Category: Penny Wong

Chinese Troops Begin Training Solomon Islands Police Under Auspices of Security Deal

Chinese security forces have taken advantage of a recently signed-off security pact with the Solomon Islands and are conducting training courses for the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) in Honiara. The current course, which runs for two weeks, will see a Chinese Police Liaison Team training 16 officers from the RSIPF’s Close Personal Protection…


China Strikes Deal With Pacific Nation Samoa, Including a Toehold in Local Policing

China inked a deal with the Pacific island nation of Samoa on Saturday to deepen diplomatic ties, as China’s ruling communist party (CCP) and democratic nations in the region continued rival campaigns to woo undecided governments into their competing sphere of influence. The China-Somoa agreement is the first deal signed by Chinese foreign minister Wang…


Countering Beijing: New Australian Government Pledges Pacific Climate Investment

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has spruiked a “new era” of engagement with the Pacific in a speech to the Pacific Islands Forum in Fiji. Wong, fresh from a trip to Tokyo for the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, is visiting the South Pacific amid Beijing’s overt push for influence in the region. The foreign minister said…


Former ASIO Head Urges Albanese Administration to Develop Relations With Indonesia

Duncan Lewis, the former director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Service (ASIO), has called on the new Albanese government to develop relations with Indonesia facing the challenges of international affairs in its Pacific neighbour. Anthony Albanese, the new Australian prime minister, has promised that his government will take the geostrategic environment of the Pacific seriously….


Beijing In Pursuit of Pacific Security, Data Bloc to Entrench Influence

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to the Pacific will coincide with attempts by Beijing to advance a South Pacific-wide deal with 10 island nations covering areas such as policing, security, and data communication, according to a leaked draft of the agreement. The expansive pact is the latest step by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)…


Beijing Pursues Pacific Security, Data Bloc to Entrench Influence

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to the Pacific will coincide with attempts by Beijing to advance a South Pacific-wide deal with 10 island nations covering areas such as policing, security, and data communication, according to a leaked draft of the agreement. The expansive pact is the latest step by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)…


Beijing Pursuing Pacific-Wide Trade, Security Pact to Entrench Influence

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to the Pacific will coincide with attempts by Beijing to advance a South Pacific-wide deal with 10 island nations covering areas such as policing, security, and data communication, according to a leaked draft of the agreement. The expansive pact is the latest step by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)…


Beijing Pursuing Pacific-Wide Trade, Security, Data Pact to Entrench Influence

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to the Pacific will coincide with attempts by Beijing to advance a South Pacific-wide deal with 10 island nations covering areas such as policing, security, and data communication, according to a leaked draft of the agreement. The expansive pact is the latest step by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)…


Beijing Congratulates New Australian PM on Election Victory

Beijing has congratulated Anthony Albanese on becoming Australia’s 31st prime minister, ending a diplomatic freeze of over two years between the two countries. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Beijing was willing to work with the new Australian Labor government, according to state-run media Xinhua. In his message to the new prime minister, Li said the…


Australia’s New Government Pledges to Remain Strong on China

Australia’s new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the country’s relationship with China will remain difficult, in his first press conference at Parliament House after assuming office. When asked if he saw his government’s election as a pathway to diffuse the tensions in the Sino-Australian diplomatic relationship, Albanese referred to comments he made during the election…