Australia’s rich deposits of minerals used for green energy technologies and military hardware are increasingly prized, especially because of rising anxiety about China’s stranglehold on the global supply chain. That anxiety escalated after Beijing imposed new restrictions on rare earths exports, prompting a furious rebuke from Donald Trump and a warning from his treasury secretary that western allies would need to “decouple” from China if it proved an unreliable supplier. The timing of the latest US-China trade conflict could be good for Anthony Albanese, who will arrive at next week’s…
Tag: Australia news
China’s reported BHP iron ore ban has wide-ranging ramifications. Here’s what to know
China, via a state-run enterprise, has reportedly banned its steel manufacturers from buying iron ore from Australian mining giant BHP, amid a strategic bid by Beijing to reduce prices of the crucial steel-making commodity. While it is a commercial dispute, the fight has wide-ranging political ramifications, given the threat to Australia’s biggest export, valued at more than $100bn a year, and the possibility Canberra is drawn deeper into the fight. Even if the impasse is resolved promptly, it could prove to be a foreshock that warns of an economic earthquake…
PNG to provide troops to Australia under first new alliance since Anzus
Australia will elevate its relations with Papua New Guinea to the same level as the US and New Zealand, with a major defence treaty set to be signed as soon as next week. Delayed last month due to political complications within the PNG government, the new treaty won approval from prime minister James Marape’s cabinet ministers on Wednesday night. The Pukpuk mutual defence treaty will establish Australia’s first new alliance since the Anzus agreement was signed in 1951. Pukpuk will require both countries to come to the aid of the…
Vanuatu open to signing deal with Australia but will not be subject to ‘bullying’ from larger countries
Vanuatu remains open to signing a wide-ranging deal with Australia but must assert its sovereignty and will not be subject to pressure or “bullying” from larger countries, the country’s internal affairs minister, Andrew Napuat, said. Australia failed to seal the $500m Nakamal agreement in Port Vila last month amid concerns from Vanuatu that it would block other countries providing infrastructure funding. Weeks later, Vanuatu said it planned to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to deepen policing cooperation with China. While Napuat said the two deals were separate, the stalled…
Albanese hopes China’s reported BHP iron ore ban ‘very much short-term’ as ASX dips
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, will meet with the boss of BHP amid a shock report that the world’s largest mining company faces a Chinese blockade on its iron ore shipments. Beijing’s state iron ore buyer has told steelmakers to pause imports of BHP ore, amid hardball negotiations over the price of the crucial resource, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. Chalmers said the reports were “concerning” but ultimately a matter for the company to work through. “I’ll have discussions with [BHP chief executive] Mike Henry about that in due course, when we…
China has announced its first target to cut emissions in real terms. What does it mean for Australia?
Anything China does on energy and climate change is very big news. Its plans ripple around the world, whether that’s in changing the demand for fossil fuels or affecting the impacts on the planet from global heating. On Thursday, Australia woke to the news that China’s president, Xi Jinping, had told the United Nations that for the first time his country was setting a target to cut – in absolute terms – its greenhouse gas emissions. In a video address, Xi said China’s emissions would fall by 7% to 10%…
Horror film digitally altered in China to make gay couple straight
An Australian horror film featuring a scene with a same-sex wedding was reportedly digitally altered for release in mainland China, transforming the gay couple into a heterosexual one, provoking outrage from viewers who spotted the change. The critically acclaimed film Together, starring Dave Franco and Alison Brie, was released in selected cinemas in China on 12 September. It follows the journey of a young couple who move to the countryside and encounter mysterious and grotesque changes to their bodies. In one scene, which features a wedding between two men, one…
China issues warning to Papua New Guinea over defence deal with Australia
China has urged Papua New Guinea not to sign a treaty that could restrict or prevent it from cooperating with another country, days after Australia failed to secure a defence pact with the Pacific nation. In a statement on Facebook late on Thursday, the Chinese embassy in Papua New Guinea said it respected the country’s “right to conclude a bilateral treaty with other countries on a voluntary basis”. “However, such a treaty should not be exclusive in nature, nor should it restrict or prevents a sovereign country from cooperating with…
Australia’s failure of diplomacy in PNG shows we can’t – and won’t – understand our Pacific neighbours | Allan Behm
Anthony Albanese’s 10 days in the Pacific have been less than stellar. Last week, he could not land a $500m economic and security agreement with Vanuatu, the second such rebuff from Vanuatu in as many years. The idea that Australia should exercise veto rights over Vanuatu’s relationship with third parties (which is code for China) did not strike its advocates as a bridge too far. Just a month ago, Australian ministers initialled the Nakamal agreement, apparently unaware of the opposition and resentment within both government and opposition ranks in Port…
Anthony Albanese fails to seal defence treaty between Australia and PNG
Anthony Albanese’s strategy of pushing back against China in the Pacific has been dealt another blow, with a major defence treaty with Papua New Guinea delayed amid concerns about sovereignty. A deal was expected with the former Australian colony this week but the prime minister is set to leave Port Moresby without signing the so-called Pukpuk mutual defence treaty with his counterpart, James Marape, on Wednesday. Albanese downplayed the delay earlier this week, suggesting cabinet deliberations had been held up due to commemorations of PNG’s independence. Instead the two governments…