then ambassador to Australia says that in response to the call, the Chinese public would boycott Australian wine, beef and tourism. Nov. 27, 2020 - China will impose temporary anti-dumping tariffs on Australian wine, China announces. Jan. 3, 2023 - China allows three government-backed utilities and its top steelmaker to resume coal imports from Australia. Oct. 11, 2023 - China releases Australian journalist Cheng Lei after three years in a Beijing prison on national security charges. Oct. 22, 2023 - China agrees to review dumping tariffs of 218% on Australian wine, potentially clearing way for the resumption of imports.

Persons: Yang Hengjun, Anthony Albanese, China's, Cheng Lei, Albanese, Xi Jinping, Jan, Li, Kirsty Needham, Antoni Slodkowski, Gerry Doyle Organizations: SYDNEY, South China, Huawei Technologies Co, Australia's Labor Party Locations: Beijing, Canberra, China, South, Australia, Indonesia, Japan

☆ Pacific Islands Need to Boost Digital Security to Join Undersea Cable, Says US Official
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Kirsty NeedhamSYDNEY (Reuters) - Pacific Islands nations that want to connect to U.S.-funded undersea cables will need to secure their digital ecosystems to guard against data risks from China, a senior U.S. State Department official said. The United States pledged last year to jointly fund two undersea cables, to be built by Google, connecting the U.S. territory of Guam with hubs in Fiji and French Polynesia, and further branching out across remote Pacific Islands. The proposed intra-Pacific cable project has offered to branch out to Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tuvalu, Fiji, Nauru, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Cook Islands, Wallis and Futuna and the Federated States of Micronesia. China and the U.S. are jostling for influence in the Pacific Islands with competing offers for infrastructure. The Solomon Islands, which struck a security pact with Beijing, is rolling out a Chinese-funded mobile network built by Chinese telecommunications company Huawei.

Persons: Kirsty Needham SYDNEY, Nathaniel Fick, Kirsty Needham, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Pacific, U.S . State Department, United, Google, Futuna, Federated, The U.S . Department of, Washington, Sydney, Huawei, Telstra, Microsoft, U.S Locations: U.S, China, Guam, Fiji, French Polynesia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tuvalu, Nauru, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Cook Islands, Wallis, Federated States, Micronesia, The, Solomon, Beijing, Australia, Asia, Pacific

☆ Climate Threatened Tuvalu Holds Election Watched by Taiwan, China
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Kirsty NeedhamSYDNEY (Reuters) -Voting began on Friday in the tiny Pacific Island nation of Tuvalu in a national election that is being closely watched by China, Taiwan, the US and its ally Australia, amid a tussle for influence in the region. Most of Tuvalu is forecast to be flooded by high tides by 2100, says the United Nations Development Programme, which is working with Tuvalu to bolster its coastline. Taiwan on Thursday said China was trying to influence the Tuvalu election and "seize our diplomatic allies". The new government should decide whether Taiwan or China can best respond to Tuvalu's development needs, he said. Prime Minister Kausea Natano has told Taiwan he continues to support ties, Taiwan said.

Persons: Kirsty Needham SYDNEY, Seve Paeniu, Kausea Natano, Enele Sopoaga, Natano, Simon Kofe, Sopoaga, Kofe, Kirsty Needham, Ben Blanchard, Michael Perry Organizations: United Nations Development, Washington, Tuvalu's Finance, Reuters, Australia Locations: Tuvalu, China, Taiwan, Australia, Funafuti, Pacific, United States, Nauru, Beijing, Nukulaelae, Kofe, United Nations, Canberra, Sydney, Taipei

☆ Papua New Guinea to recruit Australia police in security deal - minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape will travel to Canberra on Thursday to sign the security agreement, his office said. "The security arrangement is in the best interest of Papua New Guinea and also for Australia and its regional security interests," Marape said in a statement on Tuesday. The Australian Federal Police and the defence minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the security agreement. "Its a big issue and Australia can help us out considerably," said Tkatchenko, who began negotiations with Australia on the deal last year. They will be contracted officers reporting directly to the police commissioner of Papua New Guinea and they will be under all the laws of PNG.

Persons: James Marape, Lillian Suwanrumpha, Marape, Justin Tkatchenko, Tkatchenko, Kirsty Needham, Edmund Klamann Organizations: Guinea's, APEC, APEC Business, Economic Cooperation, Rights, Papua New Guinea, Australia, U.S, Reuters, Defence, Australian Federal Police, PNG Royal Constabulary, CID, Australian, Thomson Locations: Papua, Asia, Bangkok, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, biosecurity, Papua New, Canberra, United States, China, Solomon Islands, Australia, France

☆ Australia Says AUKUS a Response to Arms Race, Not Fuel for It
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY (Reuters) - The Indo Pacific region is in the midst of a substantial arms race that Australia is responding to, not fuelling, with its planned acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines, Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said on Tuesday. The $245 billion AUKUS project with Britain and the United States to build a new class of nuclear-powered and conventionally armed submarine has been criticised by China as having the potential to spark an arms race. "The arms race is the greatest its been since 1945, and that is why I reject assertions... that Australia is somehow fuelling that arms race. "Conflict is far from inevitable," he said, adding that Australia cannot afford to under-invest in defence. Australia's nuclear-powered submarine fleet will be used for intelligence gathering in peacetime and to strike enemy targets during a war, Conroy said.

Persons: Defence Industry Pat Conroy, Conroy, AUKUS, Kirsty Needham, Gerry Doyle Organizations: SYDNEY, Defence Industry, National Press Club Locations: Australia, Britain, United States, China, Canberra, Southeast Asia, Philippines, South, Darwin

☆ Taiwan says Australian warship sailed through Taiwan Strait
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TAIPEI, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Taiwan's defence ministry said on Friday that an Australian warship had sailed through the Taiwan Strait, the sensitive and narrow waterway that separates the democratically governed island from China. The ship, which it did not name, entered the strait on Thursday and sailed in a southerly direction, the ministry added. Last week, Canberra complained of an incident involving a Chinese warship and an Australian navy vessel in Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in which an Australian military diver was injured. The U.S. Navy sends ships through the strait around once a month in what it calls "routine" transits. Taiwan has over the past four years complained of repeated Chinese military activity around the island, especially in the strait.

Persons: Ben Blanchard, Kirsty Needham, Diane Craft, Stephen Coates Organizations: U.S . Navy, Thomson Locations: TAIPEI, Australian, Taiwan Strait, China, Australia, Canberra, Taiwan, Sydney

☆ Fiji PM: China likely to collaborate on key port, shipyard project
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Lincoln Feast/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka told parliament on Wednesday the Pacific Islands nation was likely to collaborate with China on a key port modernisation and shipyard project, after discussing it in a meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping. Fiji previously sought Australia's involvement to build a modern ship-building facility at Lautoka, officials and a consultant to Rabuka on the project told Reuters. Rabuka told Fiji's parliament on Wednesday his government was focused on upgrading infrastructure, "particularly the modernisation of port facilities and shipyards". An Australian-based ship design company said Rabuka had earlier sought the involvement of Australia, Fiji's largest aid donor, in the shipyard project. China has been pushing for greater security and trade ties with Pacific Islands countries.

Persons: Sitiveni Rabuka, Xi Jinping, Rabuka, Xi, Stuart Ballantyne, Ballantyne, Vajira Piyasena, Kirsty Needham, Lincoln, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, Lincoln, Rights, Fiji Prime, Wednesday, Reuters, APEC, Wednesday Fiji, Fiji Ports, Fiji Ships, Heavy Industry, Pacific, Thomson Locations: Fiji, Suva, China, Lautoka, Australia, San Francisco, Australian, tradespeople, Pacific, Solomon Islands, United States, Papua New Guinea

☆ Australia to form rapid cyber assist teams for Pacific Islands
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Australia said on Wednesday it would spend A$26.2 million ($17 million) to establish "rapid assistance" teams to respond to cyber crises in the Pacific region, and another A$16.7 million to identify cyber vulnerabilities in the Pacific Islands. The cyber security boost comes after Australia and the United States committed last month to funding two new undersea cables to be rolled out by Google in the Pacific Islands to increase connectivity for eight remote island countries. Minister for the Pacific Pat Conroy said the rapid response teams would "build long-term resilience in the Pacific" and provide critical support. A second undersea cable would connect the United States to Australia via French Polynesia.

Persons: Kacper, Pacific Pat Conroy, Kirsty Needham, Stephen Coates Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Google, Pacific, Thomson Locations: Australia, Pacific, United States, Fiji, French Polynesia

☆ Australia PM says Chinese navy incident that injured diver was 'dangerous'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Loren Elliott/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said a Chinese warship acted in a dangerous and unprofessional manner during an incident with an Australian navy vessel that injured a military diver, his first comments on the matter which he said had damaged ties. In an interview on Monday with Sky News Australia, Albanese said the incident caused injury to one person and shows the need for "communication guardrails" between militaries. "This was dangerous, it was unsafe and unprofessional from the Chinese warship," he said. A People's Liberation Army Navy destroyer closed towards HMAS Toowoomba, despite the Australian vessel notifying the Chinese warship of a diving operation, and operated its hull-mounted sonar in a manner that posed a safety risk, Marles previously said. The Chinese embassy in Australia did not respond to a request for comment.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Anthony Albanese, Loren Elliott, Richard Marles, Albanese, Xi, we've, Marles, Kirsty Needham, Lincoln Organizations: Australia's, Economic Cooperation, REUTERS, Rights, HMAS, Defence, Sky News Australia, APEC, Liberation Army Navy, Thomson Locations: Asia, San Francisco , California, U.S, Australian, HMAS Toowoomba, San Francisco, China, Australia

☆ Australia plans to boost AUKUS tech-sharing, restrict 'foreign' access
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The law is meant to replicate U.S. export controls to defence technology, seen as a key step to beginning the AUKUS plan to build a new class of nuclear-powered submarine in Australia and Britain. The proposed law creates three criminal offences, further restricts sharing of defence technology to foreign persons inside and outside Australia, while allowing licence-free sharing among the AUKUS partners. "This is pivotal legislation which is critical for establishing a seamless industrial base with our AUKUS partners," Defence Minister Richard Marles said in a statement on Tuesday. Australia needs to reform its defence industry to remove "burdensome red tape" with Britain and the U.S., he added. Australia's science academy said on Tuesday it was concerned at the impact on scientific collaboration with other nations, including China.

Persons: Richard Marles, Leon Neal, Chennupati Jagadish, Jagadish, Kirsty Needham, Gerry Doyle Organizations: UK Artificial Intelligence, Rights, U.S . State Department of, U.S . Congress, Australian Academy of Science, Thomson Locations: Bletchley, Britain, United States, Australia, Virginia, U.S, China, Canberra

☆ Australia Plans to Boost AUKUS Tech-Sharing, Restrict 'Foreign' Access
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

Persons: Kirsty Needham SYDNEY, Richard Marles, Chennupati Jagadish, Jagadish, Kirsty Needham, Gerry Doyle Organizations: U.S . State Department of, U.S . Congress, Australian Academy of Science Locations: United States, Australia, Britain, Virginia, U.S, China, Canberra

SYDNEY/BEIJING Nov 13 (Reuters) - Australia scored a significant win for influence in the Pacific Islands region with a trump card that China, seeking to expand security ties, doesn't have: the opportunity of resettlement. "It is something China can't do," said Australian National University Pacific expert Graeme Smith. "China can turn up and offer more infrastructure money... they can't turn up and offer this kind of resettlement relationship. Australia also will be able to block any policing deal between China and Tuvalu - as well as any telecommunications, energy or port deal - under its treaty. "Cooperation in the Pacific region tends to focus on non-traditional security, including maintenance of public security and infrastructure to deal with climate change," he added.

Persons: Anthony Albanese, Kausea Natano, Graeme Smith, Richard Marles, Peter Dean, Smith, Wang Yiwei, Kirsty Needham, Martin Pollard, Miral Organizations: SYDNEY, Pacific, Australian National University Pacific, Pacific Islanders, Defence, United States Studies Centre, Albanese's, Pacific Games, State, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, Renmin University, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Australia, China, Tuvalu, Washington, Beijing, Rarotonga, Sydney, Pacific Islands, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, Kiribati, U.S, United States, Pacific

☆ Pacific Islands leaders confirm former Nauru president as next top official
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nauru President Baron Divavesi Waqa addresses the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The Pacific Islands Forum confirmed the selection of former Nauru President Baron Waqa as the 18-member bloc's next top official at a meeting on Friday in the Cook Islands. Current Nauru President David Adeang had abruptly left the annual leaders meeting a day earlier after objections were raised by at least one Pacific Islands leader over Waqa's nomination. Adeang did not travel with the other leaders to the island of Aitutaki, where meetings resumed on Friday. "I inherited a fractured Pacific forum.

Persons: Baron Divavesi Waqa, Eduardo Munoz, Baron Waqa, bloc's, David Adeang, Adeang, Waqa, Sitiveni Rabuka, Henry Puna, Kirsty Needham, Tom Hogue Organizations: United Nations General Assembly, REUTERS, Rights, Pacific Islands Forum, Nauru, Fiji, Thomson Locations: Nauru, U.N, New York, U.S, Cook, Aitutaki, Taiwan, China, Micronesia, Polynesia, Melanesia

☆ Australia signs security, migration pact with Pacific's Tuvalu
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A man riding a motorbike is seen reflected in a puddle of water in Funafuti, Tuvalu, August 13, 2019. Under the treaty announced by Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Tuvalu counterpart Kausea Natano, Australia will also vet Tuvalu's security arrangements with other nations. An Australian government official said this requirement covered any defence, police, port, telecommunications, energy or cyber security arrangements by Tuvalu. Although Australia has defence agreements with other Pacific Islands nations, in a region where China recently struck a security pact with Solomon Islands and is seeking to expand its policing ties and infrastructure projects, the Tuvalu treaty goes much further in positioning Australia as its primary security partner. Australia sees deeper economic and social integration with the Pacific Islands as a way to ensure the security of the region, a government official said.

Persons: Mick Tsikasvia, Anthony Albanese, Kausea Natano, Albanese, Natano, " Albanese, Kirsty Needham, Alasdair Pal, Lewis Jackson, Kim Coghill, Christopher Cushing, Lincoln, Michael Perry Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Australia's, Tuvalu, Pacific, Tuvalu Falepili, Australia, Canberra, Thomson Locations: Funafuti, Tuvalu, Australia, Taiwan, Beijing, Cook, China, Solomon Islands, Hawaii, Washington, Sydney

☆ Chaos as Optus outage disconnects half of Australia
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Because of the outage it won't load," Rogers told Reuters while he was waiting at the pharmacist for the internet to return. Optus, which is owned by Singapore Telecommunications, (STEL.SI) gave no explanation for the outage except to say it was investigating it. Until then, even taking a walk became more difficult, at least for people who needed directions. An office worker from Sydney told Reuters he could not get into his building because the door required an internet-connected smartphone application to unlock. ($1 = 1.5538 Australian dollars)Reporting by Byron Kaye with additional reporting by Kirsty Needham and Sam Holmes; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Chris Rogers, Rogers, I've, Michael Clements, Angela Ican, we've, Roderick Geddes, Byron Kaye, Kirsty Needham, Sam Holmes, Stephen Coates Organizations: SYDNEY, Optus, Reuters, Reserve Bank of Australia, Royal Australian College of General, Singapore Telecommunications, Sydney, Thomson Locations: Sydney

☆ Chaos as Optus Outage Disconnects Half of Australia
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

"Because of the outage it won't load," Rogers told Reuters while he was waiting at the pharmacist for the internet to return. Optus, which is owned by Singapore Telecommunications, gave no explanation for the outage except to say it was investigating it. Until then, even taking a walk became more difficult, at least for people who needed directions. An office worker from Sydney told Reuters he could not get into his building because the door required an internet-connected smartphone application to unlock. ($1 = 1.5538 Australian dollars)(Reporting by Byron Kaye with additional reporting by Kirsty Needham and Sam Holmes; Editing by Stephen Coates)

Persons: Byron Kaye SYDNEY, Chris Rogers, Rogers, I've, Michael Clements, Angela Ican, we've, Roderick Geddes, Byron Kaye, Kirsty Needham, Sam Holmes, Stephen Coates Organizations: Optus, Reuters, Reserve Bank of Australia, Royal Australian College of General, Singapore Telecommunications, Sydney Locations: Sydney

☆ China, Australia to restart annual meetings as trade resumes
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets with China's President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, November 6, 2023. President Xi Jinping said on Monday stable ties between China and Australia served each other's interests and both should expand cooperation, sending a clear signal that China was ready to move on from recent tensions. The Australian prime minister said he had used the four-day visit to advocate for Australia's interests in trade, human rights, regional and global issues. "While there are differences between us, both Australia and China benefit from cooperation and dialogue," Albanese said. Australia and China had agreed to cooperate on trade, climate change and agriculture, the Australian government said in a statement.

Persons: Anthony Albanese, Xi Jinping, Lukas Coch, Li Qiang, Albanese, " Albanese, Li, Xi, Kirsty Needham, Ellen Zhang, Robert Birsel Organizations: Australia's, of, People, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, U.S, Islands Forum, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Rights BEIJING, SYDNEY, Australia, People . China, India, Japan, Pacific, United States, South China, Britain, Sydney

☆ 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

☆ Australia, U.S. Leaders to Discuss Pacific Infrastructure, Critical Minerals
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Kirsty NeedhamSYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia and the United States will announce plans to cooperate on critical minerals and bolster Pacific Islands infrastructure as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visits Washington this week, a senior Biden administration official said. The two leaders will flesh out details of further cyber security cooperation, in addition to a $5 billion Microsoft investment in Australia, the Biden administration official said. The minerals that will power the globe in the 21st century are things that Australia has significant amounts of," he told reporters in Washington on Monday. Albanese and Biden will also discuss the South China Sea, where tensions between China and the Philippines are rising. The partnership aims to sell Australia nuclear-powered submarines and build a new class of submarine in Australia by 2040.

Persons: Kirsty Needham SYDNEY, Anthony Albanese, Albanese's, Biden, Albanese, Kirsty Needham, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Biden, U.S, U.S . Department of Defense, USAID, Australia, U.S . Congress Locations: Australia, United, Pacific, Washington, United States, U.S, China, Papua New Guinea, Solomon, Philippines, Britain

☆ Fiji and Australia boost cyber security cooperation
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Prime Minister of Fiji Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka addresses the 78th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., September 22, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Fiji and Australia will cooperate on cyber security, with Australia also boosting aid to its Pacific Islands neighbour under an enhanced partnership, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said after meeting his Fijian counterpart on Wednesday. Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, on his first three-day official visit to Australia since becoming leader in December, said the relationship with Australia was warm. Under Rabuka's government, Fiji has put a decade-old policing agreement with China on hold, and sought to increase defence ties with Australia. Albanese said Australia had agreed to provide more budget support to Fiji "to help economic recovery and to boost growth", and would sell it 14 Bushmaster protected vehicles to support the Fiji military's peacekeeping operations around the world.

Persons: Mike Segar, Anthony Albanese, Sitiveni Rabuka, Rabuka, Albanese, Kirsty Needham, Lincoln Organizations: United Nations General Assembly, REUTERS, Rights, Australian, Fijian, Fiji, Australia, Lowy Institute, Pacific, Fiji military's, Thomson Locations: Fiji, U.N, New York City , New York, U.S, Australia, China, Canberra, United States

☆ Australia hopes for China wine breakthrough as deadline nears
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Bottles of Australian wine are seen at a store selling imported wine in Beijing, China November 27, 2020. Australia lodged a complaint over China's tariffs on its wine at the WTO in 2021. Until the tariffs, China was Australia's top wine export market, peaking at A$1.2 billion ($770 million) for the 12 months to January 2020. Officials are unable to comment publicly on a WTO report prior to publication. Australia wanted to take the faster path of negotiating an outcome with China on wine, as it did in the barley dispute.

Persons: Florence, Anthony Albanese, Albanese, Don Farrell, Farrell, Kirsty Needham, Gerry Doyle, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Canberra, World Trade Organization, Australian, WTO, Trade, China Business Council, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Australia, Canberra

☆ Australia 'hopeful' on China wine breakthrough as deadline nears
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Bottles of Australian wine are seen at a store selling imported wine in Beijing, China November 27, 2020. REUTERS/Florence Lo/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday he remained "very hopeful of a breakthrough" in a trade dispute with China over wine tariffs, as a deadline for the publication of a World Trade Organization ruling nears. "I'm very hopeful of a breakthrough that removes the impediments when it comes to wine," Albanese told reporters on Tuesday, noting Australia's wine industry had substantial exports to China before the tariffs were imposed in 2020. Officials are unable to publicly comment on a WTO report until it is published. Australia last month rejected China's proposal for a "packaged solution" that would tie the wine dispute to those about duties on Australian imports of Chinese steel.

Persons: Florence, Anthony Albanese, Albanese, Don Farrell, Farrell, Kirsty Needham, Gerry Doyle Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Australian, World Trade Organization, WTO, Trade, Sky News, COVID, Trans, Pacific, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Australia

SYDNEY, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday he accepted his share of blame for the failure of a referendum question on Indigenous recognition that could weaken his authority. Albanese staked significant political capital on a "Yes" vote, pushing ahead despite the opposition Liberal party opposing it. He faced Liberal leader Peter Dutton during parliamentary question time on Monday for the first time since the referendum failure. The referendum outcome is seen as a major setback for reconciliation efforts with the country's Indigenous community and risks damaging Australia's image in the world regarding how it treats people in that community. Remote areas dominated by Indigenous communities voted strongly in favour of the referendum question, Albanese said, in contrast to the rest of the country.

Persons: Anthony Albanese, Albanese, Peter Dutton, " Albanese, Tracey Nearmy, Dutton, Alasdair Pal, Kirsty Needham, Stephen Coates, Gerry Doyle Organizations: SYDNEY, Australian, Liberal, Old Australian, House, REUTERS, Labor, Sydney Morning Herald, Australian Financial, Thomson Locations: Canberra, Australia, Great Britain, Sydney

☆ Australia's referendum failure could lead to more divisive politics, analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] 'Yes' campaigners drive past voters lining up at a polling booth during The Voice referendum in Queanbeyan, Australia, October 14, 2023. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese misread the public mood, analysts said on Sunday, as he took responsibility for the referendum result, in which only the national capital voted "Yes" from among eight states and territories. Elected in 1996, Albanese saw the failure of the 1999 referendum for Australia to become a republic. Dutton may not try to win back these Teal seats at the next election, Kenny said, adding that almost all of Labor's rural and outer-suburban, working class seats voted "No". Former Liberal Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who will join the board of Fox Corp next month, praised Dutton's "courageous" campaign against the referendum in an interview with Sky News.

Persons: Tracey Nearmy, Anthony Albanese, Albanese, Chris Wallace, Peter Dutton, Dutton, Mark Kenny, Kenny, " Albanese, Bridget McKenzie, Tony Abbott, Dutton's, Abbott, Simon Banks, Hawker Britton, Wallace, Kirsty Needham, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, First, Aboriginal, First Nations, University of Canberra, Liberal, Australian National University, Labor, Trump, Nationals, university's Australian Studies Institute, Victoria, Sunday, Fox Corp, Sky News, Liberal Party, Thomson Locations: Queanbeyan, Australia, Torres, U.S, New South Wales

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