Joe Biden has played down congressional jitters over the Aukus nuclear-powered submarine deal and has revealed he assured Xi Jinping that the countries involved are not aiming to “surround China”. The US president welcomed the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, to the White House and insisted he was “confident that we’re going to be able to get the money for Aukus because it’s overwhelmingly in our interest”. “So the question is not if, but when,” Biden said during a joint press conference with Albanese in the rose garden on Wednesday…
Tag: Pacific islands
Australia politics live: no vote came from ‘grievance camp’, Labor MP says; trade minister to urge China to review wine tariffs
From 1h ago No vote came from ‘grievance camp’, Labor MP says Marion Scrymgour: With the failure of the referendum, we are stuck with a Constitution built on a deliberate plan for exclusion and discrimination by way of race, which still retains a race power rather than a mechanism for recognising the special relationship the commonwealth government must have with its First People as a result of the way this continent was colonised. That is something which we are all going to have to accept and do our best to…
Pacific divided on Biden’s charm offensive with calls for more ‘results on the ground’
US president Joe Biden’s latest bid to woo Pacific nations has been broadly welcomed by the region’s leaders and analysts, while some called for more to be done to support their economies and sought “results on the ground” over pledges. Biden hosted a group of Pacific leaders at a summit in Washington this week, after a similar meeting a year earlier, in an effort widely seen as a push against China’s growing presence in the region. Kaliopate Tavola, an ex-minister in Fiji and the country’s former ambassador to Brussels, said…
Biden Pacific summit suffers setback as Solomon Islands PM skips meeting
The White House has said it is disappointed the Solomon Islands prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, will not attend a Pacific Islands summit with Joe Biden next week. The US president will host a second summit with leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum at the White House on Monday as part of his efforts to step up engagement with a region where the US is in a battle for influence with China. “We are disappointed that PM Sogavare of the Solomons does not plan to attend,” a Biden Administration official said.…
New Vanuatu prime minister wants to ‘revisit’ security pact with Australia
Vanuatu’s new prime minister says the Pacific island nation will likely need to rethink a security agreement signed with Australia. Less than a day into his tenure, Sato Kilman said the parliament was unlikely to ratify the agreement, with questions raised about it being in Vanuatu’s best interests. “What I’ve heard is that it may be difficult to get ratification from parliament, so my view would be to revisit the agreement with both sides,” he told the ABC. He also hit back at reports about his political alignments as western…
China ‘gifts’ and cost concerns: Pacific Games stir controversy in Solomon Islands
Luke Haga has spent the past two years getting ready for the race of his life. Haga, a sprinter, is preparing for the Pacific Games which will be held in his home of Solomon Islands in November. “It’s a time for sports, fun, and to celebrate our togetherness, ” says the 23-year-old, who is training for his events in China. Held every four years, athletes from 24 Pacific Island countries will compete in the Olympic-style tournament. While many share Haga’s excitement, the Games have also attracted controversy, primarily over the…
Fiji prime minister warns against US and China attempts to ‘polarise’ Pacific
The Pacific islands should be a “zone of peace”, Fiji’s prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, has said, adding that he hopes a rivalry between the US and China in the strategic region does not develop into a military conflict. Rabuka was speaking after attending a summit meeting of several Pacific island leaders, where climate change and regional security dominated the agenda. The leaders of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji and New Caledonia’s ruling FLNKS party met in Vanuatu on Thursday. The Melanesian Spearhead Group leaders have yet to publicly…
Australia warns of economic weakness in Pacific as it outlines development goals – without mentioning China
Australian officials have sounded the alarm about rising debt levels and economic “fragility” among Pacific countries amid increasing competition with China for influence. On Tuesday the Australian government will publish the first update of its international development policy in a decade, with a focus on the Pacific, south-east Asia and south Asia. The policy is not backed by any new foreign aid funding, but the government wants to use “blended finance” tools to encourage the private sector to lend money, especially for climate-related projects in south-east Asia. The government will…
China’s hospital ship visits Tonga amid growing competition in the Pacific
Thousands of people in Tonga have sought medical treatment from a Chinese naval hospital ship docked in the capital, as many praised the free services provided by Beijing which come at a time of increasing competition with the US and its allies for influence in the region. The military-run vessel staffed with doctors and nurses has spent seven days in the Nuku’alofa. Known as the Peace Ark, the ship has sailed to more than 40 countries since it was commissioned in 2008.Its current tour of the region includes Kiribati, Vanuatu,…
Solomon Islands newspaper pledged to promote ‘truth about China’s generosity’ in return for funding
Local media in Solomon Islands have been accused of compromising their independence by entering into agreements with Chinese news organisations and accepting thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment from the Chinese embassy. Since the Solomon Islands government signed a high-profile security agreement with China in March 2022, some newspapers in the Pacific country have received cars, cameras, phones and printing machinery that costs thousands of dollars from the Chinese government, via its local embassy, according to local journalists. Some have raised concern about the gifts and the continued close dialogue…