QResear.ch

#21755066 at 2024-10-13 03:24:20 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #37: EVERYTHING IS AT STAKE Edition

#36 - Part 34
Australian Politics and Society - Part 10
>>21385938 Video: Battle of Guadalcanal: 82nd Anniversary of Operation Watchtower - Multinational servicemembers, veterans, leaders of Solomon Islands' government, members of the diplomatic community, and civilians, attend the 82nd Anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal Ceremony at the Guadalcanal American Memorial in Honiara, Solomon Islands, Aug. 7, 2024. The ceremony commemorated the 82nd anniversary of the battle, and served to honor the fallen and strengthen the U.S. relationship with the Solomon Islands and other Pacific allies and partners. The historic battle was codenamed Operation Watchtower and was the first major offensive and decisive victory for the allied forces in the Pacific theater.
>>21390233 Video: ASIO boss Mike Burgess warns friendly nations among countries interfering in Australian communities - Australia's domestic spy chief says people would be shocked to learn the identity of the countries his agency has caught actively interfering in diaspora communities. ASIO director-general Mike Burgess said friendly nations were among the "three to four" nations detected actively working within Australian communities. It prompted him to warn that he'll name them if the threat poses a significant risk to Australians. "I can think of at least three or four that we have actually actively found involved in foreign interference in Australian diaspora communities," he told the ABC's Insiders program. "Some of them would surprise you, some of them are also our friends." Last month, the federal government unveiled plans to introduce several new measures to fight the growing threat of foreign interference. The plans included making the Counter Foreign Interference Taskforce, which was established in 2020, permanent and expanded to include agencies such as the Australian Taxation Office.

>>21415073 Video: DFAT confirm London stabbing victim was 11-year-old Australian girl - The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has confirmed an 11-year-old child stabbed in Leicester Square in London on Monday is an Australian. The ABC understands the family is from New South Wales. London's Metropolitan Police said the girl was seriously injured though her injuries are not life-threatening, and she has since been discharged from hospital. A 32-year-old man, Ioan Pintaru, appeared in court on Tuesday charged with the attempted murder. Prosecutor David Burns said the girl and her mother, who were tourists, were in the Leicester Square area just before the incident, which he said was a "random attack on a child". "The defendant has approached the 11-year-old girl, placed her into a headlock and he has then stabbed her eight times to the body," Burns said. Pintaru was not asked to enter any pleas and was remanded in custody ahead of his next court hearing at the Old Bailey on September 10. Police do not believe the stabbing was terror-related.
>>21415079 'I just ran toward the guy': Security guard who saved 11-year-old Australian speaks out - A security guard has recounted the moment he leapt into action when he saw an 11-year-old Australian girl allegedly being stabbed in London's tourist district. The child was visiting Leicester Square with her mother when she was allegedly grabbed by a man, placed in a headlock, and stabbed eight times in her face, neck and torso at about 11.30am (8.30pm AEST) on Monday. The girl is understood to be from NSW, the ABC reported. Abdullah, who was working as a security guard for the TWG Tea store, recounted his heroic action in an address to the Pakistani High Commission in London for a celebration of Pakistan's Independence Day on Tuesday. "I was on my duty. It was half past 11. I heard a scream and I looked and there was a guy that was stabbing a kid that was 11 years old. I didn't think anything, I just ran toward the guy, I jumped on him, grabbed his hand in which he was carrying a knife," he said as the audience broke out into applause. "The second [the knife] fell on the floor ... I kicked the knife away from him. In the meantime a couple more guys came ... we held him on the floor for four to five minutes, I shouted around 'please call the police, call the ambulance services'." Abdullah said he was inspired by the actions of the Pakistani military he'd seen as a child in his home country and called on his community to be courageous in the face of adversity.

#21755063 at 2024-10-13 03:22:59 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #37: EVERYTHING IS AT STAKE Edition

#36 - Part 33
Australian Politics and Society - Part 9
>>21360391 'This country is better than that': Caroline Kennedy on Trump shooting - Caroline Kennedy, the only remaining child of assassinated Democratic president John F. Kennedy, says she was "horrified" by the recent attempt on Donald Trump's life, as she made a personal plea for politicians and their supporters around the world to tone down the violent rhetoric. In a wide-ranging interview with The Australian Financial Review in Washington on Monday (Tuesday AEST), Ms Kennedy, who is the US ambassador to Australia, said she was ashamed there were still Americans prepared to resort to extreme violence because of political differences. "With all the tragedies that our family has been through, I think this country is better than that," she said of the assassination attempt on Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, "and we need to do more to never let that happen again, and to stop encouraging any kind of violence." "Like so many people, I was horrified. I'm so glad that he's OK."
>>21360397 Q Post #703" - Rest in peace Mr. President (JFK), through your wisdom and strength, since your tragic death, Patriots have planned, installed, and by the grace of God, activated, the beam of LIGHT. We will forever remember your sacrifice. May you look down from above and continue to guide us as we ring the bell of FREEDOM and destroy those who wish to sacrifice our children, our way of life, and our world. We, the PEOPLE." Prayer said every single day in the OO. JFK - Secret Socities. Where we go one, we go all. Q - https://qanon.pub/#703

>>21372270 Pacific Marines, U.S. Ambassador Commemorate 82nd Anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal - Pacific Marines with Marine Rotational Force Darwin, as well as the U.S. Ambassador to Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu, hosted the 82nd Anniversary Commemoration Ceremony of the Battle of Guadalcanal at the American War Memorial, Aug. 7, 2024. "Today, as we gather to honor the 82nd anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal, we pay tribute to the courage and sacrifice of those who fought bravely in this crucial campaign," reflected U.S. Marine Corps Col. Brian Mulvihill, commanding officer, Marine Rotational Force Darwin. "Their legacy continues to inspire our commitment to peace and collaboration in the Pacific. We are privileged to stand alongside our Allies and friends to remember and celebrate their enduring heroism." The U.S. and its Allies commemorate the Battle of Guadalcanal annually, honoring the bravery and sacrifices of those who served, and highlighting the enduring legacy of their victory. This year's event began with a sunrise ceremony at the American Memorial in Honiara which included keynote speakers, a wreath laying, and a moment of silence for the fallen. "This commemoration is a powerful reminder of the deep bonds between the people of the United States and the Solomon Islands," said Ann Marie Yastishock, U.S. Ambassador to the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Republic of Vanuatu. "The Battle of Guadalcanal represents not only a turning point in World War II but also the strength of our enduring partnership."
>>21385660 Australia set to sign a new defence pact with Indonesia by end of the month - Australia is poised to sign a new upgraded defence pact with Indonesia by the end of this month as the federal government prepares to welcome the incoming Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto to Canberra. The government has framed it as the most strategically significant bilateral agreement with Indonesia since at least 2006, when the two countries reset security ties by signing the Lombok Treaty. Australia and Indonesia confirmed in February they would upgrade their 2012 defence pact to a new binding agreement, with Defence Minister Richard Marles aiming to complete "lightning-fast" negotiations within three months. The negotiations haven't gone quite that quickly, but the ABC has been told that discussions are now in their final phase and that Mr Marles is planning to travel to Indonesia near the end of this month to sign the agreement with Mr Prabowo. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also confirmed yesterday that Mr Prabowo - who is continuing to serve as defence minister ahead of being sworn in this October - will make a separate visit to Canberra in the coming two weeks. "I will welcome the Indonesian defence minister in the next fortnight, who is coming to Canberra, and he'll have meetings with my cabinet," he said. "In a matter of weeks, I will attend his inauguration. And the cooperation that we have with Indonesia is very strong indeed." One Australian government source told the ABC that both countries were now "very close" to finalising the upgraded agreement, but the signing ceremony would likely be held in Indonesia rather in Australia.

#21385938 at 2024-08-10 15:43:02 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #37: EVERYTHING IS AT STAKE Edition

>>21372270
Battle of Guadalcanal: 82nd Anniversary of Operation Watchtower

Cpl. Migel Reynosa - 08.08.2024

Multinational servicemembers, veterans, leaders of Solomon Islands' government, members of the diplomatic community, and civilians, attend the 82nd Anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal Ceremony at the Guadalcanal American Memorial in Honiara, Solomon Islands, Aug. 7, 2024. The ceremony commemorated the 82nd anniversary of the battle, and served to honor the fallen and strengthen the U.S. relationship with the Solomon Islands and other Pacific allies and partners. The historic battle was codenamed Operation Watchtower and was the first major offensive and decisive victory for the allied forces in the Pacific theater. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Cpl. Migel A. Reynosa)

https://www.dvidshub.net/video/933357/battle-Guadalcanal-82nd-anniversary-operation-watchtower

#21372270 at 2024-08-08 12:04:22 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #37: EVERYTHING IS AT STAKE Edition

Pacific Marines, U.S. Ambassador Commemorate 82nd Anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal

1st Lt. Shannon ONeill, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific - Aug. 7, 2024

HONIARA, Solomon Islands - Pacific Marines with Marine Rotational Force - Darwin, as well as the U.S. Ambassador to Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu, hosted the 82nd Anniversary Commemoration Ceremony of the Battle of Guadalcanal at the American War Memorial, Aug. 7, 2024.

"Today, as we gather to honor the 82nd anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal, we pay tribute to the courage and sacrifice of those who fought bravely in this crucial campaign," reflected U.S. Marine Corps Col. Brian Mulvihill, commanding officer, Marine Rotational Force - Darwin. "Their legacy continues to inspire our commitment to peace and collaboration in the Pacific. We are privileged to stand alongside our Allies and friends to remember and celebrate their enduring heroism."

The U.S. and its Allies commemorate the Battle of Guadalcanal annually, honoring the bravery and sacrifices of those who served, and highlighting the enduring legacy of their victory. This year's event began with a sunrise ceremony at the American Memorial in Honiara which included keynote speakers, a wreath laying, and a moment of silence for the fallen.

"This commemoration is a powerful reminder of the deep bonds between the people of the United States and the Solomon Islands," said Ann Marie Yastishock, U.S. Ambassador to the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Republic of Vanuatu. "The Battle of Guadalcanal represents not only a turning point in World War II but also the strength of our enduring partnership."

The commemoration highlights the strong and growing partnership between the United States and the Solomon Islands. Both nations are committed to enhancing their collaboration in regional security, sustainable development, and mutual support. This enduring relationship, grounded in shared history, paves the way for a future of continued cooperation and joint progress, reinforcing the deep bond of friendship and commitment between the two nations.

"As we reflect on the past," Yastishock concluded, "we also reaffirm our dedication to working together for a peaceful and prosperous future."

The Battle of Guadalcanal, which took place from August 7, 1942, to February 9, 1943, was a critical turning point in World War II's Pacific Theatre. As the first major offensive by Allied forces in the Pacific, the battle aimed to stop Japanese expansion by gaining control of the strategically vital Guadalcanal Island in the Solomon Islands.

https://www.pacom.mil/Media/News/News-Article-View/Article/3865093/pacific-marines-us-ambassador-commemorate-82nd-anniversary-of-the-battle-of-gua/

#21252033 at 2024-07-20 14:11:56 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #37: EVERYTHING IS AT STAKE Edition

#36 - Part 50
Australian Politics and Society - Part 34
>>21188695 Woolworths to stock Aussie flags just months after Australia Day controversy - Woolworths will put Australian flags back on shelves, just months after the supermarket giant chose not to stock Australia Day merchandise. Woolworths revealed it will make Aussie flags available to customers ahead of the Paris Olympics and Paralympics. "With the 2024 Paris Olympic Games beginning later this month, and as a proud Australian retailer, we are pleased once again to be the official Fresh Food Partner of the Australian Olympic & Paralympic teams," Woolworths said in a statement to staff. "Given the Australian flag is the official flag of the Australian Olympic Committee and of our team competing in Paris, a locally made handheld Australian flag, made from long lasting materials such as timber and polyester, will also be available for customers to purchase across our Supermarkets and selected Metro stores." Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie said the move was a clear cash grab. "They've finally found their patriotism," she said on the Today show. "What this really is the reason they're stocking these flags is because they see a financial benefit. They're sponsoring the Olympics. So the more eyeballs they get, the more people through the door." The move comes six months after Woolworths dumped all Australia Day merchandise from stores across the nation, sparking outrage from customers.
>>21188731 Alleged member of Sydney terror network granted bail as magistrate brands Crown case 'weak' - A magistrate has dealt a fresh blow to a "weak" Commonwealth case against a suspected Sydney terrorism network, describing an alleged terror plan as "all talk" as he granted bail to a fourth teenager. The teenager, who cannot be identified because he is a juvenile, is accused of conspiring with three boys to plan a terrorist attack in the wake of the stabbing of a Sydney bishop in April. They were among six juveniles charged in sweeping police raids on an alleged terrorism network on April 24, four of whom have now been granted strict bail. Magistrate Paul Mulroney on Wednesday expressed concern the teenager could have access to knives and guns, but granted bail on strict conditions including house arrest and 24-hour parental supervision. "Given that it's a relatively weak prosecution case, it would be unfair and unjust to refuse bail," he said. Mr Mulroney said the alleged terror plan was "particularly vague" to substantiate a charge of conspiring to do an act in preparation for or planning of a terrorist act. "There needs to be some action on behalf of the offender to ensure that they're not all talk," he said. "There's talk about having access to a 'stash house'... there's talk about the young person supplying 'nerf guns' ... and the young person saying in unequivocal terms on the 20th April that he wants to kill. "But basically it's all talk."
>>21189008 Australia's last two WWII coast watchers die, aged 100 and 101 - "The last two World War II coast watchers, Jim Burrowes (101) and Ron "Dixie" Lee (100) passed away in Melbourne on Sunday and Monday, respectively. The courageous deeds of the legendary and secretive WWII coast watchers represent one of the most illustrious chapters in Australia's military history. Despite their losses, the coast watchers' contribution to reporting on Japanese shipping and air movements had a real strategic impact. Their finest hour was in the Guadalcanal campaign, where they reported on incoming waves of enemy aircraft, rescued the future president John F Kennedy, and launched lethal guerilla raids on the Japanese with the assistance of fearless Solomon Islanders. Their actions led Admiral "Bull" Halsey to remark: "The coast watchers saved Guadalcanal, and Guadalcanal saved the South Pacific." Prior to World War II, the Royal Australian Navy detailed a former New Guinea District Officer, Lieutenant Commander Eric Feldt, to establish a network of expatriates who could covertly report on enemy movements around the coastline of New Guinea and the Solomons in time of war. In short order, he recruited planters, patrol officers and even priests for this potentially dangerous assignment. When the Japanese invaded the islands in 1942, these coast watchers undertook their mission with courage and at great personal cost. Some were beheaded, others simply disappeared, while others continued their clandestine task for months on end with the help of local villagers." - Vice Admiral Peter Jones (Retd) - smh.com.au

#21251417 at 2024-07-20 12:41:35 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

#36 - Part 50
Australian Politics and Society - Part 34
>>21188695 Woolworths to stock Aussie flags just months after Australia Day controversy - Woolworths will put Australian flags back on shelves, just months after the supermarket giant chose not to stock Australia Day merchandise. Woolworths revealed it will make Aussie flags available to customers ahead of the Paris Olympics and Paralympics. "With the 2024 Paris Olympic Games beginning later this month, and as a proud Australian retailer, we are pleased once again to be the official Fresh Food Partner of the Australian Olympic & Paralympic teams," Woolworths said in a statement to staff. "Given the Australian flag is the official flag of the Australian Olympic Committee and of our team competing in Paris, a locally made handheld Australian flag, made from long lasting materials such as timber and polyester, will also be available for customers to purchase across our Supermarkets and selected Metro stores." Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie said the move was a clear cash grab. "They've finally found their patriotism," she said on the Today show. "What this really is the reason they're stocking these flags is because they see a financial benefit. They're sponsoring the Olympics. So the more eyeballs they get, the more people through the door." The move comes six months after Woolworths dumped all Australia Day merchandise from stores across the nation, sparking outrage from customers.
>>21188731 Alleged member of Sydney terror network granted bail as magistrate brands Crown case 'weak' - A magistrate has dealt a fresh blow to a "weak" Commonwealth case against a suspected Sydney terrorism network, describing an alleged terror plan as "all talk" as he granted bail to a fourth teenager. The teenager, who cannot be identified because he is a juvenile, is accused of conspiring with three boys to plan a terrorist attack in the wake of the stabbing of a Sydney bishop in April. They were among six juveniles charged in sweeping police raids on an alleged terrorism network on April 24, four of whom have now been granted strict bail. Magistrate Paul Mulroney on Wednesday expressed concern the teenager could have access to knives and guns, but granted bail on strict conditions including house arrest and 24-hour parental supervision. "Given that it's a relatively weak prosecution case, it would be unfair and unjust to refuse bail," he said. Mr Mulroney said the alleged terror plan was "particularly vague" to substantiate a charge of conspiring to do an act in preparation for or planning of a terrorist act. "There needs to be some action on behalf of the offender to ensure that they're not all talk," he said. "There's talk about having access to a 'stash house'... there's talk about the young person supplying 'nerf guns' ... and the young person saying in unequivocal terms on the 20th April that he wants to kill. "But basically it's all talk."
>>21189008 Australia's last two WWII coast watchers die, aged 100 and 101 - "The last two World War II coast watchers, Jim Burrowes (101) and Ron "Dixie" Lee (100) passed away in Melbourne on Sunday and Monday, respectively. The courageous deeds of the legendary and secretive WWII coast watchers represent one of the most illustrious chapters in Australia's military history. Despite their losses, the coast watchers' contribution to reporting on Japanese shipping and air movements had a real strategic impact. Their finest hour was in the Guadalcanal campaign, where they reported on incoming waves of enemy aircraft, rescued the future president John F Kennedy, and launched lethal guerilla raids on the Japanese with the assistance of fearless Solomon Islanders. Their actions led Admiral "Bull" Halsey to remark: "The coast watchers saved Guadalcanal, and Guadalcanal saved the South Pacific." Prior to World War II, the Royal Australian Navy detailed a former New Guinea District Officer, Lieutenant Commander Eric Feldt, to establish a network of expatriates who could covertly report on enemy movements around the coastline of New Guinea and the Solomons in time of war. In short order, he recruited planters, patrol officers and even priests for this potentially dangerous assignment. When the Japanese invaded the islands in 1942, these coast watchers undertook their mission with courage and at great personal cost. Some were beheaded, others simply disappeared, while others continued their clandestine task for months on end with the help of local villagers." - Vice Admiral Peter Jones (Retd) - smh.com.au

#21189017 at 2024-07-13 04:51:43 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

>>21189008

2/2

For his part, Lee, born in Ulverstone, Tasmania, served in the Treasury Islands, the nearby Stirling Island, and then Finschhafen, Milne Bay and Bougainville. At the later location, he served with one of the most famous coast watchers, Lieutenant "Snowy" Rhodes, and provided some of those valuable reports of Japanese aircraft approaching Guadalcanal.

"Dixie" had joined the Royal Australian Navy as a coder at the age of 17 and was a high-spirited young rebel who got into his fair share of scrapes. He was still only 19 when he was encouraged to join the Allied Intelligence Bureau and volunteer for coast-watching duties.

In 2020, he told the Australian War Memorial: "We were sent to a little island called Stirling Island in the Treasury Island group, which was just off Bougainville.

"The islands were completely controlled by Japan, and we set up a little camp there.

"There were three of us - an officer, a sergeant in the army, and then me, a coder from the navy. Your heart probably beats a little bit faster because you don't know what's ashore ... but I realised early on that I was immortal, so nothing frightened me. Some of our blokes were beheaded and terrible things ... But I just did my job. The fighter pilots, and tail gunners, and things; they were the brave ones."

After the war, Jim Burrowes qualified as a chartered accountant, a chartered secretary and a licensed company auditor. He joined the then-largest house-building company in Australia, A.V. Jennings Industries, as assistant to the company secretary. He was to work at Jennings for 33 years, progressively becoming executive director of the Jennings Mining and Manufacturing Groups.

After nearly five years in the navy, over half of which was as a coast watcher, Lee was discharged in early 1946. He became a successful land surveyor. In the 1970s, he hand-built a 30-foot wooden ketch but gave her up after forever chasing leaks occurring after rough weather. He then had a larger and dryer steel-hulled 45-foot ketch custom-built and sailed in her for three years through much of the South Pacific, retracing some of his wartime adventures. He was especially anxious to reach the Treasury Islands and Bougainville and, for a time, worked there as a surveyor. It was like stepping back in time, and "Masta Dix" was reunited with many of his local wartime friends.

In 2015, Lee was one of a few World War II veterans selected to visit Papua New Guinea as part of a commemoration marking the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Pacific.

Burrowes is survived by his wife, Beryl, four children, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, while Lee is survived by his wife, Mem. He had 10 children, seventeen grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

The coast watchers invariably deployed to an enemy-held island as a pair, and it is fitting that Australia's last two coast watchers joined their comrades together.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/australia-s-last-two-ww2-coast-watchers-die-aged-100-and-101-20240710-p5jsdw.html

#21189008 at 2024-07-13 04:49:22 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

>>21172356
Australia's last two WWII coast watchers die, aged 100 and 101

Vice Admiral Peter Jones (Retd) - July 10, 2024

1/2

The last two World War II coast watchers, Jim Burrowes (101) and Ron "Dixie" Lee (100) passed away in Melbourne on Sunday and Monday, respectively.

The courageous deeds of the legendary and secretive WWII coast watchers represent one of the most illustrious chapters in Australia's military history.

Despite their losses, the coast watchers' contribution to reporting on Japanese shipping and air movements had a real strategic impact. Their finest hour was in the Guadalcanal campaign, where they reported on incoming waves of enemy aircraft, rescued the future president John F Kennedy, and launched lethal guerilla raids on the Japanese with the assistance of fearless Solomon Islanders. Their actions led Admiral "Bull" Halsey to remark: "The coast watchers saved Guadalcanal, and Guadalcanal saved the South Pacific."

Prior to World War II, the Royal Australian Navy detailed a former New Guinea District Officer, Lieutenant Commander Eric Feldt, to establish a network of expatriates who could covertly report on enemy movements around the coastline of New Guinea and the Solomons in time of war. In short order, he recruited planters, patrol officers and even priests for this potentially dangerous assignment.

When the Japanese invaded the islands in 1942, these coast watchers undertook their mission with courage and at great personal cost. Some were beheaded, others simply disappeared, while others continued their clandestine task for months on end with the help of local villagers.

As the value of the coast watcher network became fully appreciated, servicemen from the three services joined for this most dangerous of assignments. Signalman Burrowes and Able Seaman Coder Lee were among a cohort of radio operators who provided that crucial communications link using the cumbersome AWA Teleradio, portable with the help of half a dozen local men who also risked their lives.

Jim Burrowes, born in Melbourne, served both on the north coast of New Guinea and then on the island of New Britain, where he and two fellow coast watchers reported on the Japanese stronghold of Rabaul. That town had a special meaning for him, as his older brother Bob had been in the army and was captured there in 1942. Bob lost his life when the Japanese prison ship Montevideo Maru was sunk later that year by the submarine USS Sturgeon, with the loss of over 1000 prisoners of war and civilians. Jim's twin brother Tom was a wireless air gunner in a Beaufort bomber that was lost off Rabaul in 1943.

On his website The Last Coastwatcher, Jim wrote: "As one of the coast watchers, I was also a signaller, and proud to play a key role in their operations. This was because the singular mandate of coast-watching was not to confront the enemy but to report their movements. Hence, without a radio operator, there would not have been any coast-watching parties. I am the last signaller coast watcher to tell the history of the coast watchers.

"I was lucky to be selected to be a radio operator instead of infantry. I was lucky to be replaced as the radio operator in the disastrous Hollandia infiltration party when the original guy, Jack Bunning, was ambushed by the Japanese and killed."

Burrowes was selected as the signaller to go on that Hollandia (now the West Papua capital, Jayapura) venture, led by Captain "Blue" Harris, but at the last minute, Bunning replaced Burrowes after recovering from sickness.

"I was lucky not to be caught and killed by the Japanese while hiding in the jungle. Thirty-eight other coast watchers were killed. I was lucky to come home."

(continued)

#19611675 at 2023-09-26 10:45:36 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition

>>19601965
>>19601978
Beijing-Timor ties signal critical moment in our region's security

PETER JENNINGS - SEPTEMBER 26, 2023

1/2

There was a touch of Fidel Castro in Manasseh Sogavare's speech at the UN last week.

In a collarless Mao suit the Solomon Islands Prime Minister Sogavare delivered an ardent tirade against the "toxic mix of geopolitical power politics" afflicting the Pacific.

Barring one mention with a half-dozen other countries supporting the forthcoming Pacific Games, Australia (the Solomons' largest aid donor and ultimate security guarantor) was ignored.

China was lavishly praised for delivering a model of "South-South co-operation" that was "less restrictive, more responsive and aligned to our national needs".

Japan was hammered for plans to release water from the Fukushima reactor into the Pacific.

Cuba was thanked for providing medical training and the US urged to end the "unjust embargo" on Havana. Bizarrely, the US was condemned for fighting the Battle of Guadalcanal, "a war not of our making" - that's the fight along with the Battle of the Coral Sea that saved Australia and the Solomons in World War II. Sogavare then refused to attend a Pacific summit with US President Joe Biden. That takes some chutzpah. The US reopened its embassy in the Solomons only last February and is lining up to be a donor.

The most worrying Sogavare line was a veiled reference to AUKUS.

"We remain concerned on the development of military nuclear investment in the Pacific region and its potential to trigger a nuclear arms race and its implications for our nuclear-free status," he said.

That is, of course, breathtaking nonsense. Compare the Australian plan for eight nuclear-powered submarines arriving some time in the 2040s with China's massive expansion of nuclear weapons to more than 1000 warheads, the Pentagon estimates, by the end of the 2020s.

Note also that China's interest in the Solomons has become more intense since AUKUS was announced. A People's Republic of China military presence in the Solomons would horribly complicate Australia's defence planning and threaten the activities of a new east coast submarine base location.

From Beijing's perspective Sogavare's speech and snubbing of Biden was pitch perfect. He's their man in Honiara. If anything, "Soga" is becoming more emboldened. This makes the outcome of the Solomon Islands election - delayed by Sogavare to April next year - of critical interest. Solomons politics is volatile and a change of government is always possible. Few in the Pacific region would be sad to see the firebrand leave office.

While Sogavare was in New York, East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao was in the Chinese city of Hangzhou meeting President Xi Jinping. A "comprehensive strategic partnership" was signed to "increase mutual support and strengthen international co-operation".

The Chinese Communist Party's English-language newspaper, Global Times, wrote on Sunday that the Timor agreement and Solomon Islands co-operation reflect "a clear choice by regional countries to engage in mutually beneficial co-operation with China and is a model of South-South co-operation".

East Timor's engagement is not driven by Sogavare's ideological zeal. Dili is focused on spreading its geopolitical bets and knows Indonesia - which dominates Timor's economy - will be wary of moves to get closer to China.

That's cold comfort. The reality is that East Timor forms part of the northern archipelagic arc through which any military threat to Australia will come. We have a profound interest in ensuring that our near neighbours, such as the Solomons and East Timor, do not fall into China's strategic orbit.

(continued)

#19226413 at 2023-07-23 10:07:02 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

>>19205022
USS Canberra Commissions in Rare Overseas Ceremony

Benjamin Felton - July 22, 2023

1/2

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - Leaders of the U.S. Navy joined their Australian counterparts on a windy winter day at the ancestral home of the Royal Australian Navy to welcome USS Canberra (LCS-30) to the American fleet.

Moored at the RAN naval base HMAS Kuttabul in the middle of Sydney harbor, Littoral Combat Ship Canberra (LCS-30), was commissioned in a rare overseas ceremony on Saturday.

The LCS' commissioning was a "celebration" and demonstration of the alliance between Australia and the United States, Australia Governor-General David Hurley said at the ceremony. It is a "very very visible example of our nations' shared history, contemporary partnership and commitment to the future... [all] which is now honored in the name Canberra," he said.

Canberra is the second Navy ship to bear the name of Australia's capital city. The ship's namesake, HMAS Canberra (D33), sunk while fighting alongside U.S. forces during the Battle of Savo Island in World War II. As a result of Canberra's actions during the battle, Marines of the 1st Marine Division were able to continue the fight on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. In recognition of HMAS Canberra's sacrifice to protect U.S. Forces, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered the under-construction cruiser USS Pittsburgh to be renamed USS Canberra (CA-41).

Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro said that while the world is very different to the 1940s, when the first USS Canberra (CA-70) was commissioned, Australia and the United States are once again facing "significant challenges" in the Indo-Pacific region.

"We, along with our allies and partners around the world, are facing significant challenges in every environment that we operate," he said. "The People's Republic of China continues the rapid expansion of its navy, leveraging its maritime organizational strength to coerce and intimidate its neighbors into accepting illegitimate maritime claims."

LCS Canberra will play a critical role in defending the maritime commons which are so critical to both nations, Del Toro said.

"This ship before us, along with HMAS Canberra, and our combined Naval fleet play a crucial role in securing our ability to conduct unencumbered maritime trade across the globe, promoting the wealth and strength of our two nations, along with those of our allies and partners."

While Adm. Mike Gilday, the outgoing chief of naval operations, said that the ship will closely integrate with the Royal Australian Navy. He did not go so far as to provide a timeline for its first deployment.

"Today, we commissioned USS Canberra into service, not just part of Littoral Combat Ship Squadron One, not just part of the United States Pacific Fleet. Today, we commissioned this ship into service as a combat unit that will integrate with the Australian fleet and with the combined maritime force of allies and partners who stand united across the entire Indo-Pacific," he said.

(continued)

#17453513 at 2022-08-28 07:46:30 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

#25 - Part 20
Australia / China Tensions - Part 9
>>17381356 Video: Solomon Islands commemorates Battle of Guadalcanal 80th anniversary - ABC News (Australia)
>>17381363 Sherman visits South Pacific to 'sabotage' region's growing ties with China - GT staff reporters - globaltimes.cn
>>17381401 Wong calls for restraint as China extends military drills around Taiwan by sending fighter aircraft to simulate air-to-ship strikes
>>17381658 United States, Australia will 'watch very carefully' as China-Solomons pact takes shape, says US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman
>>17381717 Video: US Deputy Secretary of State says China's response to Pelosi's Taiwan trip 'disproportionate' - ABC News (Australia)
>>17381728 Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare's absence at commemoration of the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal a 'disgrace': Opposition Leader Matthew Wale
>>17381741 Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare's government wants to delay election due to 2023 Pacific Games
>>17381778 Video: Pacific Marines Tweet: #Guadalcanal #Commemoration #G80 - @USMC Lt. Gen. Steven R. Rudder, commander, @PacificMarines, provides remarks at the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal commemoration ceremony at the Guadalcanal American Memorial in the #SolomonIslands.
>>17381794 Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post: "The bended knee is not a tradition of our Corps." -General Alexander Vandegrift
>>17381794 U.S. Marine Corps Facebook Post: Yesterday, Aug. 7, marked the 80th anniversary of the beginning of America's first amphibious invasion of WWII - the Battle of Guadalcanal. #Marines landed on Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Florida in the southern Solomon Islands, with the objective of capturing a key Japanese chokepoint. Major battles by land, air, and sea, led to Japanese retreat and Allied control over crucial airfields. Victory during Guadalcanal allowed the Allied Forces to seize the strategic initiative in the Pacific theater. #USMCHistory #SemperFi

>>17381805 China escalates attack on Penny Wong, as Beijing tries to rewrite Australia's 'One China' policy
>>17381816 Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin's Regular Press Conference on August 8, 2022
>>17381831 Chinese Consulate General in Sydney Tweet: Video: Chinese FM Spokesperson: We urge the Australian side to abide by the one-China principle, refrain from echoing or assisting certain countries' misguided strategy of using the Taiwan question to contain China, and avoid creating new obstacles for China-Australia ties.
>>17381849 Sugarcoating can't legitimize AUKUS sub deal - Zhang Yunbi - chinadaily.com.cn
>>17381855 Li Song, China's ambassador for disarmament affairs reiterates opposition to AUKUS nuclear sub pact - Minlu Zhang - chinadaily.com.cn
>>17381875 Australia's first spy mission over the Pacific under the AUKUS pact takes place - Australia has flown its first spy mission over the Pacific under the AUKUS pact with its US and UK allies as Russia demands more details
>>17381886 20 Percent Of The USAF's B-2 Force Is Deployed 'Down Under' - The B-2 deployment to Australia comes as the USAF ramps up its presence in the Indo-Pacific region amid growing tensions with China.
>>17381920 US SENDS FIFTH B-2 TO AMBERLEY AMID CHINA TENSION - A fifth US Air Force B-2 bomber has flown to Base Amberley to train with RAAF F-35s amid tension between China and Taiwan - It likely amounts to the biggest ever deployment of the US's most important military jet to Australia, with the country's active fleet only numbering 20
>>17385052 mhar4 Tweet: Video - Musician Roger Waters: "They're not encircling Taiwan, Taiwan is part of China, and that's been absolutely accepted by the whole of the international community since 1948, and if you don't know that, you're not reading enough. Go and read about it." This is where we are.
>>17385057 Video: Roger Waters Uncut. The full interview with Michael Smerconish recorded in Philadelphia, PA at the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia on August 4th, 2022. www.Smerconish.com - Michael Smerconish

#17453508 at 2022-08-28 07:45:03 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

#25 - Part 19
Australia / China Tensions - Part 8
>>17381258 U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman Tweet: Pleased to meet with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and cabinet members about U.S.-Solomon Islands cooperation to mitigate COVID-19, reduce poverty, enhance resilience, promote economic growth, and open the embassy in Honiara.
>>17381263 U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman Tweet: Humbled to recognize the lives lost in the Battle of Guadalcanal on this 80th anniversary. Alongside our gracious hosts, friends, and allies, we reflect on how those we once fought against can become the closest of allies.
>>17381263 Deputy Secretary Sherman's Remarks on the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal - Honiara, Solomon Islands, August 7 2022
>>17381267 U.S. Embassy Australia Tweet: At a ceremony in Honiara today, Ambassador Caroline Kennedy paid tribute to the significant bravery and assistance of the Solomon Islander scouts and Coastwatchers during World War II. (1/3)
>>17381267 U.S. Embassy Australia Tweet: "Because of the selfless service and sacrifice of the Solomon Scouts and Coastwatchers, the Allies were able to hold Guadalcanal.And because of Guadalcanal, the Allies achieved victory in the Pacific." - Ambassador Kennedy
>>17381267 U.S. Embassy Australia Tweet: "I look forward to returning to Solomon Islands with my children and showing them this part of our family history... and telling them about the partnership we've shared with Solomon Islanders in years since the war."
>>17381267 TRANSCRIPT: Ambassador Caroline Kennedy's Remarks at the Solomon Scouts and Coastwatchers Memorial - Honiara, Solomon Islands, August 7 2022
>>17381274 Penny Wong urges calm after China criticises her response to aggression in Taiwan Strait
>>17381276 Peter Dutton urges Albanese Government to acquire military 'deterrent' as he warns of conflict amid China-Taiwan tensions
>>17381277 'Calm down': WA Premier Mark McGowan has weighed in on Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan and issued a stern warning to China

>>17381293 Myanmar envoy becomes 4th ambassador to die in China in less than a year - Myanmar's ambassador to China died suddenly in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming, according to an obituary in Myanmar state media and diplomatic sources in Beijing. The obituary for Ambassador U Myo Thant Pe by Myanmar's foreign ministry in a state newspaper did not specify his cause of death.
>>17381298 Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare did not attend a weekend dawn service for a key World War Two battle organised by the United States, with local media reporting it as a "snub"
>>17381300 Solomons leader in US memorial 'snub' - Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare was due to give a speech at a memorial service for the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal that was attended by US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and ministers and officials from Japan, Australia and New Zealand on Sunday, but he did not appear
>>17381326 PM SNUBS US - PRIME MINISTER Manasseh Sogavare appears to have snubbed the delegations of the United States of America and other allies by being absent from the dawn service commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the Landing of the Marines on Guadalcanal
>>17381331 Man in custody after Bloody Ridge stabbing - A young man is in police custody after stabbing a Japanese military personnel attending a commemoration service of the Battle of Guadalcanal at Bloody Ridge
>>17381336 POLICE INVESTIGATE BLOODY RIDGE INCIDENT - The Royal Solomon Island Police Force (RSIPF) has launched an investigation into an incident, which occurred at the commemoration ceremony of the 80th Anniversary of the Battle on Guadalcanal at Bloody Ridge on Monday 8 August
>>17381341 The Battle of Guadalcanal - EIGHTY years ago today (August 7th 2022), thousands of U.S. Marines landed on Guadalcanal and on the islands of Tulagi and Gavutu-Tanambogo. According to visiting US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, it was the first major Allied land offensive in the Pacific theatre, and a proving ground for the United States Marine Corps' new methods of amphibious warfare.
>>17381344 Caroline Kennedy meets children of Solomon Islanders who saved JFK's life - New US ambassador to Australia was in Honiara to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal
>>17381350 Guadalcanal troops remembered, New Zealand Defence Minister in talks with US and Solomons
>>17381353 Ambassador Kennedy thanked Solomon Scouts who saved her father - The selfless service and sacrifice of the Solomon Scouts and Coastwatchers were acknowledged during the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal

#17453422 at 2022-08-28 07:02:31 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

#25 - Part 6
Australian Politics and Society - Part 6
>>17381843 Richard Marles says Australian submarines will plug capability gap - Ageing fleet of Collins class submarines will undergo life-of-type extensions, capability gap will be filled with submarines built in Australia
>>17385370 NSW has officially banned public displays of Nazi swastika - Cultural and religious groups are celebrating as an Aussie state confirms groundbreaking laws surrounding displays of a deeply hateful symbol
>>17385506 'The best is yet to come': Trump releases new campaign style video - Donald Trump has released a campaign ad-style video on his Truth Social platform only hours after the FBI raided his Florida home where he vows to his supporters to "not give up" and the "best is yet to come". - Sky News Australia
>>17396729 Australian academic Sean Turnell detained in Myanmar pleads not guilty in closed court
>>17396744 AUKUS is not the threat to the Asia-Pacific region: US Indo-Pacific Commander John Aquilino
>>17396764 Whistleblower lawsuit alleges financial misconduct and dubious expenditures inside Hillsong Church
>>17405795 Video: Nuclear Powered Submarine Task Force - The first major initiative under AUKUS is Australia's acquisition of at least eight nuclear-powered submarines. Defence has established a Nuclear Powered Submarine Taskforce led by VADM Jonathan Mead AO, which is working with the UK and US to identify the optimal path to deliver these submarines. - Defence Australia
>>17405885 Bill Shorten slams Scott Morrison's 'sick government' as he compares former PM to Donald Trump amid Cabinet scandal
>>17405903 Video: Scott Morrison's secret portfolios a 'sinister' move, former PM Malcolm Turnbull says - Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull says he is "astonished" the Governor-General was willing to go along with Scott Morrison's secretive appointment to multiple portfolios within his own cabinet - ABC News (Australia)
>>17405928 Former PM Scott Morrison was 'sedated' at night for his insomnia throughout pandemic - A new revelation about Scott Morrison has emerged amid the raging controversy about his secret moves as prime minister

>>17406093 Blue Diamond 6 Honors 1st Marine Division Roots with a Trip to Guadalcanal and Australia - Major General Benjamin Watson, Commanding General of the First Marine Division, visited the Marine Rotational Force-Darwin (MRF-D) following a trip to Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, on August 10.
>>17406134 Red Ex: Australia Edition | 1st Marine Division, Travel to Darwin | Exercise Koolendong 2022 - U.S. Marines with 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment (3/5), 1st Marine Division, travel to Darwin, NT, Australia, in support of exercise Koolendong 22, July 22, 2022 - Defense Flash News
>>17410333 Former prime minister Scott Morrison says he took the "unconventional" move to assume responsibility in several portfolios due to the "unprecedented times" brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic
>>17410340 Peter Dutton says he will not call for Scott Morrison to resign after revelations the former prime minister had sworn himself into five additional portfolios during the pandemic
>>17410350 Scott Morrison warned Donald Trump off Vladimir Putin G7 invitation - Scott Morrison raised concerns with Donald Trump about Vladimir Putin being potentially invited to rejoin the G7, urging the former US president to reject the idea almost two years before Russia invaded Ukraine
>>17417576 Former prime minister Scott Morrison says he feared alarming his cabinet colleagues and the broader public by disclosing he had assumed co-control of powers across five senior ministries, as he sought to explain why he had kept his extra appointments secret
>>17417651 'I acted in good faith', says Scott Morrison - Scott Morrison, former Prime Minister of Australia - theaustralian.com.au
>>17422759 U.S. Embassy Australia Tweet: Ambassador Kennedy met today with Quad partners (Australian) Deputy Secretaries Dewar and Hayhurst, (Japanese) Ambassador Yamagami, & (Indian) High Commissioner Vohra to discuss opportunities for increased collaboration in the Indo-Pacific. We look forward to the Quad Leaders' Summit in (Australia) next year.
>>17426570 Super-rich members of Cambodia's corrupt Hun Sen regime are buying their way into Australia through $5m "Golden Visa" schemes that guarantee permanent residency and offer a path to citizenship, according to local Cambodian-Australian leaders
>>17426633 MRF-D 22 and the International Football Connection - Marine Rotational Force-Darwin (MRF-D) 22 is focused on readiness, lethality, and regional support to Allies and partners, but they are also taking chances to learn and develop cultural experience through a time-tested activity: football.

#17453402 at 2022-08-28 06:51:51 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

#25 - Part 5
Australian Politics and Society - Part 5
>>16944074 Video: Independent MP Monique Ryan tells Liberal MPs to 'put their masks on' while asking about Covid in parliament
>>16944084 Video: Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe labels Queen 'coloniser' in parliamentary oath
>>16944097 Victorian crossbench MP Fiona Patten launches bid to compel religious hospitals to provide abortions - The Reason Party leader will introduce a bill into state parliament that would remove the right of hospitals that receive any taxpayer funding to refuse to offer reproductive health services and voluntary assisted dying due to "corporate conscientious objection"
>>16944105 U.S. Embassy Australia Tweet: Ambassador Kennedy met today with Solomon Islands High Commissioner Robert Sisilo to thank the Solomon Islands government for hosting the U.S. delegation for the upcoming 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal. The U.S. is committed to our partnership with Solomon Islands.
>>16944234 U.S. Air Force Tweet: .@Whiteman_AFB Airmen are bringing the (B-2) Spirit every day while on a Bomber Task Force deployment at Royal Australian Air Force Base Amberley, Australia. Our Airmen are conducting training & missions alongside Allies in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific. @PACAF
>>16948498 Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post: (r/t 9 News Darwin) Video: Exercise Koolendong has come to an end after three weeks of war games. It's part of a push to build stronger defence relationships between Australia and the U-S.
>>16954710 Urgent review of Australia's defence ordered as security threats grow - Defence Minister Richard Marles will call in two external experts to conduct the snap review while the government considers pivotal decisions on nuclear submarines, a fleet of guided-missile destroyers and plans to build a bigger army
>>16954803 Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to address Australia - The Australian National University (ANU) community and Australians will have the rare opportunity to hear from His Excellency Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, in a sold-out address, Wednesday 3 August
>>16954805 Zelensky hails Australia's support for Ukraine - "I am very thankful to Anthony Albanese government who made significant systematic support to our country, which includes full-scale military and humanitarian assistance, sanctions against Russia…..and even the coal for Ukrainian energy"
>>16954809 'You can't just sympathise': Zelensky calls on more support to fight tyranny - "A lot of Australians are helping us a lot and render humanitarian assistance - please don't forget about it, please continue."

>>16954818 Video: Special Address by President Zelenskyy - Hear directly from His Excellency President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, in this special virtual event - ANU TV
>>16954824 Video: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy answers questions from Australian students - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is addressing students and faculty at the Australian National University in Canberra. In the event, opened by former Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, President Zelenskyy will answer questions posed by university students - ABC News (Australia)
>>16954891 U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Tweet: #USINDOPACOM Commander Adm. John C. Aquilino visits @AusAirForce in Amberly, (Australia). #FreeAndOpenIndoPacific #FriendsPartnersAllies
>>16954894 U.S. Indo-Pacific Commander, Admiral John C. Aquilino, Visits Royal Australian Air Force Base Amberley
>>17068815 An0m: lawyers challenge encrypted messaging app used by AFP in global crime sting - A year after app's unveiling questions have been raised about legal grounds on which messages intercepted and warrants used
>>17068852 Russian billionaire Alexander Abramov sues Foreign Minister Penny Wong over 'reputation harm'
>>17068857 Penny Wong walks out on Russia's Sergey Lavrov - Penny Wong has walked out of the East Asia Summit during Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's address to the regional foreign ministers meeting in Phnom Penh, in protest at Moscow's invasion of Ukraine
>>17069077 Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post: Video: KOOLENDONG 22. #MRFD #usmc #armystrong #usaf #ADF #Lethality #JointForce #FreeandOpenIndoPacific U.S. Marine Corps video by Corporal Emeline Molla.
>>17381367 'I will continue killing foreigners': soldier who shot dead unarmed Australians treated as 'returning hero' by Taliban - Hekmatullah, who killed three Australian soldiers, is living in a heavily protected luxury Kabul home after being freed from prison
>>17381386 'Do you want your children dead?': widow stands up to Cambodia evil - Bou Rachana can still hear the threat against the life of her children hanging in the air - a threat made openly on Australian soil by ?visiting Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen

#17453381 at 2022-08-28 06:36:10 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

#25 - Part 2
Australian Politics and Society - Part 2
>>16755912 Video: 'Don't trust in governments': Scott Morrison delivers Pentecostal church sermon - "Do you believe that if you lose an election that God still loves you and has a plan for you?" I do. Because I still believe in miracles," he said to applause from churchgoers
>>16756266 Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post: To train under the Southern Cross is a unique honor for MRF-D 22, since over half the MAGTF joined from the Blue Diamond. General Vandegrift led the newly formed 1st Marine Division into battle 80 years ago under this star formation. Alongside our Australian allies, our joint partners, and other coalition support, the Blue Diamond proved to be "no better friend, and no worse enemy" in ferocious campaigns such as Guadalcanal. We honor those heroic Marines and Sailors, and our teammates, through the symbols in our crests and the never-ending effort to perfect our warfighting craft.
>>16761730 American MV-22 Ospreys move to Australian ship for RIMPAC exercise - Two U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey aircraft are embarked on Australian amphibious ship HMAS Canberra for the duration of the 2022 Rim of the Pacific exercise, advancing efforts to integrate the two nations' amphibious forces for operations in the southwest Pacific
>>16767649 Video: Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews apologises after IBAC investigation finds 'extensive misconduct' by Labor MPs
>>16767717 Video: Operation Watts report: Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews apologises, but Opposition Leader Matthew Guy claims Labor not fit to govern
>>16767732 Daniel Andrews' secret rort testimony to IBAC revealed
>>16767839 Video: New US ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy to arrive on Friday
>>16767868 Caroline Kennedy 'honoured' to carry on JFK's Australian legacy
>>16767873 Video: An Introduction Message from Ambassador Caroline Kennedy - U.S. Embassy Australia
>>16767868 Q Post #703 - "Rest in peace Mr. President (JFK), through your wisdom and strength, since your tragic death, Patriots have planned, installed, and by the grace of God, activated, the beam of LIGHT. We will forever remember your sacrifice. May you look down from above and continue to guide us as we ring the bell of FREEDOM and destroy those who wish to sacrifice our children, our way of life, and our world. We, the PEOPLE." Prayer said every single day in the OO. JFK - Secret Socities. Where we go one, we go all. Q

>>16773173 Prime Minister Anthony Albanese 'astonished' by Scott Morrison's anti-government comments
>>16773179 Anthony Albanese slams former prime minister's sermon where he pedalled 'conspiracy theories' about the United Nations - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has shot down "astonishing" claims made by the nation's former leader in a church sermon
>>16779821 Caroline Kennedy plans to uphold 'family legacy' in her role as US ambassador to Australia
>>16779828 Video: US Ambassador Kennedy arrives in Australia - Sky News Australia
>>16779837 Video: 'The US-Australia partnership is really my focus': Caroline Kennedy - Sky News Australia
>>16779908 AUKUS needs to be game changer: former Four-Star Admiral Michael Rogers
>>16779929 National Press Club of Australia - Admiral Michael Rogers - FORMER U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY CHIEF - 'Russia and China: geopolitics and the new global cyber challenge' - 22 July 2022
>>16779960 Video: IN FULL: Former US National Security Agency Chief addresses threats from China and Russia - ABC News (Australia)
>>16779960 https://qalerts.app/?q=Adm+R&sortasc=1 - https://qalerts.app/?q=rogers&sortasc=1 - https://qalerts.app/?q=NSA&sortasc=1
>>16787552 AUKUS 'much more than subs': ex-US security chief Mike Rogers - AUKUS agreement could transform Australian hi-tech and defence technology but nuclear-powered submarines may take longer than expected to produce

#17426638 at 2022-08-22 10:32:55 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>17426633

2/2

The Collingwood Football Club offers additional Australian-American history. Mason Cox, the only American in the AFL, is a star for the Magpies, and his presence will lead many MRF-D members to cheer for Collingwood during the upcoming finals tournament. In addition to fielding the American, Collingwood's home stadium, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, hosted the 1st Marine Division following the Guadalcanal Campaign. Heroes such as John Basilone, Chesty Puller, and Alexander Vandegrift lived on the same territory Collingwood calls home.

Melbourne-native and current University of Georgia football player, Brett Thorson, could be the next great American-Australian athletic connection. Thorson, who grew up playing the Australian version of football, will now spend American Saturdays wearing the same red and black as the MRF-D 22 commanding officer, a proud Georgia Bulldogs fan.

"I am certainly proud of the reigning national champion Georgia Bulldogs heading into this football season, but I am more proud of our Marines and Sailors who continue to find ways to bring the MAGTF closer together with the Australian community," expressed Colonel Chris Steele, MRF-D's leader and South Georgia native. "Not only do these sports represent the fitness and teamwork values of the Marine Corps, but they demonstrate some of the many ways MRF-D is truly a part of the Darwin and Australian family."

Georgia Football and the United States Marine Corps are no strangers, either. Frank Sinkwich, Georgia's first Heisman Trophy winner, enlisted in the Marine Corps and accepted the coveted trophy in uniform in 1942. Another Georgia legend, Howard Johnson, gave up his role with the Green Bay Packers to serve in the Marines, ultimately sacrificing his life in service during the victorious assault on Iwo Jima.

"It is natural for Marines to want to compete in athletics, especially in physical, contact sports. It was a humbling experience competing in these new sports - Australian Football and rugby are challenging and very different from the sports I grew up with," said Sergeant Blake Roessel, a headquarters company platoon sergeant and another of the tri-sport MRF-D athletes. "Sports are gateways into any culture and a great way to bring different communities together with shared interests."

The history of these sports brings a fun, yet meaningful addition to the deployment for MRF-D Marines and Sailors. Learning Australian culture, to include their favorite games, helps build relationships and comradery across units and across the Pacific. As the MAGTF gears up for American football season, it will also remember the time spent playing Australian sports with treasured Allies.

https://www.dvidshub.net/news/427468/mrf-d-22-and-international-football-connection

#17410363 at 2022-08-18 09:20:06 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>16716406
>>17410262
Sogavare staging a coup with Chinese characteristics

CLEO PASKAL and ANTHONY BERGIN - AUGUST 16, 2022

1/2

Last week dignitaries, including US ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy, gathered for a dawn ceremony on Bloody Ridge in Solomon Islands to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the start of the brutal battle for Guadalcanal.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare didn't bother turning up to the commemoration. But US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman attended. She said afterwards that she "really felt sorry" for Sogavare, as it was a "missed opportunity" for the Prime Minister to reflect on how the Japanese were turned back during a key moment in WWII.

Sogavare was in fact busy putting forward a bill to postpone the scheduled 2023 elections. His excuse for postponing is the island country hosting next year's Pacific Games and they don't have the budget for both the games and an election. The proposed delay is very unpopular and will stir unrest with possible violence. Alarm bells should be going off in Canberra. The situation is dangerous.

It's likely Sogavare and his backers in Beijing are hoping for more "unrest" so they can activate the China security deal. That would provide an even stronger excuse to hold off on elections, (that Sogavare is likely to lose) for even longer.

There are now Chinese police trainers in the country. Sogavare has publicly thanked the Chinese ambassador for 22 police vehicles, 30 motorcycles, two police water cannons, eight police drones and advanced close personal protection equipment.

Democracy delayed is democracy denied. Sogavare's move is an attempted coup against the people of Solomon Islands. He's trying to turn his country into a clone of China, by taking control of media, signing secret security deals, using bribery to change the Constitution and preparing to instigate and then crush dissent.

International Development and Pacific Minister Pat Conroy said after his recent visit to Honiara that he had a "warm and friendly" meeting with Sogavare. But he didn't indicate he'd raised any concerns with the Prime Minister about postponing the election.

More concerning, soon after Sogavare announced he was going to try to postpone the elections because of the games, Australia announced it was giving Sogavare's government $16.68m to stage them. The money was to put towards accommodation for visiting athletes, sporting equipment and building a venue for water sports.

We should have only given the Pacific Games money on condition that Sogavare holds the election on time. The whole point of China's support for the games is to cement Sogavare in power with public support. We should stop doing things that make the situation worse.

(continued)

#17410262 at 2022-08-18 08:20:14 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>17381298
>>17381741
Right to vote being snatched from Solomon Islanders by PRC-backed PM

Sogavare has introduced a Bill to postpone elections. Reaction on the ground is seething. Likely Sogavare and his backers in Beijing don't mind violence so they can activate the China security deal.

Cleo Paskal - August 13, 2022

1/3

On 8 August, dignitaries, including US Ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy, gathered for a dawn ceremony on Bloody Ridge in Solomon Islands to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the start of the brutal battle for Guadalcanal. Kennedy's father, future President John F. Kennedy, almost died during the campaign-his life saved by two Solomon Islanders.

Absent from the ceremony was Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare. He was busy doing something that could, once again, turn Solomons into a dangerous ground zero in the Pacific.

Being an avid reader of this paper, of course you knew it was coming.

For those who haven't been following along at home, here's a quick recap.

Beijing has studied the importance of the vast Pacific Islands region-for instance, you need to be able to hold it, or deny it to others, to take Taiwan. It also knows the cost and difficulty of taking it by force, as those on Bloody Ridge remembered.

So, Beijing has worked on its consolidation of the region by using political warfare to "island hop" beyond the first island chain and set up political, economic and, increasingly, force-capable forward operating sites across the region.

Its goals for the region were made explicit in its proposed "China-Pacific Island Countries Common Development Vision" and supported by the "China-Pacific Island Countries Five-Year Action Plan on Common Development (2022-2026)".

Federated States of Micronesia President David Panuelo called them, in a letter to other Pacific Island Country (PIC) leaders: "the single-most game-changing proposed agreement in the Pacific in any of our lifetimes."

The agreement wasn't signed, but it's unlikely China thought it would be. It was a way of flushing out opponents (for example President Panuelo), identifying compliance (for example the several PIC leaders who signed secret bilateral deals that reportedly contain elements of the larger "Vision"), and seeing if the "Free World" was going to do anything about it.

The response was largely the diplomatic equivalent of rending of cloth and gnashing of teeth, though the US did make a series of announcements, including that it would be opening new embassies. And Congress quickly backed the move in a bicameral, bipartisan bill designed to support opening the missions.

However, the efforts would have resonated more in the region if the US was taking advantage of access it already has. For example, the US currently doesn't have Ambassadors appointed to several of its existing PIC Embassies, including Fiji, which NSC Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell identified by name as a US "hub" for the region.

China and its proxies don't seem to be deterred, or much perturbed, and are forging ahead on their plans. As we saw this week in Solomon Islands.

Given you are a regular reader of this newspaper, you will not be surprised to hear that last week pro-PRC Solomon Islands PM Sogavare put forward a bill to postpone elections. You had read here, in these pages back in September 2021, that he was putting in places the pieces he needed to do just that-with Beijing's help.

We reported that, using PRC-donated "Constituency Development Funds", PM Sogavare's government had given money to 39 of the 50 MPs in Parliament: "the number, with a small buffer, required to change the Constitution. Sogavare is on record as wanting to move the next election from 2023 to 2024, something that would require a constitutional change."

Then, in our 23 April 2022 interview, you read that respected Solomons political leader Hon. Peter Kenilorea Jr. said there were more indications it was coming: "I can see from the [government] budget that it's clear the government is not taking the election seriously, because they haven't put adequate budget aside for the preparations for next year's elections. For me, that is the biggest indicator. I was looking out for those numbers. And I don't see them."

Sogavare's "reason" to put off democracy was also reported here. Over a month ago, we wrote: "The excuse he's giving to postpone elections is Solomons is hosting the Pacific Games in 2023 and the country doesn't have enough for both the Games and an election."

Well, as of last week, it's official, Sogavare introduced the Bill to postpone elections because of the Games.

(continued)

#17406093 at 2022-08-17 08:31:26 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>16756266
>>17381267
Blue Diamond 6 Honors 1st Marine Division Roots with a Trip to Guadalcanal and Australia

Capt. Joseph DiPietro - 08.11.2022

DARWIN, AUSTRALIA. - Major General Benjamin Watson, Commanding General of the First Marine Division, visited the Marine Rotational Force-Darwin (MRF-D) following a trip to Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, on August 10.

"5th Marines and 3/7 are at the pointy end of the spear for us," said General Watson, who recently took command of the Marine Corps' largest division. "Not only geographically, but also with experimentation, and they are leading the way for both the division and the Marine Corps."

While under different circumstances, General Watson's trip parallels the journey of the First Marine Division's primary commander during World War II, Alexander Vandegrift. General Vandegrift took command of the division in the spring of 1942, and immediately led the historic unit to the South Pacific. The Blue Diamond epitomized Marine Corps warfighting in the South Pacific, leading U.S. forces to victories on previously unknown islands throughout the region.

General Watson's trip to the Indo-Pacific included attendance at the 80th anniversary ceremony at Guadalcanal, where decades ago the First Marine Division proved to be the world's premier warfighting organization behind the leadership of heroes such as Chesty Puller, John Basilone, and Merritt Edson. The ceremony also included new U.S. Ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy, whose father, President John F. Kennedy, served in the waters of the Indo-Pacific just months after the Marine Corps began the ferocious campaign.

"We're here today not only to express our gratitude to those who sacrificed during the war," said Ambassador Kennedy at the ceremony, reflecting on her family's history in the seas around Guadalcanal. "But also to those who established peace and worked for the years and decades that followed to bring our nations closer."

After the ceremony, General Watson travelled to Adelaide, South Australia, home to some units of the Australian Defence Force's (ADF) 1st Brigade. Following time in Adelaide, Blue Diamond Six joined many of his Marines and Sailors in Darwin who serve as a part of the 11th iteration of the Marine Rotational Force-Darwin. MRF-D's primary partner is the 1st Brigade, and the two teamed up for multiple exercises and events throughout the deployment.

"I wouldn't want to serve in any other brigade because of our opportunity to work alongside the Marines," said ADF Major Anthony Purdy, the operations officer for the Australian 1st Brigade, while briefing General Watson on an upcoming combined exercise. "Combined arms fighting is tough work, but incredibly rewarding, and training with MRF-D allows us to increase our capabilities."

General Watson's visit to MRF-D marks the second First Marine Division commander to join the Marine Air Ground Task Force in Darwin this year. Major General Roger Turner, the previous commanding general, visited earlier in the rotation. The presence of the Blue Diamond remains critical to the U.S. Australian Alliance, as the unit maintains a strong connection with Australia through its crest, song, and presence as part of the MRF-D.

https://www.dvidshub.net/news/427097/blue-diamond-6-honors-1st-marine-division-roots-with-trip-Guadalcanal-and-australia

https://www.facebook.com/1stMarineDivision

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Marine_Division

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_call_sign

#17381794 at 2022-08-12 13:26:15 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>16756266
>>17381267
Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post

August 9, 2022

"The bended knee is not a tradition of our Corps."

-General Alexander Vandegrift

https://www.facebook.com/MRFDarwin/posts/422589516570204

—

U.S. Marine Corps

August 9, 2022

Yesterday, Aug. 7, marked the 80th anniversary of the beginning of America's first amphibious invasion of WWII - the Battle of Guadalcanal.

#Marines landed on Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Florida in the southern Solomon Islands, with the objective of capturing a key Japanese chokepoint. Major battles by land, air, and sea, led to Japanese retreat and Allied control over crucial airfields. Victory during Guadalcanal allowed the Allied Forces to seize the strategic initiative in the Pacific theater.

#USMCHistory #SemperFi

https://www.facebook.com/marines/posts/609910427466965

#17381778 at 2022-08-12 13:21:40 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>17381267
Pacific Marines Tweet

#Guadalcanal #Commemoration #G80

@USMC Lt. Gen. Steven R. Rudder, commander, @PacificMarines, provides remarks at the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal commemoration ceremony at the Guadalcanal American Memorial in the #SolomonIslands.

https://twitter.com/PacificMarines/status/1556808307813232640

#17381728 at 2022-08-12 13:08:49 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>17381298
PMs absence at G80 event a 'disgrace': Wale

Sol Star News - August 8, 2022

LEADER of Opposition Hon Matthew Wale has discredited the reasons given for the Prime Minister's absence during the commemoration of the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal (G80).

He said the reasons given that the visiting delegations from US, Australia, New Zealand and Japan were represented at the Ministers, and senior officials levels and therefore did not require the Prime Minister's presence at any of the commemoration events is an 'insult' to our friends.

Hon Wale said as hosts, the Prime Minister should be honoured and humbled to lead the delegation here.

The Opposition Leader said the G80 is a historical event not only for our visiting friends but also because of its significant history attached to our people.

"We owe great debt to those that liberated this country and our own local brave men and women that risked their lives during the WWII pacific campaign," Hon Wale said.

"It is not about the level of representation, it is about humility, humanity and respect."

The Opposition Leader said the explanation by the Foreign Ministry in the Island Sun newspaper this morning was a disgrace.

"The Foreign Affairs PS or any official that has ill advised the Prime Minister not to attend the commemoration should be removed," he said.

The Opposition Leader said he is concerned that there is currently an imbalance in how we treat some of our friends compared to others.

"We see the Prime Minister and his senior ministers posing for photos during vehicle handovers and at mere ground breakings with shovels in hand and yet we chose not to show up at such significant occasion even though the Prime Minister and his senior ministers were invited to partake," Hon Wale said.

Hon. Wale stated that he was deeply disappointed that the SIG also cancelled a welcome reception in honour of our friends.

He said this is a diplomatic embarrassment.

"I am embarrassed that the government did not even host a simple welcome reception for our friends. Even in the cultural context, it is unthinkable to not even welcome our important visitors who were visiting to mark the anniversary of a global event that changed the cause of world history", he said.

Hon Wale said such attitude and action speaks a lot about the Government's policy 'Friends to all, enemies to none'.

- Opposition Press

https://www.solomonstarnews.com/pms-absence-at-g80-event-a-disgrace-wale/

#17381658 at 2022-08-12 12:48:40 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>16802278
United States, Australia will 'watch very carefully' as China-Solomons pact takes shape, says US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman

James Elton and James Glenday - 8 August 2022

1/2

The second-most senior United States diplomat has reassured the Pacific region the Biden administration is watching closely as the security pact between China and the Solomon Islands takes shape, warning a military base on the islands would "create security concerns for all".

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman is on a trip through the region and attended a weekend dawn service in the Solomons for the key WWII Battle of Guadalcanal.

The Solomon Islands Prime Minister, Manasseh Sogavare, did not turn up to the commemoration, which was organised by the US and attended by Australia and New Zealand.

Local media described the move as a "snub" and reported that the PM was initially scheduled to speak at the event.

Ms Sherman said she "really felt sorry" for Mr Sogavare and described it as a missed "opportunity" for the Prime Minister to reflect on how the Japanese were turned back during a key moment in WWII.

"He missed that memorialisation of the Solomon Islanders and all of the people, civilians included, who gave their lives for freedom," Ms Sherman told 7.30 host Sarah Ferguson during an interview from Canberra.

"When I spoke to the press in Solomon Islands, they saw it as an opportunity that he had missed.

"So he will have to answer to his own citizens about why he made the choice that he did.

"The ceremony was incredibly moving, incredibly important. I think we all felt really the solidarity of our work together to ensure freedom and democracy in the Pacific."

US to keep eagle eye on Solomons pact

Earlier this year, Mr Sogavare inked a secretive security pact with Beijing, causing enormous concern among local opposition politicians and in Canberra, Wellington and Washington.

The Prime Minister has repeatedly reassured his country's neighbours that he will not allow China to build a military base, however, there remain concerns about some of the language in the draft wording of the deal.

"He did, in this instance, repeat assurances that he has given to others," Ms Sherman said of her meeting with the PM.

"But this is a situation where we will all watch very carefully to see what happens here. It is quite critical.

"It is not just the US and Australia, or New Zealand, who care," she added.

"It is the Pacific Islands Forum, other countries who care very much that there not be a Chinese military base, because that would create a threat, potentially, to all of the Pacific Islands and create security concerns for all."

(continued)

#17381356 at 2022-08-12 10:34:39 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>17381267
Solomon Islands commemorates Battle of Guadalcanal 80th anniversary

ABC News (Australia)

Aug 8, 2022

The Solomon Islands is marking the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal that changed the course of World War II in the Pacific.

But even as the Allies look back, current geopolitical tensions are front of mind.

Global affairs editor John Lyons reports.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp2zsn4erMg

#17381353 at 2022-08-12 10:32:21 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>17381267
Ambassador Kennedy thanked Solomon Scouts who saved her father

Solomon Star News - August 8, 2022

THE selfless service and sacrifice of the Solomon Scouts and Coastwatchers were acknowledged during the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal, Sunday.

US Ambassador to Australia and daughter of John F. Kennedy made this statement during the dawn service at Skyline Ridge yesterday (Sunday 7th August 2022).

"Because of the selfless service and sacrifice of the Solomon Scouts and Coastwatchers, the Allies were able to hold Guadalcanal.

"And because of Guadalcanal, the Allies achieved victory in the Pacific," Ambassador Kennedy said.

She also took the opportunity to thank two Solomon Islander Scouts - Biaku Gasa and Eroni Kumana - who saved her father's life.

"While we all owe a debt of gratitude to the Solomon Islanders who risked their lives during the Pacific Campaign, my family and I owe a personal debt of gratitude to two Solomon Islander Scouts - Biaku Gasa and Eroni Kumana - who saved my father's life.

"Thanks to them, he and his crew survived the sinking of PT-109 and were able to return home and eventually run for President," she said.

She said her father's experiences on Guadalcanal made him the man and the leader that he was, just as the experiences of so many others shaped the men and women they would become.

"It resolved him to seek a more peaceful and just world, and he gave his life for his country.

"I'm deeply touched to be here today, knowing that I might not be here if it were not for Biaku Gasa and Eroni Kumana," Ms Kennedy said yesterday.

"I look forward to returning to Solomon Islands with my children and showing them this part of our family history - which is so closely intertwined with this country - and telling them about the partnership we've shared with Solomon Islanders in years since the war.

She added that countless Americans and Allied families have Solomon Islanders to thank for their survival.

"We're here today not only to express our gratitude to those who sacrificed during the war, but also to those who established peace and worked for the years and decades that followed to bring our nations closer.

"It's our way to honour those who came before us and to work and do our best to leave a legacy for those who follow," she said.

Ambassador Kennedy is part of the US delegation led by Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in Solomon Islands to honour those who fought the Battle of Guadalcanal during the Second World War.

https://www.solomonstarnews.com/ambassador-kennedy-thanked-solomon-scouts-who-saved-her-father/

#17381350 at 2022-08-12 10:30:27 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>17381267
Guadalcanal troops remembered, defence minister in talks with US and Solomons

Torika Tokalau, Aug 08 2022

The lives of those that fought in the 1942 Guadalcanal battle in the Solomon Islands have been remembered in the 80th anniversary commemorations in Honiara on Sunday.

Wreaths were laid throughout the day to remember the lives of American, Australian, New Zealand, Fijian, Japanese and Solomon Islands troops that fought in the five-month campaign.

However, it was the meeting between Caroline Kennedy with the children of the two men that saved her father during the war in the Pacific that moved everyone.

Kennedy, America's ambassador to Australia and daughter of former American president John F Kennedy, came face to face John Koloni, the son of Eroni Kumana, and Nelma Ane, daughter of Biuku Gasa.

She presented the pair and others with medals, for supporting the Australian World War II coast watcher presence in the Solomon Islands.

Kumana and Gasa encountered JFK, then a 26-year-old naval officer, and his crew in 1943 when JFK's boat was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer.

JFK led his remaining 10 crew members in a week-long fight for survival, swimming to a series of tiny deserted islands.

Kumana and Gasa took a message from JFK written on a coconut husk to the nearest Allied base 35 miles away, which had them rescued.

Caroline Kennedy also presented Koloni and Ane with a replica of the coconut husk, and shared an emotional moment with the two.

"I'm honoured and proud of my dad, and I'm happy to receive on behalf of him. I wish he was here to receive this medal," Koloni said.

Sunday's anniversary commemoration started with a dawn service organised by the US Embassy at Skyline Ridge, then followed by services by the Solomon's Scouts and Coast Watchers, Japan Embassy at Mt Austin and a special church service at Holy Cross Cathedral.

New Zealand defence minister Peeni Henare took a time out during the day to travel to Vilu, a 45-minute drive from the capital, to visit the War Memorial Museum.

The carcasses of old planes, along with ammunition shells and old pictures littered the field, a remembrance of the Guadalcanal campaign that killed more than 25,000 troops from both sides.

"It's truly a special opportunity to reflect and remember those who served here on both sides," Henare said.

"What I've found extremely humbling too is the recognition that's been acknowledged here for the people of the Solomon Islands, not just for those that came here to fight but also the recognition of the Solomon Islands people in the outlying islands - and I think that is very special."

Henare later met with US deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to continue conversations about shared interest in the Pacific.

"America has been good with us, in identifying that New Zealand has a special relationship with the Pacific, and we all want to utilise our strengths here and offer what I believe is ours, which is our relationship."

He will meet with his Solomon Islands counterpart, defence minister Anthony Veke, on Monday.

Henare said maritime security would be at the top of their discussions, along with a working plan, which he said both officials were working to set up.

"I am happy with how it's tracking and the reason I say this is after my meeting with Minister Veke in Singapore, the Prime Minister attended the Pacific Island Forum [PIF] and met with delegates there and now this is a continuation of this ongoing discussion.

"Of course we can't delay, there's clearly a pressing need for us to all be working together for the security of the Pacific."

Henare maintained New Zealand's stance was for a peaceful and prosperous Pacific.

"New Zealand can't do it alone but what we've made clear to our Australian friends, and indeed I met with some of our American friends in recent weeks, that NZ see ourselves having a special relationship with not just the Solomon Islands but other islands of the Pacific - because we are of the Pacific.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/129505441/Guadalcanal-troops-remembered-defence-minister-in-talks-with-us-and-solomons

#17381344 at 2022-08-12 10:24:47 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>17381267
Caroline Kennedy meets children of Solomon Islanders who saved JFK's life

New US ambassador to Australia was in Honiara to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal

Michael Field - 8 Aug 2022

A visit to Solomon Islands by senior US diplomats included a touching personal moment, as Caroline Kennedy, the new US ambassador to Australia, met with the children of two men who saved the life of her father, John F Kennedy, during the second world war.

Caroline Kennedy was in Honiara to mark the 80th anniversary of the battle of Guadalcanal, a brutal seven-month land, sea and air fight between allied and Japanese forces that marked a turning point in the war.

During the battle, John F Kennedy - who went on to become the US president - narrowly escaped death when a Japanese destroyer ran over his patrol boat PT-109.

Kennedy and his shipwrecked crew made it to a Japanese-controlled island, where they were found by two Solomon Islanders, Eroni Kumana and Biuku Gasa, who were working with the Coastwatchers - allied military operatives - behind enemy lines.

At great personal risk, Kumana and Gasa took a coconut, on which Kennedy had written an account of the crew's plight, back to the Australia coast watcher they were working with. The patrol boat crew were then able to be rescued.

Caroline Kennedy met John Koloni, the son of Kumana, and Nelma Ane, daughter of Gasa at a ceremony on Sunday in Guadalcanal and presented them with a replica of a coconut husk on which her father had written a distress message. The original is in the Kennedy Museum in Boston.

"I am so grateful you came here today so I could say thank you and one day I would like to bring my children to continue the relationship," said Kennedy as she presented the gift, according to 1News.

"I'm honoured and proud of my dad, and I'm happy to receive on behalf of him. I wish he was here to receive this medal," said Koloni, Stuff reported.

Kumana and Gasa have largely been written out of the history of the event. Kennedy invited the men to his inauguration in January 1961, but officials of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate prevented them from going. Two white officials attended instead.

Gasa died in 2005. Kumana died in 2014.

The commemorative events in Solomon Islands were also attended by US deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman, who warned Pacific Island countries of a new struggle against violent power-hungry regimes.

Attending a dawn memorial service, Sherman said "some around the world" had forgotten the cost of war, or were ignoring the lessons of the past.

She hit out at "leaders who believe that coercion, pressure, and violence are tools to be used with impunity", but did not specify any names during her speech at the service.

"We remember how bankrupt, how empty, such views were then, and remain today," she said of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan in the 1930-40s. "Today we are once again engaged in a different kind of struggle - a struggle that will go on for some time to come."

Solomon Islands prime minister Manasseh Sogavare did not attend the ceremony, though he was slated to appear and was listed on the event program.

Sogavare did meet Sherman later, for what she described as "wide-ranging" talks.

Sherman and Kennedy's visit comes as Washington is seeking to renew its influence in the South Pacific and suppress growing Chinese influence.

Sogavare signed a controversial security pact with China earlier in the year, sparking huge concern in the US and Australia. The US has sought to increase its presence in the Pacific in the wake of the deal, announcing it would open two new embassies in the region - in Tonga and Kiribati - as well as its announcement in February that it would reopen its embassy in Honiara, which closed nearly three decades ago.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/08/us-ambassador-caroline-kennedy-meets-children-of-solomon-islanders-who-saved-her-father-jfks-life-in-second-world-war

#17381341 at 2022-08-12 10:20:26 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>16756266
>>17381263
The Battle of Guadalcanal

Sol Star News - August 7, 2022

EIGHTY years ago today (August 7th 2022), thousands of U.S. Marines landed here on Guadalcanal and on the islands of Tulagi and Gavutu-Tanambogo.

According to visiting US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, it was the first major Allied land offensive in the Pacific theatre, and a proving ground for the United States Marine Corps' new methods of amphibious warfare.

"With the benefit of hindsight, it is easy for us gathered here today to recognize the Battle of Guadalcanal as a turning point in the Pacific theatre, and indeed in the Second World War.

"But for the Marines patrolling the dense and humid jungle, who had to be wary of both enemy snipers and crippling disease... for the sailors who fought terrifying night battles in the seas around these islands... for the airmen who engaged in countless dogfights in the skies above... the future was unknown and unknowable," Deputy Secretary Sherman said.

Deputy Secretary Sherman is leading the US delegation to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal held at Skyline Ridge. Representatives of the governments and armed forces of Australia, New Zealand, and Japan and other guests were also part of the event.

Deputy Secretary Sherman said in so many ways, their world had already been turned upside down.

"They had put their ordinary lives aside. They dropped out of school, closed down their shops, quit their jobs, kissed their children good-bye.

"At a time when many Americans never left their hometowns-let alone the country-new recruits boarded ships for places thousands of miles away, some of which they had never even heard of before the war.

"And in many of those places-like here in Solomon Islands-civilians saw their world upended as well, as bombs and mortars fell on their towns and villages, destroying the lives of innocents," she said.

She said in over more than six months of fighting, some 1,600 Allied troops were killed. More than 4,000 were wounded, and thousands more died from disease. Among Imperial Japanese forces, an estimated 24,000 died. And no one-no one-can say for certain how many Solomon Islanders lost their lives when their home became a battlefield.

She spoke of her father Mal Sherman who was among thousands of US Marines who fought in the Battle of Guadalcanal at the age of 19.

"I know he was wounded in action here on Guadalcanal, and that eventually his wounds became infected with jungle rot. He became sick enough to be evacuated-first to New Zealand, where he always said the Kiwis took extraordinary care of him, and eventually to California.

"My dad was fortunate. He went home. Healed from his wounds. Married my mom. Started a business. Raised three children, and lived long enough to delight in his grandchildren. When we held his funeral-nearly 70 years after the Battle of Guadalcanal-the room was filled with people whose lives he touched," she said.

"But thousands-tens of thousands-hundreds of thousands of other young people who fought in the Pacific... Americans and Australians, New Zealanders and Solomon Islanders, Fijians and Tongans, and of course Japanese... they never had that chance.

"Their parents, their spouses, their siblings, even their children had to mourn them from afar.

"They were lost to the jungle, to the beaches, to the fathomless sea-or to the inner pain of having survived when others did not.

"Their abilities, their ambitions, their most secret dreams, all the possibilities of their futures, all the ways they might have contributed to their communities, to their countries, to our world-gone forever.

"This is the dreadful cost of war. Not only blood and treasure, but human souls."

However, she said today former combatants are united as partners in peace.

"Today-as we have been every day since the war ended-former combatants are united here as partners in peace.

"We have built schools and clinics together. Conducted scientific research together. Shared vaccines to combat the pandemic together.

"We have helped each other recover from natural disasters, protected each other from the impacts of climate change.

"We have celebrated and mourned and grown together. And above all-forged in the experience of the Second World War and made deeper with each passing year-we have built profound and enduring ties with each other, as one Pacific family." Deputy Secretary Sherman said.

She said the commitment now is to serve a new Guadalcanal generation - brought together "not only by our shared past, but by our shared values and our shared vision for a free and open, and prosperous and secure, and above all peaceful Indo-Pacific... and a peaceful world".

https://www.solomonstarnews.com/the-battle-of-Guadalcanal/

#17381336 at 2022-08-12 10:13:43 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>17381298
>>17381331
POLICE INVESTIGATE BLOODY RIDGE INCIDENT

Royal Solomon Islands Police Force - Aug 08 2022

The Royal Solomon Island Police Force (RSIPF) has launched an investigation into an incident, which occurred at the commemoration ceremony of the 80th Anniversary of the battle on Guadalcanal at bloody ridge on Monday 8 August.

The incident involved a local attacking a Japanese military man with a pair of scissors. The Japanese, who is the media person for the Japanese delegation to the commemoration, sustained minor injury as a result.

The attacker was arrested on the spot after the attack and is now in police custody.

According to the psychiatric doctor who has identified the attacker as one of their patient and has informed the police that the attacker took his last medication since March.

Like any other public official programs, locals are not restricted from witnessing them. The attacker was one of the locals who joined and witnessed the service. The service was a peaceful and emotional program and it is unfortunate that this incident occurred.

The police empathise with the Japanese Embassy in Honiara over this unexpected incident.

Police urged families who look after mentally ill family members to take good care of them and to ensure they completed their prescribed medical requirements.

Members of the public who are aware of the status of those who presented risks to the public can help protect public safety.

https://www.rsipf.gov.sb/?q=node/2323

#17381331 at 2022-08-12 10:10:42 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>17381298
Man in custody after Bloody Ridge stabbing

solomonstarnews.com - August 8, 2022

A YOUNG man is now in police custody after stabbing a Japanese military personnel attending a commemoration service of the Battle of Guadalcanal at Bloody Ridge just after eight this morning.

A Solomon Star reporter, who was at the scene, Eddie Lachlan said the incident happened during the speeches at the official part of the program.

Mr Lachlan said the victim was with the group of reporters attending the event and moved away to take photos when a young man in a yellow t-shirt stabbed him on the neck with a broken pair of scissors.

The victim was quickly taken away in an ambulance on standby at the site while the community task-force group handed the young man over to the police.

According to Bloody Ridge Community chief Wesley Ramo, the community had worked so hard to ensure the event is undisturbed.

"We formed a community task-force to ensure the smooth running of the program.

"Unfortunately, the community and our task-force's effort is just a waste," Mr Ramo said.

Bystanders claimed that the young man is cognitively impaired.

One bystander said the young man had been warned to stay away from the event because of his condition.

"We were shocked to see him walked straight up to the victim and stabbed him on the neck," the bystander who was an eyewitness to the incident said.

Chief Ramo apologised to the Government of Japan on behalf of his community and also to the dignitaries who attended the service.

Ministry of Culture and Tourism permanent secretary Bunyan Sivaro had also apologised to those who attended the event at Bloody Ridge.

"I am really sorry for what happen.

"We are here to promote peace.

"What just happened will continue to paint a bad picture for Solomon Islands," the permanent secretary said.

Meanwhile, the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) said it is gathering information relating to the incident and will issue an official statement later.

https://www.solomonstarnews.com/man-in-custody-after-bloody-ridge-stabbing/

#17381326 at 2022-08-12 10:08:23 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>17381298
PM SNUBS US

Alfred Sasako - August 8, 2022

PRIME MINISTER Manasseh Sogavare appears to have snubbed the delegations of the United States of America and other allies by being absent from the dawn service commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the Landing of the Marines on Guadalcanal.

Mr Sogavare was to give a speech at the dawn service at the Guadalcanal American Memorial at Skyline Memorial, but he never showed up.

No official explanation was given for his absence, which is seen by some as a premeditated move to take the bull by the horn.

As expected, Members of the Opposition including leader Matthew Wale and his deputy Peter Kenilorea Jnr attended the US ceremony.

Deputy Secretary of State, Wendy Sherman, who led the US delegation for the occasion later told a news conference she was sorry that the Prime Minister had missed a great opportunity to build a new partnership between the United States and Solomon Islands.

She also announced a range of support for Solomon Islands after an hour's meeting with Prime Minister Sogavare on Sunday afternoon.

These include the appointment of a US charge de'affaires, the visit of the Mercy or hospital ship to Honiara in the next few weeks as well as the restoration of the US Peace Corp program in Solomon Islands.

The Peace Corp pulled out of Solomon Islands after the coup in 2000.

Hon Sherman told journalists that President Joe Bidden is serious about its relationship with Solomon Islands as is with other Pacific Island countries and has invited Pacific Island leaders to meet in Washington DC in September this year.

Office of the Prime Minister explains that on diplomatic level the Minister of Police and Correctional Service Hon Anthony Veke well represented the government.

Asked why the US all of a sudden has engaged in a flurry of activities, when the Pacific had been kept on the back burner for the past 80 years.

She denied this was the case.

"Some of these things take time," Hon. Sherman said.

Attendances by government ministers in the two ceremonies held yesterday - the first at the US Memorial at Skyline at 6am and the second at the Japanese Memorial at Mount Austin at 11am were noticeably small.

Those in attendance included the Speaker of Parliament, Patteson Oti and his wife, Betty, the Minister of Police and National Security, Anthony Veke, the Minister for Education and Human Resources and the Minister for National Development and Aid Coordination.

The Secretary to the Prime Minister (SPM), Jimmy Rodgers, appeared to have represented the Prime Minister at the Japanese ceremony.

The last of the weekend ceremonies would be held at the Bloody Ridge from 6am today before the US delegation, which included Caroline Kennedy - the daughter of former US President John F Kennedy and now US Ambassador to Australia - leaves.

These ceremonies were attended by defence Ministers from Japan, Australia and New Zealand as well as a strong showing by naval officers, military personnel as well as air force officers.

https://www.solomonstarnews.com/pm-snubs-us/

https://www.state.gov/deputy-secretary-sherman-at-a-press-availability/

#17381300 at 2022-08-12 09:40:50 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>17381298
Solomons leader in US memorial 'snub'

Staff Writers / Reuters - 8 August 2022

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare did not attend a weekend dawn service for a key World War II battle organised by the United States, with local media reporting it as a "snub".

The Solomon Star News said Sogavare was due to give a speech at a memorial service for the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal that was attended by US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and ministers and officials from Japan, Australia and New Zealand on Sunday, but he did not appear.

Sherman later told a news conference she was sorry the prime minister had missed a great opportunity to build a new partnership between the United States and Solomon Islands, the Solomon Star News reported on Monday.

Sogavare's office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Sherman met with Sogavare later on Sunday to discuss US aid programs, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said on Monday.

At a ceremony on Monday, Sherman praised the role of Solomon Islanders in assisting the United States in World War II.

A Japanese Navy sailor was stabbed during Monday's service at Bloody Ridge, a spokesman at the Japanese embassy in the Solomon Islands confirmed to Reuters.

The motivation for the attack was unknown, the spokesman added.

The Solomon Star News reported a local man was in custody over the attack.

The Solomon Islands struck a security pact with China this year, prompting concern from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and some neighbouring Pacific islands.

Honiara and Beijing have denied the pact will allow a military base.

https://thewest.com.au/politics/solomons-leader-in-us-memorial-snub-c-7798557

#17381298 at 2022-08-12 09:39:22 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>17381258
>>17381263
>>17381267
Solomons leader did not attend U.S. war memorial service in 'snub'-media

Kirsty Needham - August 8, 2022

SYDNEY, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare did not attend a weekend dawn service for a key World War Two battle organised by the United States, with local media reporting it as a "snub".

The Solomon Star News said Sogavare was due to give a speech at a memorial service that was attended by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, and ministers and officials from Japan, Australia and New Zealand on Sunday, but he did not appear.

Sherman told a news conference Sogavare was on the printed programme for the ceremony, which marked the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal, and when she met him later in the day, she told him she was sorry he didn't attend.

"The real sorrow here is that I think he missed a real opportunity to commemorate how strong these bonds were 80 years ago that allowed for freedom here in Solomon Islands," she told reporters on Sunday, according to a transcript released on Monday.

The U.S. ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy, was also at the series of ceremonies and paid tribute to two Solomon Islanders who had saved the life of her father, John F. Kennedy, who later became U.S. president.

Sherman said her meeting with Sogavare was wide ranging and "very bold", and she had raised U.S. concerns over his government's security pact with China.

Honiara and Beijing have denied the pact will allow a military base.

"The prime minister and I talked today about how there is no conflict in the Pacific right now, and we all want to keep it that way," she said.

Sogavare's office did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

At a ceremony on Monday, Sherman praised the role of Solomon Islanders in assisting the United States in World War Two.

A Japanese Navy sailor was stabbed during Monday's service at Bloody Ridge, a spokesman at the Japanese Embassy in the Solomon Islands confirmed to Reuters.

The motivation for the attack was unknown. The victim was treated at the scene by U.S. military medics and needed two stitches, the spokesman added.

The Solomon Star News reported a local man was in custody over the attack.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/solomons-leader-did-not-attend-us-war-memorial-service-snub-media-report-2022-08-08/

#17381274 at 2022-08-12 09:11:34 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>17068880
>>17381217
Penny Wong urges calm after China criticises her response to aggression in Taiwan Strait

BEN PACKHAM - AUGUST 8, 2022

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has refused to respond to a Chinese blast accusing her of "finger pointing" over its military brinkmanship with Taiwan, saying it is critical "the temperature is lowered and calm is restored".

A day after the Chinese Embassy attacked her "absolutely unacceptable" statement condemning China's behaviour in the Taiwan Strait, Senator Wong said Australia urged restraint and de-escalation.

"Australia is not the only country that is concerned about escalation. The region is concerned about escalation and the region is concerned about the risk of conflict," she said.

"We will continue to, in a calm and considered way, articulate our national interests. And our interests are the interests of the region, and that is, (for) de-escalation."

China fired at least 11 ballistic missiles towards Taiwan and Japan in the wake of a historic visit from US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the weekend.

Senator Wong joined her US and Japanese counterparts last week in declaring China's actions "gravely affect international peace and stability".

But she said on Monday she would not call in Ambassador Xiao Qian to convey Australia's views directly to Beijing.

"I will express my views publicly. If there are to be discussions with the ambassador it will generally be at departmental level," she said.

In a statement, the Chinese Embassy said it was "absolutely unacceptable for the finger-pointing on China's justified actions to safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity".

"We firmly oppose and sternly condemn this," the embassy said.

"It is the US that should be condemned. China is the victim of political provocation from the US."

Senator Wong said Australia's and the region's concerns were "around, particularly, the risks of escalating military activity".

Her trilateral statement with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa said China's deployment of ballistic missiles around Taiwan had raised tensions and destabilised the region.

Senator Wong appeared at a press conference in Canberra with Latvian Foreign Affairs Edgars Rinkevics, after a bilateral meeting between the pair.

She was also due to meet with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, who is in Australia after attending commemorations in Solomon Islands for the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/penny-wong-urges-calm-after-china-criticises-her-response-to-aggression-in-taiwan-strait/news-story/c24edf8af7eaf59560d16d8ea45c536e

#17381267 at 2022-08-12 09:06:53 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>16802278
U.S. Embassy Australia Tweets

At a ceremony in Honiara today, Ambassador Caroline Kennedy paid tribute to the significant bravery and assistance of the Solomon Islander scouts and Coastwatchers during World War II. (1/3)

https://twitter.com/USEmbAustralia/status/1556085786810159105

—

"Because of the selfless service and sacrifice of the Solomon Scouts and Coastwatchers, the Allies were able to hold Guadalcanal.And because of Guadalcanal, the Allies achieved victory in the Pacific." - Ambassador Kennedy

https://twitter.com/USEmbAustralia/status/1556085792036241408

—

"I look forward to returning to Solomon Islands with my children and showing them this part of our family history… and telling them about the partnership we've shared with Solomon Islanders in years since the war."

Full remarks: t.co/QkgluCW5OI

https://twitter.com/USEmbAustralia/status/1556085794481524736

—

TRANSCRIPT: Ambassador Caroline Kennedy's Remarks at the Solomon Scouts and Coastwatchers Memorial

August 7, 2022 - Honiara, Solomon Islands

https://au.usembassy.gov/transcript-ambassador-caroline-kennedys-remarks-at-the-solomon-scouts-and-coastwatchers-memorial/

#17381263 at 2022-08-12 09:00:05 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>17381255
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman Tweet

Humbled to recognize the lives lost in the Battle of Guadalcanal on this 80th anniversary. Alongside our gracious hosts, friends, and allies, we reflect on how those we once fought against can become the closest of allies. go.usa.gov/xS78P

https://twitter.com/DeputySecState/status/1556051975799709699

—

Deputy Secretary Sherman's Remarks on the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal

HONIARA, SOLOMON ISLANDS

AUGUST 7, 2022

https://www.state.gov/deputy-secretary-shermans-remarks-on-the-80th-anniversary-of-the-battle-of-Guadalcanal/

#17381255 at 2022-08-12 08:53:18 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>16802278
Pacific Islands solidarity is a Biden priority, U.S. diplomat tells Solomons

Byron Kaye - August 7, 2022

Aug 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden sees strong ties with Pacific Island countries as a priority, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said in the Solomon Islands on Sunday, underscoring the stakes of her visit as tensions have been mounting in the region.

At a World War Two memorial event in the Solomons' capital, Honiara, Sherman rebuked governments that she said sought to dismantle the rules-based international order. She did not specify which governments she was criticizing but tensions in the region has been mounting between U.S. allies and China.

The Solomons surprised their neighbour Australia, and the United States, this year by striking a security pact with China.

"President Biden has made solidarity with the Pacific Islands a priority for his entire administration from the very beginning," Sherman said at the event, also attended by top diplomats from Australia and New Zealand.

"We have built profound and enduring ties with each other, as one Pacific family."

Sherman referred to her father, a U.S. Marine who was wounded in the World War Two Battle of Guadalcanal in the Solomons.

"Some around the world … seem to have forgotten the awful lessons learned here," she said.

She called out "leaders who believe that others must be diminished if they are to rise (and) believe that coercion, pressure, and violence are tools to be used with impunity".

Those leaders, who she did not name, appeared to "believe that the principles and institutions the world set up after the Second World War, the rules-based international order … can be ignored and undermined, diminished and destroyed".

At the event, U.S. Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy, whose father, President John F. Kennedy, also served in the Solomons, said that "countless Americans and allied families have Solomon Islanders to thank for their survival".

Australia's minister for international development and the Pacific, Pat Conroy, referred to an agreement with the police in the Solomons to dispose of unexploded ordnance from World War Two, saying it was "ultimately about supporting (the police) to ensure the safety of Solomon Islands people".

Sherman's tour is ostensibly timed to commemorate important battles in World War Two, but several senior U.S. officials have visited the region this year as geostrategic competition has increased.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Samoa and Tonga in May, followed by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong in early June.

The United States has said it wants to open embassies in the Solomons, Kirabati and Tonga, where Sherman visited the day before.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/pacific-islands-solidarity-is-biden-priority-us-diplomat-tells-solomons-2022-08-07/

#17068770 at 2022-08-06 07:37:29 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>16802278
Top U.S. diplomat to arrive in Pacific amid battle for influence with China

Kirsty Needham - August 4, 2022

SYDNEY, Aug 4 (Reuters) - A senior U.S. diplomat will travel to Samoa on Thursday on a multi-leg trip to Pacific Island countries intended to demonstrate re-engagement by the United States with a region in which China has been extending its influence.

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will travel to Samoa and then Tonga, where she will be the most senior U.S. official to visit, before attending World War Two commemorations in the Solomon Islands.

The United States is concerned about China's ambitions to extend its military presence in the Pacific, after it struck a security pact with the Solomon Islands this year.

Tonga has external debt of $195 million or 35.9% of its gross domestic product, of which two-thirds is owed to China's Export-Import Bank, its budget shows. read more

Sherman will discuss plans to open U.S. embassies in Tonga and the Solomon Islands and the return of the U.S. Peace Corps aid programme, the State Department said.

A high-level U.S. delegation to the Solomon Islands to commemorate a major World War Two battle between the United States and Japan will proceed, despite disruptions to tourists caused by the sudden cancellation of many commercial flights, officials said on Thursday. read more

The suspension of flights to Honiara by Fiji Airways for safety concerns will see dozens of U.S. tourists miss the commemoration on Saturday, a tourism official said. Fiji Airways is one of two airlines regularly servicing the Solomons.

Sherman and U.S. Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy, whose fathers served in the Solomon Islands, will attend the U.S. government ceremony for the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal.

The anniversary was expected to bring a tourism boom to the Solomon Islands, which last month re-opened its borders after the COVID-19 pandemic. The loss of tourism income during border closures across the Pacific islands had a severe impact on the region's fragile economies.

Fiji Airways said in a statement it had suspended its flights to the Solomon Islands because of worry about the condition of the runway.

Solomon Islands tourism officials said the suspension was "a blow", and they were trying to re-route tourists booked to attend the World War Two events.

Tourism Solomons head of sales Fiona Teama said the events would go ahead, although the tour group travelling from the United States would miss the U.S. government's commemoration on Saturday because they would not arrive in time.

U.S. and Australian government aircraft carrying officials would continue to land at Honiara's Henderson Airport, she said.

Sherman will also visit Australia and New Zealand.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/top-us-diplomat-arrive-pacific-amid-battle-influence-with-china-2022-08-04/

#16944105 at 2022-08-01 10:22:59 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>16802261
>>16931322
U.S. Embassy Australia Tweet

Ambassador Kennedy met today with Solomon Islands High Commissioner Robert Sisilo to thank the Solomon Islands government for hosting the U.S. delegation for the upcoming 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal. The U.S. is committed to our partnership with Solomon Islands.

https://twitter.com/USEmbAustralia/status/1553986727542652928

#16802289 at 2022-07-25 11:59:03 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>16802261
>>16756266
Kennedy signals new developments on AUKUS as she plans Solomons trip

Matthew Knott - July 25, 2022

New United States ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy has flagged significant announcements about the AUKUS partnership with the US and United Kingdom will be made within weeks.

Kennedy, the daughter of slain former president John F Kennedy, officially began the role on Monday by presenting her diplomatic credentials to Governor-General David Hurley in Canberra before participating in a smoking ceremony at the US embassy.

Kennedy told reporters the AUKUS agreement - which will allow Australia to access America's highly prized nuclear submarine technology - was a "really significant partnership between the closest of allies".

When asked about the future of AUKUS, Kennedy said "there are many announcements that are going to be coming in coming weeks".

Defence Minister Richard Marles has said he expects to decide by March whether Australia will purchase the British Astute-class or American Virginia-class nuclear submarines. The government also has to decide whether it needs to buy new conventional submarines before the nuclear subs arrive in the 2030s or 2040s.

Kennedy will meet Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for the first time on Wednesday before travelling to the Solomon Islands next week as part of an effort by the Biden administration to boost America's presence in the Pacific and push back on China's growing influence.

Albanese said he was looking forward with meeting Kennedy, whom he described as a "significant figure".

"The US alliance is our most important relationship and having Ambassador Kennedy here is appropriate given the status of our relationship."

Kennedy and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will open a new US embassy in the capital of Honiara during their trip, timed to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal in World War II.

After arriving in Australia on Friday Kennedy said: "I know there's a lot of work to do in the Pacific. I am excited the Peace Corps is coming back into the Pacific Islands after an absence of many years in terms of the US engagement."

She said the US and Australia have a "big agenda" to pursue together, including greater cooperation in the Pacific.

Kennedy was echoing Vice-President Kamala Harris who told the Pacific Islands Forum earlier this month that the Pacific may not have previously received enough attention from the US in recent times.

"We are going to change that," Harris said.

Kennedy, who served as US ambassador to Japan during the Obama administration, said her first official day as ambassador to Australia was "really one of the most important days of my life".

"The United States and Australia are the closest of allies, and we are global partners working toward peace and stability, health, security and economic prosperity in this region and beyond," she said.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/kennedy-signals-new-developments-on-aukus-as-she-plans-solomons-trip-20220725-p5b4d9.html

#16802278 at 2022-07-25 11:55:58 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>16802261
>>16756266
Exclusive: Sherman, Kennedy to visit Solomons, where fathers fought and U.S. now vies with China

Humeyra Pamuk and David Brunnstrom - July 25, 2022

WASHINGTON, July 24 (Reuters) - U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and U.S. Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy plan next month to visit the Solomon Islands, where their fathers fought in World War Two and the United States is in a modern-day battle for influence with strategic rival China.

Sherman and her delegation will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal during her Aug. 6-8 visit and meet with senior officials "to highlight the enduring relationship between the United States and Solomon Islands" and plans to open a U.S. embassy in the capital, Honiara, a senior State Department official told Reuters on Sunday.

Sherman will be just the latest senior U.S. official to visit the Pacific region as Washington steps up efforts to push back against Chinese diplomatic inroads.

As well as Kennedy - whose father, assassinated U.S. President John F. Kennedy, took part in the Solomon Islands campaign as a patrol boat captain in World War Two - Sherman's delegation will include Marine Corps Lieutenant General Stephen Sklenka, deputy commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, and the Marine Corps commander for the Pacific, Lieutenant General Stephen Rudder.

The State Department official said the visit would also be of personal interest to Sherman, whose father, Mal Sherman, was a Marine wounded at the Battle of Guadalcanal, which began between U.S. and allied and Japanese forces in August 1942.

The six-month battle marked the start of U.S.-led offensive operations in the Pacific, showing the strategic importance of the Solomons that endures today.

In Honiara, Sherman will deliver remarks at a U.S.-organized ceremony on Skyline Ridge, site of the U.S. Guadalcanal Memorial, as well as at a Solomon Islands-hosted memorial at Bloody Ridge. She also will attend memorial events organized by the Solomon Islands and Japan, now a close U.S. ally.

"These events will recognize the service and sacrifice of those who fought in the Battle of Guadalcanal, including U.S. and Allied forces, the people of Solomon Islands, and the people of Japan," the official said.

A State Department spokesperson said Washington was seeking to "significantly deepen" engagement with the Pacific islands "and embark on a new positive chapter … with increased American presence where we will commit to work with the Pacific Islands in the short- and long-term to address the most pressing issues that they face.

"The deputy secretary's trip to the South Pacific reflects the deep United States' investment in the region," the spokesperson added.

China has been seeking to boost economic, military and police links with Pacific island nations hungry for foreign investment. Washington has stressed its historical ties to the Pacific, especially shared sacrifices during World War Two, and vowed to commit more resources.

Beijing's growing influence was highlighted by its security pact with the Solomon Islands this year, a move that fanned concerns in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

In February, Antony Blinken became the first U.S secretary of State to visit Fiji in 40 years. While there, he announced a plan to open an embassy in the Solomon Islands and called the Pacific "the region for the future." Washington has yet to give a date for the opening of the embassy.

A senior-level U.S. delegation visited the Solomons in April and warned that Washington would have "significant concerns and respond accordingly" to any steps to establish a permanent Chinese military presence there.

At a four-day summit this month, Pacific island nations put the two superpowers courting them on notice, telling what are the world's biggest carbon emitters to take more action on climate change, while pledging unity in the face of a growing geopolitical contest.

Leaders at the Fiji summit also bristled at a Chinese attempt to split some of the nations off into a trade and security agreement, while Washington pledged more financial and diplomatic engagement.

https://www.reuters.com/world/sherman-kennedy-visit-solomons-where-fathers-fought-us-now-vies-with-china-2022-07-24/

#16802261 at 2022-07-25 11:49:51 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>16767839
>>16756266
Caroline Kennedy sworn in as US ambassador, confirms she will travel to Solomon Islands

Stephen Dziedzic - 25 July 2022

Caroline Kennedy has confirmed she will travel to Solomon Islands next week after being sworn in as the new United States ambassador to Australia.

The ambassador presented her credentials to the Governor-General on her first full day in the job.

She is expected to fly to Solomon Islands late next week - along with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman - to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal.

The ambassador's father, former US president John F Kennedy, served as a patrol boat captain in Solomon Islands during World War II and famously helped to save the lives of US crew members after the ship sank.

Kennedy and the other survivors were later spotted and rescued from a nearby island by two Solomon Islander scouts.

The commemoration will also be a reminder of the strategic importance of Solomon Islands, which earlier this year signed a deeply contentious security pact with China.

Strategic competition has been ratcheting up in the Pacific as Beijing tries to expand its economic, police and security ties with a host of countries in the region.

The Biden administration has stressed America's historical ties to the Pacific - particularly from World War II - and has also made a series of announcements to expand its own presence, with the US Vice-President Kamala Harris unveiling plans to open new embassies and draft a new national strategy to corral US resources in the Pacific more effectively.

Ambassador yet to meet Anthony Albanese

Caroline Kennedy would not be drawn on the details of her trip to Solomon Islands when asked about the visit during a press conference in Canberra, but suggested the United States would continue to expand its footprint.

"I'm sure there will be many announcements to come in many areas, but I think that maybe we'll take this up next week," she said.

The ambassador was welcomed to Canberra in a smoking ceremony, walking through the smoke along with dozens of US embassy staff members.

She spent several minutes speaking intently to Ngunnawal elders after being gifted message sticks and handing over a copy of her book, Poems to Learn by Heart.

"You here represent the oldest civilisation on earth and I think the traditions, cultures and values you are passing on really have so much to teach the rest of us as we seek to reconcile our differences in this fractured world and face the great challenge of caring for our environment," the ambassador said.

But she only gave brief and general answers when asked about her priorities for her first meeting with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the nuclear submarine partnership between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom under AUKUS.

The ambassador said she was "really looking forward" to meeting Mr Albanese on Wednesday and called AUKUS a "really significant" partnership, but said she would only be in a position to talk in more detail about the issue down the track.

"There are many announcements to come in coming weeks, so I think it's best to let that unfold and then maybe we'll talk about them as they do," she said.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-25/caroline-kennedy-sworn-in-as-new-us-ambassador-to-australia/101267386

#16756266 at 2022-07-18 12:29:01 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>16742221
Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post

July 18, 2022

To train under the Southern Cross is a unique honor for MRF-D 22, since over half the MAGTF joined from the Blue Diamond.

General Vandegrift led the newly formed 1st Marine Division into battle 80 years ago under this star formation. Alongside our Australian allies, our joint partners, and other coalition support, the Blue Diamond proved to be "no better friend, and no worse enemy" in ferocious campaigns such as Guadalcanal.

We honor those heroic Marines and Sailors, and our teammates, through the symbols in our crests and the never-ending effort to perfect our warfighting craft.

#mrfd
#usmc
#adf
#theoldbreed
#freeandopenindopacific

https://www.facebook.com/MRFDarwin/posts/408829204612902

https://www.facebook.com/1stMarineDivision

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Marine_Division

#16729043 at 2022-07-14 07:49:49 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>16729011
U.S. to open new embassies, boost aid in Pacific as China's sway grows

Michael E. Miller - July 12, 2022

1/2

SYDNEY - The United States said Tuesday it would expand its diplomatic presence in the Pacific, as it seeks to counter the growing influence of China in a region of intensifying great-power rivalry.

The new efforts, which will be announced by Vice President Harris during a virtual address to leaders at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) in Fiji, will include two additional U.S. embassies and a tripling of some aid, among other measures.

The diplomatic push comes amid concerns that China has supplanted the United States as the friend of choice for some Pacific island nations. China struck a security agreement with the Solomon Islands in April despite American objections. And the Chinese foreign minister recently signed several other bilateral agreements during an eight-country tour of the region.

The Biden administration has sought to shift American focus from the Middle East to Asia. It has withdrawn U.S. troops from Afghanistan, ramped up the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue with Japan, Australia and India, and launched the AUKUS pact with Britain and Australia, which, like the Quad, is seen as a countermeasure to China's growing military assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.

Yet China's security agreement with the Solomon Islands - the site of a key American military victory at Guadalcanal during World War II - appeared to catch the United States and its close regional allies, Australia and New Zealand, by surprise.

The new diplomatic initiatives come as the United States tries to restore some of its influence in the region.

"We are significantly stepping up our game in the Pacific islands," said a senior administration official who spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity ahead of the vice president's PIF appearance. The official said the United States is not asking Pacific island nations to choose between it and China.

"We are focusing on our own engagement and our own interests and our own support," the official said. "Of course contrasts [with China] will be made, and we would like to think that contrast looks favorably on us, where we've been a responsible security actor in the region, in fact, in the entire Indo-Pacific, for many decades and have helped to preserve a free and open Indo-Pacific."

Among the measures Harris will announce to Pacific leaders will be new U.S. embassies in Kiribati and Tonga. In 2019, Kiribati and the Solomon Islands both switched their diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China, underscoring the inroads Beijing has made in the region.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited both countries during his Pacific tour in late May and signed bilateral agreements with each.

Kiribati announced this week that it was withdrawing from the PIF, purportedly over a leadership dispute, although an opposition leader told the Guardian the withdrawal was the result of Chinese pressure. China has denied that.

The U.S. official said that the Biden administration was "concerned" by Kiribati's withdrawal but that discussions over the issue are ongoing.

(continued)

#16246854 at 2022-05-10 10:23:36 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16066080
>>16207331
MRF-D and the Darwin Community Remember the Battle of the Coral Sea

Capt. Joseph DiPietro - 05.07.2022

DARWIN, AUSTRALIA. - Marine Rotational Force-Darwin (MRF-D) participated in the Australian-American Association's Battle of the Coral Sea memorial in Darwin on May 7.

This year's memorial recognized the 80th anniversary of this critical moment in World War II's Pacific campaign. The Battle of the Coral Sea was a monumental, strategic victory for the U.S. and Australia, and a significant moment in the development of carrier maneuver. Not only were supply lines between Australia and the rest of Oceania maintained as a result of the battle, but American carrier warfare proved superior and allowed for follow-on success in the theater.

"Hosting this commemorative service to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea is just a small way in which we foster friendship between Australians and Americans and honor the bond between our countries," said Mr. Bradly Torgan, the president of the Australian-American Association of the Northern Territory. "We're proud to stand together with our friends from MRF-D in remembering and honouring those who fought and sacrificed in what many consider the World War II naval battle that saved Australia."

The ceremony took place at the USS Peary monument along the waterfront of Darwin. The Peary monument honors the 80 U.S. Sailors who gave their lives in defense of Australia during the 1942 bombing of Darwin. The Australian-American Association hosted the annual memorial to recognize the combined sacrifice of both nation's services, and the tremendous stepping stone the Battle of the Coral Sea provided the allied forces as they sailed north through the Pacific.

"Gathering at the USS Peary memorial in Darwin to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea helps us remember those who fought so gallantly for freedom during World War II, and honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice," said Lieutenant Colonel Dana Darnell, the MRF-D forward coordination element officer-in-charge. "Marine Rotational Force-Darwin's participation at this event shows how the U.S.-Australian alliance continues to strengthen even 80 years after this key battle."

Just months after the Battle of the Coral Sea, and following the historic Battle of Midway, the First Marine Division initiated the Guadalcanal Campaign in the Solomon Islands. After successful action on Guadalcanal, where Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone famously won the Congressional Medal of Honor, Blue Diamond Marines returned to Australia to reorganize before launching the next series of island hopping missions on their way to victory in the Pacific.

Also in attendance were representatives of the Australian-Japanese Association of the Northern Territory. While fierce competitors during the Battle of the Coral Sea, Japan is now one of the U.S. and Australia's greatest allies. The Marine Corps, Australian Defence Force, and Japanese Ground Self Defense Force are training together in Exercise SOUTHERN JACKAROO 22, a combined infantry integration exercise to enhance interoperability between the three allied forces.

https://www.dvidshub.net/news/420252/mrf-d-and-darwin-community-remember-battle-coral-sea

#16207366 at 2022-05-04 10:01:07 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16207331
Battle of the Coral Sea marks 80th anniversary

Townsville has commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea with a dawn service at Anzac Park.

Evan Morgan - May 3, 2022

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A BRISK Townsville dawn saw more than one hundred people mark the 80th anniversary of the 1942 Battle of the Coral Sea, an encounter that changed the course of WWII.

Among those in attendance at Anzac Park was Edwin McGlew III, with his wife Susan, who had flown in from Boston to honour his father, Edwin McGlew Jr, who had proudly served aboard the aircraft carrier USS Lexington.

Dawn service held at Anzac Park for 80th anniversary of Battle of the Coral Sea

Severely damaged in the battle the carrier was later scuttled east of Cardwell.

The 1942 four-day sea battle from May 4 to May 8 is significant because it stopped the Japanese invasion plans of Port Moresby and it was the first time in the war that the Japanese navy failed in a major operation.

It was also the first aircraft battle ever fought and the first naval battle where opposing ships neither sighted nor fired at each other but was fought with aircraft.

In the battle the US lost one carrier with another damaged, one oil tanker and a destroyer sunk, 66 aircraft destroyed with 543 killed or wounded.

The Japanese lost one carrier with another badly damaged, one destroyer and three smaller ships sunk, 77 aircraft destroyed with 1074 men killed or wounded.

Commander HMAS Cairns Alfonso Santos gave the keynote address and said the times leading up to the battle were dark days.

"Eighty years ago the Japanese advance across the pacific seemed unstoppable," the Commander said.

"Japan's planned advance was to take Port Moresby in New Guinea from which they would isolate Australia, take us out of the war to be invaded at their convenience.

"In doing so, deprive the United States of the forward operation base in which to launch a counter attack."

He said the Allied strategic victory in the battle changed the course of history.

"Without this battle there would have been no Midway, no Guadalcanal, no victory in the Pacific.

"We won because a sense of character, dedication and sacrifice of the Australian and American defence forces."

(continued)

#16175638 at 2022-04-29 10:15:56 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16104792
US Congress increasingly concerned over China's Solomon Islands deal, drawing comparisons with South China Sea militarisation

Jade Macmillan - 29 April 2022

Concern over Solomon Islands' security pact with China is mounting in the US Congress, with politicians on both sides expressing alarm over the deal.

Democrat Joe Courtney - a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee and a co-chair of the so-called AUKUS caucus - compared the situation to China's activity in the South China Sea.

"I think we've seen this movie before, when China promised President Obama in 2015 that the island-building was not going to result in a militarised presence," he said.

"They've obviously completely broken that promise. And any sort of effort to try [to] sugar coat what China's intentions are here, I think, because of that experience, the West should be extremely sceptical."

Senior administration officials have warned that the United States would "respond accordingly" to any signs of China establishing a permanent military presence in Solomon Islands, while Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has described the prospect of a base as a "red line".

Republican senator Mitt Romney this week described the agreement as "alarming" while his GOP colleague, Marco Rubio, criticised the way the US had handled its relationships with the region.

"While this and previous administrations ignored the Pacific Islands, the Chinese Communist Party quietly worked to claim the allegiance of our partners in this critical area," Senator Rubio said in a statement.

"In the years to come, it will be more important than ever for the United States to work closely with Australia to prevent the Chinese Communist Party from establishing a military presence that threatens us and our allies.

"The Chinese Communist Party plans to establish hegemony first in the region and, eventually, the world. We must push back."

Mr Courtney said there was "legitimate criticism" of the decision to shut the US embassy in Honiara nearly 30 years ago, especially considering the "sacred" place that Solomon Islands had held since the Battle of Guadalcanal in World War II.

About 1,600 Americans died during the battle for the island as the US sought to prevent Japan from disrupting supply routes to Australia.

"It's not a coincidence that Guadalcanal was one of the most significant military victories in World War II, because of its situation, because of its place in the Indo-Pacific region," he said.

"So, right now, I think both countries, Australia and the US, have to really redouble efforts to track this and change it to the greatest extent possible.

"Because I just think, inevitably, it will turn into what we saw with man-made islands, a military presence by China, and in terms of just their policy of sea control, that is alarming."

The US is now promising to fast-track the reopening of its embassy in Honiara, as well as delivering more medical support to the country.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-29/us-congress-concerns-over-china-solomon-islands-deal/101024394

#16155660 at 2022-04-26 11:43:48 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16155590
>>16155626
1st Marine Division Facebook Post

April 22 2022

Unbreakable Bond

On April 19, Maj. Gen. Roger B. Turner, the 1st Marine Division (1st MarDiv) commanding general, right, met with Maj. Gen. Scott Winter, commander of the Australian Army's 1st Division, at Gallipoli Barracks in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, to discuss their partnership and a shared commitment to regional security in the Pacific.

The longstanding relationship between 1st MarDiv and Australia dates back to World War II. After countless days of fighting and, ultimately, victory at the Battle of Guadalcanal, the city of Melbourne welcomed the Marines with open arms. They sheltered the Marines, fed them and treated the sick and wounded. In a display of gratitude, Marines marched through Melbourne while the band played 'Waltzing Matilda,' a popular Australian folk song. Since then, 'Waltzing Matlida' has been the official song of the Division.

During the Division's time in Australia, the Blue Diamond logo was designed and included the Southern Cross constellation under which the fighting took place in Guadalcanal. The Southern Cross has been symbolic of Australia and is prominently featured on their national flag.

(Australian Army photo by Miguel Anonuevo)

https://www.facebook.com/1stMarineDivision/posts/364716629018511

#16155590 at 2022-04-26 11:22:54 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16066080
The First Marine Division Returns to Australia, as Blue Diamond 6 Visits MRF-D

Capt. Joseph DiPietro - 04.21.2022

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DARWIN, AUSTRALIA. - Major General Roger Turner, Commanding General of the First Marine Division, visited the Marine Rotational Force-Darwin (MRF-D) and the Australian First Brigade on April 21.

"At First Marine Division, we stand on the shoulders of giants, and many of those giants are the Australians and Americans who fought together and won together as part of the Blue Diamond's success," said General Turner, who leads the premier warfighting division of the Marine Corps. "5th Marines is progressing MRF-D faster than anyone expected, especially with regard to 'fight tonight' capabilities, and now they are featured prominently in the security of the Indo-Pacific."

Australia and the First Marine Division maintain deep roots, notably dating back to operations during World War II. Throughout the Guadalcanal Campaign, Australia provided critical intelligence during the opening days of combat, and continued to provide operational and logistical support across the grueling six month campaign. Following Guadalcanal, Australia hosted the First Marine Division in order to re-arm and re-fit the force. The First Marine Division maintains the Southern Cross as part of its crest, and Waltzing Matilda as the division song, both testaments to the division's enduring bond with the people of Australia.

(continued)

#16128099 at 2022-04-22 12:58:57 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16047451
>>16104792
It was a job in the idyllic South Pacific many would envy. But it turns out I was only helping China fool Australia about its REAL intentions in the Solomon Islands. Sorry about that, writes LEVI PARSONS

LEVI PARSONS - 21 April 2022

As experts, diplomats and political commentators examine how Australia has made 'the worst foreign policy blunder in the Pacific since World War II', I can't help but feel a sense of guilt.

I was in Honiara for four days in October 2019 when I believe the controversial security agreement between China and the Solomon Islands was being set in motion.

I was living in Sydney while working as an English language news editor for Chinese state media giant Xinhua. The job saw me occasionally visiting the South Pacific to churn out Beijing-friendly stories about how jumping into bed with China was a 'win-win'.

But on this particular trip, one of the people I was travelling with was later accused of being a Chinese spy after his Sydney home was raided by ASIO on June 26, 2020. Yang Jingzhong, the former Sydney bureau chief, has since fled the country.

The trip came on the heels of Solomon Islands' Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare's decision one month earlier to cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan and recognise Beijing under the One China Policy.

Beijing handed over about $730million to the Solomon Islands government after the diplomatic switch was made.

I did not receive a briefing about the trip and was not given any information about what stories I'd be working on there - something not that unusual when working for China's state-run media.

When our news crew arrived on the island of Guadalcanal we checked into a hotel beside the Honiara Yacht Club and were told by Mr Yang to wait as he mysteriously ventured off with a small group of humourless Chinese men linked to a state-owned construction firm based in the country.

I sat in the hotel for a day and a half with my colleagues drinking Sol Brew beer and ordering fried calamari while pitching stories by text and phone calls to Mr Yang, only to be told to stay put.

Eventually we all went to the office of a local politician (not named for legal reasons) whose corruption was an open secret. I was vaguely told he had a pivotal role in securing China's 75-year lease of the island of Tulagi which was later blocked by the Solomon Islands' Attorney General for being 'unconstitutional'.

We set up lights and cameras for an interview and then I scribbled down some questions for Mr Yang - barely enough to justify my title as producer of the segment.

Then it was back to the hotel where I grew increasingly frustrated with sitting around doing nothing apart from the occasional stroll to the local market to chew betel nuts.

I was a journalist in a foreign country. It was a great career opportunity so I wanted to get out and talk to people. I wanted bylines. I wanted to work.

I made my feelings clear to Mr Yang and we had several heated arguments about the situation before he finally sent us out to what I would describe as 'mock interviews'.

One was with the owner of a local Chinese restaurant and the other was a landowner who allowed a Chinese firm to build a small bridge on his property. They were not even remotely newsworthy and I don't think either of the stories were published or went to air.

On the flight back to Brisbane I made the decision to resign and I changed jobs three months later.

Up until the draft version of the China-Solomon Islands security deal was leaked in March, I had always struggled to understand why the Beijing-backed news outlet was willing to pay a team of reporters and their camera crew to fly overseas and not publish any stories.

I can't say for sure, but it seems obvious now that we were the useful idiots in the early stages of a clandestine Chinese plot to set up a military base in the Solomon Islands.

The news team I was part of helped to put a legitimate fa?ade on what was likely a four-day trip of bribery, espionage and backroom deal-making that will see Australia exposed to a hostile authoritarian power for decades to come.

Sorry about that.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10737783/How-helped-China-fool-Australia-Solomon-Islands-security-deal-writes-LEVI-PARSONS.html

#16128031 at 2022-04-22 12:42:34 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16104792
Why Solomon Islanders doubt wisdom of their PM

More than 90 per cent of residents do not want their fortunes tied to China and believe corruption in government is high.

GRAHAM LLOYD - April 22, 2022

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From the litter-strewn mean streets of Honiara on Solomon Islands, the view of Beijing's offer to upgrade hospitals and protect a Chinese merchant class that is routinely set upon in riots and looting is a world away from the considerations being made in Washington and Canberra.

For Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, under constant threat of civil uprising, China's promise of armed security and discretionary funding to help cement his grip on power proved irresistible.

Yet more than 90 per cent of residents surveyed across the island nation do not want their fortunes tied to China and believe corruption in government is high and rising.

Long gone are the days of empire in Honiara when, as part of the Commonwealth, the city was bustling with sporting clubs and an active social calendar.

When The Australian visited Honiara in 2020 as part of a series of feature articles on the Chinese Diaspora in Asia and the Pacific, the city clearly was gripped by a malaise of enduring social ?dysfunction.

More than a dozen children and their parents were camped out in a cardboard shanty town among the refuse at the top of the city's major rubbish dump.

Nearby, on the city fringe, children were swimming amid tonnes of plastics and other rubbish, including soiled nappies.

The view from China has been one of easy pickings.

One long-time resident who had experienced the brunt of looting and violence said: "To China, the GDP of this country is nothing. One private (Chinese) company could buy this country overnight."

Political authority

The Solomons has been struggling to recover from civil conflict that took place from 1998 to 2003, which started as ethnic tension between heavily armed militants on Guadalcanal and settlers from Malaita.

The Tensions were a period of civil unrest in Solomon Islands, characterised mainly by fighting between different ethnic militant groups.

By late 1999, the government declared a state of emergency.

Lawlessness, widespread extortion and ineffective police prompted a formal request by the Solomon Islands government for outside help leading to the ?Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands led by Australia and New Zealand, which ran from 2003 to 2017.

"In 2006, when they burned Chinatown down, that was the end of it," local business owner Andrew Leung said.

"It went from bad to worse and then worse to worse."

The RAMSI mission was completed in 2017 but the damage has been long-lasting.

Since our visit in 2020, there has been a pandemic and a resurgence in violence as forces on Malaita have again challenged the political authority of rulers on Guadalcanal and the close connections being forged between Mr Sogavare and Beijing.

Rioting and looting in November 2021 led to the destruction of $811m worth of infrastructure.

A report on the violence released this week showed that a total of 81 businesses and buildings were affected, with 53 fully damaged and 28 partially so.

The total loss was equivalent to 6.1 per cent of the pre-unrest 2021 GDP value.

Much of the violence was directed towards the Chinese community that controls the majority of retail commerce.

When the riots broke out, Australia was again requested by Solomons to intervene and forces effectively helped to secure the position of Mr Sogavare, who has now sought the protection of the People's Republic of China.

China's motivation is not altruistic, but military and strategic.

Prior to World War II, Honiara did not exist; it developed around the site of the US military headquarters.

In 1952, it officially replaced Tulagi as the capital of the ?Solomons.

The proof of Solomon's strategic importance can be found sitting at the bottom of Iron Bottom Sound, named after the dozens of aeroplanes and ships lost in the Battle of Guadalcanal during 1942-43.

Militarisation of Honiara, the scene of the most epic battles between Japan and the US during World War II, would allow China to break the second chain of US containment of China.

The first chain is The Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore.

The second ring, farther from the Chinese mainland, is Australia, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Guam and Hawaii.

(continued)

#16127762 at 2022-04-22 11:32:41 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16127758

2/2

4) Supply of Covid-19 assistance. Since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020, especially after community transmission emerged in SI in 2022, China has donated more than 300,000 Rapid Antigen Testing kits, 300,000 PPEs, 10,000 SinoPharm vaccines, hundreds of oxygen machines, infusion pumps, nucleic acid testing laboratory and an isolation ward to the SI government and people. No one is safe until everyone is safe. We are proud to help with the safety and security of SI people, and will continue to provide necessary assistance on the COVID-19 prevention in the country.

5) Rural development support. As requested by the SI government, China has provided assistance to all constituencies and provinces of SI, and helped with thousands of small livelihood projects such as water, sanitation, health, coconut mills, houses and infrastructure facilities. These projects received warm welcome by rural villagers. On April 8,the Chinese Embassy donated 5 tractors, trailers and plough, through the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) programme coordinated by the MFAET to the MAL. These machinery will be used in two farms named SAPE and Goshen in Guadalcanal and Malaita province. It will increase productivity of cassava, taro and other root-crop production, exactly the kind of help SI farmers need.

6) Education exchange. The first group of SI students arrived safe and sound in China to start their scholarship programs in the ancient and vibrant country. And I sent my congratulations to them. They are representatives of SI, and can also serve as friendship ambassadors between the two countries.

7) Policing cooperation. China has provided anti-riot gears to the RSIPF, and China police liaison team is helping RSIPF officers with professional training. Both countries signed MOU to further cooperation in law enforcement and policing. And the bilateral Security Framework Agreement will help SI in its long term peace and stability.

I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate China's position on the security agreement with SI. It is based on respect and equality and in the interests of everyone. There is no hidden motive, no geopolitical agenda as some people wrongly claimed. China will never infringe on the sovereignty and internal politics of SI. Instead, I sincerely hope the sovereignty of SI and China could be well respected, and the SI people not be misled by rumors and inflammatory remarks. The destiny of SI lies in the hands of SI people. The tragedy of looting and burning of Chinatown and other properties in Honiara should not repeat itself in the future.

China has a long history of friendship with the Pacific Islands Countries. The Chinese people arrived in Solomon Islands more than one hundred years ago. Our bilateral relations can not be narrowly defined through biased lens of internal politics or geopolitics. As Chinese President Xi Jinping said, no country can address alone the challenges we are facing today. China is firmly committed to the relationship with SI. It is a sovereign decision made by the two governments representing peoples of the two countries, with incredibly huge outcomes in only two years, and should be duly respected.

http://sb.china-embassy.org/eng/sgxw_3/202204/t20220422_10672048.htm

#16111274 at 2022-04-20 09:55:31 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16111273

2/2

The U.S. has been absent from Solomon Islands for a long time and needs to speed up setting up an embassy and sending an ambassador. It currently only has a tiny consular office, in a humble building on the Honiara waterfront. China, in contrast has an unusually large three-story building for its Honiara embassy, which will have plenty of room for the police, intelligence, and military personnel who are set to arrive soon. Sogavare will thus be able to maintain his fiction that China will not set up a base in the Solomons.

Campbell can use his trip to announce a number of long-overdue deliverables. He should offer immediate clearance of remaining Remnants of War (ERW) and Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) from the battle fields, particularly on Guadalcanal and the Russell Islands. He should offer U.S. maritime support to protect the Solomons from illegal fishing, much of which is done by Chinese fishing boats.

The U.S. has so far made a modest $25 million contribution in the Strengthening Competitiveness, Agriculture, Livelihoods and Environment (SCALE) Project, part of the Indo-Pacific $200 million Pacific Pledge. Campbell could use the model of the USAID SCALE program at Malaita to expand further infrastructure projects in Solomon Islands. There are shovel-ready projects waiting to go. Sogavare has been accused of holding back aid to the regions as a means to control his political rivals.

Solomon Islands desperately needs investment in infrastructure. It was the Chinese government's promise that it would offer this assistance to the Solomons - locally rumored to be as much as $500 million - that helped swing the country's sudden change of recognition to Beijing from Taipei in 2019. Unlike the U.S. and other Western donors, however, China's infrastructure assistance is offered in the form of loans, which will add to Solomon Islands' existing indebtedness.

So far none of these infrastructure projects have been started. Instead, China was awarded the contract to a Chinese state-owned enterprise to build a white elephant $74 million sports stadium, so the Solomons can host the 2023 Pacific Games. The jobs for this project have gone to Chinese nationals.

The United States needs to step up in the Solomons, and there is little time left to do so. Campbell has made it clear he understands the security threat to the region. Now is the time to use military-level funding and assistance to counter China's aggressive moves.

Anne-Marie Brady is a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center and professor in politics at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand. Follow her on Twitter @Anne-MarieBrady.

https://thediplomat.com/2022/04/time-for-the-us-to-step-up-in-solomon-islands/

#16092085 at 2022-04-17 11:55:14 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16047451
White House finally awakens to PRC capture of Solomon Islands

Cleo Paskal - April 16, 2022

1/3

Alexandria, VA.: Within days, Kurt Campbell, the US National Security Council Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, and Daniel Kritenbrink, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, will visit Solomon Islands, a country of around 700,000 people, in the Southwestern Pacific. It will be one of the highest level American visits to Solomons, since 80 years ago, this August, US Marines landed on Guadalcanal.

This time, the Americans are hoping to dislodge an expansionist Asian power that embedded itself through political warfare, rather than through kinetic warfare. Though the kinetic threat is lurking in the background.

The intensity and urgency of the visit was shaped by the leaking of a draft security agreement between China and Solomon Islands that has the potential to give the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) yet another "base in everything but name", as they have with Gwadar, and are trying to secure in Sri Lanka, Equatorial Guinea and elsewhere.

Add this to declared bases in Djibouti and the South Sea China-both locations China initially promised not to militarize-and it's easy to see why there is concern across the Indo-Pacific about the agreement.

Additionally, with Chinese political warfare gains in Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste, and growing but quiet positioning in Bougainville and New Caledonia, the PLA is essentially putting pieces in place to create its own version of a first island chain to hem in and isolate Quad/Aukus/Five Eyes member Australia.

For the US to succeed in its mission of giving Solomon Islands a path to the future that doesn't involve it becoming another piece in the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) global game of Go, it helps to learn from what worked in the past, and to understand and avoid previous mistakes.

WHAT WORKS

During the brutal battles in Solomons during World War II, the knowledge, support and sacrifice of Solomon Islanders, who were ready to fight and die for their own sovereignty, was essential. That spirit is still there. Across the country key components of Solomon Islands society have come out against the deal.

To understand why, it helps to think of this not as a security deal between China and Solomon Islands, but between the Chinese Communist Party and the deeply unpopular and corrupt Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare. The provisions in the draft deal for China to provide assistance in "maintaining social order" are seen as Sogavare being able to call on the PLA to suppress anyone who stands in his-or his CCP patron's-way.

A main target is the country's most populous province, Malaita. When Sogavare unilaterally switched Solomons from Taiwan to China in 2019, the Government of Malaita and the Malaita High Council of Chiefs issued the Auki Communiqu?. In part, it stated the Malaita Provincial Government "strongly resolves to put in place a Moratorium on Business Licenses to new investors connected directly or indirectly with the Chinese Communist Party."

Celsus Irokwato Talifilu, adviser to Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani, recently described how he saw Chinese businesses operating in Solomons: "Our forests and people have been raped and pillaged by a logging monster that lives in China. While the legs and wings of the dragon are in Malaysia and the Philippines, we know where its home cave is. We've watched it bribe and corrupt countless leaders, and we know it will never stop."

Malaita's Premier Suidani, later proved how serious he was about not engaging with the CCP. He fell ill and required medical treatment outside the country. Being an honest politician, he didn't have the funds required for treatment in Australia. Sogavare's government stalled on providing him with support, saying it would be offered if he rescinded his objections to China's activities in Malaita. He refused-effectively saying he'd rather die than take CCP money directly or indirectly.

In the end, through the humanitarian interventions of Prof M.D. Nalapat in India and President Tsai of Taiwan, Premier Suidani received the treatment he needed in Taiwan. When he returned to Solomons, Sogavare's proxies in the province tried to engineer a vote of no confidence to take him out. Widespread ground level support for the premier thwarted the attempt. But Sogavare and the CCP haven't given up on taking out the irritant.

And the people of Solomon know it.

(continued)

#16086730 at 2022-04-16 12:55:07 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16066080
Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post

16 April 2022

The fourth and final part of our Meet MRF-D 22 series focuses on our infantry battalion and supporting maneuver elements. Ready to fight any time, anywhere, the GCE provides flexibility and lethality to the MAGTF.
#mrfd
#usmc
#ADF

https://www.facebook.com/MRFDarwin/posts/346988100797013

—

Meet MRF-D 22: the Ground Combat Element

Capt. Joseph DiPietro - 04.10.2022

DARWIN, AUSTRALIA. - The Marine Rotational Force-Darwin (MRF-D) ground combat element (GCE) comes to Australia prepared for operations in any clime or place.

Led by Third Battalion, Seventh Marines (3/7), and joined by units from Third Battalion, Eleventh Marines (3/11) and First Combat Engineer Battalion (CEB), the MRF-D 22 GCE provides the immediate combat power and lethality needed to respond to crises or contingencies.

"I am proud of the warfighting skill and teamwork our Marines and Sailors demonstrated working up to this point," said Lieutenant Colonel Tyler Holt, the Commanding Officer for 3/7 and the GCE. "We look forward to building on our combined combat credibility with our Australian allies and other regional partners."

3/7 activated in 1941 and immediately made an impact in combat. The battalion participated in battles on Guadalcanal, New Britain, Peleliu, and Okinawa during World War II, and continued successful and honorable service in Korea, Vietnam, and the Middle East. With their reinforcements from 3/11 and 1st CEB, the GCE is postured to conduct missions across the full range of military operations.

"Our Marines are at their peak performance following Exercise STEEL KNIGHT and our Marine Corps Combat Readiness Evaluation," said Major John Critz, the Executive Officer for 3/7 and the GCE. "We are excited to move the ball forward with not only maneuver, but also communication and information alongside 1st Brigade and the Australian Defence Force (ADF)."

The most notable change in the GCE compared to past rotations is the work-up training leading to its deployment to Australia. In December, 3/7 served as part of the exercise force for the First Marine Division's STEEL KNIGHT (SK22). During SK22, 3/7 and other units implemented modern naval warfighting techniques and procedures to better prepare for various combat operations in austere, littoral environments. The GCE will further implement these practices alongside ADF units to increase integrated deterrence capabilities in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

https://www.dvidshub.net/news/418220/meet-mrf-d-22-ground-combat-element

#16066080 at 2022-04-13 09:56:09 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post

13 April 2022

Today, we kick off our "Meet MRF-D 22" series with the Command Element. Led by the historic 5th Marine Regiment, the MRF-D 22 Command Element provides leadership and command and control for the Marine Air Ground Task Force. Check out the link below for more information, and stand by for the rest of our series this week.
#MRFD
#usmc
#ADF

https://www.facebook.com/MRFDarwin/posts/345158000980023

—

Meet MRF-D 22: the Command Element

Marine Rotational Force - Darwin - 04.10.2022

DARWIN, AUSTRALIA. - The Marine Rotational Force-Darwin (MRF-D) command element writes a new chapter in the story of MRF-D.

The flexibility and agility of a Marine Corps Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) is realized though the coordination of individual actions across the entire formation. This coordination is the responsibility of the command element. From administration and logistics, to intelligence, operations, and communications, Marines and Sailors within this element work tirelessly to ensure MAGTF operations are efficient and effective. For the first time in MRF-D's eleven year history, these command element responsibilities will be fulfilled by a standing regimental headquarters from 1st Marine Division.

"We are proud of the history of our Division, and our Regiment, and look forward writing the next chapter of that history side-by-side with our Australian Allies. When we look back on our shared past, we see that we have always found success - together, regardless of the threat or circumstance. The tough and realistic training we'll conduct together over the next few months will set conditions for our future success. Whether we're responding to a natural disaster or a man-made crisis, we'll be ready to go tomorrow because of the work we're doing together today," said Colonel Chris Steele, the commanding officer for MRF-D 22.

5th Marines' reputation for tenacity was first earned during World War I, and was also evidenced during the battles of Guadalcanal and New Britain. This fighting spirit has been reaffirmed time and again in places ranging from Chosin and Pusan, to Hue City, Al Anbar and Sangin.

"We have a strong core staff, and had no shortage of volunteers wanting to join our team prior to this deployment. The opportunity to come to Australia is one that everyone wants. These augments were a welcomed addition, and have given us the depth required to compete on the modern battlefield," said Lieutenant Colonel Tim Kronjaeger, the operations officer for the MAGTF.

The MRF-D 22 command element is built to command and control air and ground forces across extended ranges and in the most austere environments. Prior to their arrival in Australia, and in preparation for their pending deployment, members of the MRF-D command element participated in a large scale exercise that afforded them the opportunity to partner with elements of the U.S. Navy's 3rd Fleet and advance their capability to execute expeditionary operations in support of naval warfighting.

"Our headquarters Marines and Sailors combine to form an advanced and versatile team, and provide our subordinate commands vital support across all warfighting functions," said Captain Joseph DiPietro, the Headquarters Company Commander. "I am constantly impressed with what these kids can do and how they compete against increasingly challenging adversity."

https://www.dvidshub.net/news/418217/meet-mrf-d-22-command-element

#16065990 at 2022-04-13 09:26:10 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16065928
Australia's Pacific Minister Zed Seselja urges Solomon Islands Prime Minister not to sign China security deal

Andrew Greene - 13 April 2022

Australia's Minister for the Pacific has used a visit to Solomon Islands in the middle of the federal election campaign to "respectfully" urge the country's Prime Minister not to sign a controversial security deal with China.

Senator Zed Seselja travelled to Honiara - with Labor's support during the caretaker period - to directly press the government's concerns over an agreement that could allow a Chinese military presence close to Australia.

In a statement after his meeting with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, Senator Seselja said Australia remained committed to supporting Solomon Islands to meet its security needs "swiftly, transparently and with full respect for its sovereignty".

Senator Seselja said Australia had been a "strong partner" to Solomon Islands for many years, supporting its security needs through the recent Solomons International Assistance Force and, earlier, through the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands.

"We have asked Solomon Islands, respectfully, to consider not signing the agreement and to consult the Pacific family in the spirit of regional openness and transparency, consistent with our region's security frameworks," Senator Seselja said.

Speaking to the ABC after his meeting, Senator Seselja added that it was a "frank" discussion with Mr Sogavare.

"We've had a dialogue," he said.

"We expressed our view and our concern.

"We maintain that Australia can fill the security needs [of Solomon Islands], and the region. Working together, we can make sure that all of the security needs of the Solomon Islands are taken care of."

An overseas trip by a minister during an election's "caretaker" period is considered unusual and highlights the growing anxiety in Australia over the soon-to-be-signed deal between China and Solomon Islands.

Under a leaked draft of the document, Beijing could be allowed to station navy ships and defence personnel to protect billions of dollars in Chinese infrastructure investment in the developing country

Earlier today, Prime Minister Scott Morrison dismissed suggestions that his government had dropped the ball on its relationship with Solomon Islands after a leaked draft of the security pact took Australia by surprise.

Mr Morrison insisted Australia continued to work closely with Honiara, despite the Australian government currently operating in caretaker mode during the election campaign.

"We will continue to work through these sensitive issues as a Pacific Islands family," Mr Morrison said.

"The suggestion that Australia should be heavy-handed on these matters is wrongheaded and completely misunderstands how these matters should be handled."

Visiting US Marines boss warns 'geography matters'

The visiting Commandant of the US Marine Corp, David Berger, has highlighted the geographic importance of Solomon Islands, while warning the West is failing to block China's gradual advances across the Indo-Pacific.

"You could argue that the approaches that we've taken in the last 10 years are not working out here," General Berger said in an appearance at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

"They're moving forward. They're not picking a fight. They're achieving their objectives. We're not successfully deterring it because - what some people call grey-zone or however you want to call it - we haven't figured out quite how to stop that."

General Berger also highlighted the modern-day strategic importance of Solomon Islands, pointing to its significance during the pivotal World War II Battle of Guadalcanal.

"Where the Solomon Islands are, matters," he said. "It did then. It does now.

"The Solomon Islands, their location matters. It's clearly a point of contention and competition."

Asked whether Australia had failed, diplomatically, to stop the proposed Chinese security deal, General Berger responded: "It's not for me to judge pass or fail. It does highlight the strategic location of places in the Pacific for sure," he said.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-13/pacific-minister-solomon-islands-china-security-deal/100989656

https://twitter.com/ZedSeselja/status/1513999519083790336

https://twitter.com/ChiefAusArmy/status/1514112226243715073

#16047461 at 2022-04-10 08:02:14 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16047451
US to send officials to Solomon Islands due to tensions over China security pact

Washington fears Beijing will gain strategic toehold in Pacific close to Australia

Demetri Sevastopulo - APRIL 9 2022

1/2

The White House's top Asia official is preparing to travel to the Solomon Islands in a rare high-level visit that underscores alarm in Washington over the Pacific nation's security pact with China.

Kurt Campbell will fly to the Solomon Islands this month, according to four people familiar with the plan. He is expected to travel with Daniel Kritenbrink, the top state department Asia official. Their visit comes as the small Pacific nation emerges as a strategic battleground between the US and China.

The US has been increasingly worried about the Solomon Islands since it switched diplomatic allegiance from Taipei to Beijing in 2019. Those concerns have intensified after the leak of a draft security pact that would give China a toehold in a part of the Pacific that is closer to Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii than to Beijing.

The draft agreement - which has not yet been signed - paves the way for China to deploy troops and police on the islands. It also says Chinese security personnel would guard any Chinese navy vessels that dock in the Solomon Islands.

"It's a pretty broadly scoped agreement that seems to leave the door wide open for future deployment of People's Republic of China security and military forces to the Solomon Islands," said a senior state department official.

"We've concerns about what this might mean for the security interests of our friends across the Pacific Islands.

"We would be concerned that if PRC security - or maybe even military forces - were to be introduced into the region in a non-transparent, non-co-operative, non-collaborative manner…That is very likely to increase tension."

Manasseh Sogavare, the prime minister of the Solomon Islands, has denied that the pact would allow China to build a base. But underscoring the concern from the US and its allies, Andrew Shearer, head of Australia's national intelligence office, and Paul Symon, head of its overseas spy service, this week visited Honiara, the capital.

During the second world war, the Solomon Islands was the location of the "Battle of Guadalcanal" which took place between 1942-43 and was pivotal in helping to turn the direction of the war against Japan, which wanted to build an air base on the main island. In January, Campbell told CSIS, a think-tank, that the Pacific was the most likely area for a "strategic surprise", such as a Chinese base.

Charles Edel, an Australia expert at CSIS, said the pact was concerning because China had a record of denying it would do things - such as vowing not to militarise South China Sea islands - before proceeding.

"Chinese bases…would help create spheres of influence that sculpt the politics of the region, threaten our allies, and in a conflict have the potential to both delay and degrade the flow of US forces into the region," said Edel. "When the Chinese military projects power further into the Pacific, it gives it more ability to watch, track and target US forces."

(continued)

#15989752 at 2022-04-01 14:22:43 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition

>>15939896
How China stole a march on Australia in the Pacific

Eryk Bagshaw - April 1, 2022

1/2

Singapore: To find out what has gone wrong in Solomon Islands, you have to go back to a meeting in Townsville in November 2000.

Manasseh Sogavare, the Prime Minister who this week vowed to sign a security deal with Beijing had flown to the Queensland city to make a peace deal with four other Solomons leaders and representatives from the United Nations.

Civil war between the largest provinces, Malaita and Guadalcanal, and their different ethnic groups had ravaged the islands since 1998. The warring parties agreed that the provinces would be given more autonomy and that the constitution would be rewritten to reflect these amendments. Malaita, which was poorer than Guadalcanal, would be given infrastructure projects to pump up its economy and development funding - usually funded by international aid - would be distributed away from the central government.

But few if any of these promises were met by Sogavare. By 2001, the government was bankrupt and the economy had collapsed. Solomon Islands had become a failed state. It took troops from the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to restore order. When they left in 2017, the same regional tensions exploded again.

Honiara was poor, isolated and vulnerable to corruption. China, ever alert to opportunity, swept in. Beijing convinced Honiara they could provide what Australia could not, big infrastructure projects - stadiums, roads and mining. In exchange, they needed Solomons to switch its allegiance from Taiwan to the mainland. By 2019, the deal was done. It started with kickbacks and employment but soon escalated when the same unresolved regional tensions from two decades ago resulted in attacks on Chinese businesses in November last year.

Protesters from Malaita and elsewhere were angry again at the economic divide between the regions and allegations of corruption in China's deals. Suddenly, the Chinese investments needed protection.

Twenty years after the Townsville Peace Agreement, Sogavare announced on Tuesday he would sign another deal - a security agreement with Beijing.

The deal is the first for Beijing in the Pacific and for a Commonwealth country. At the very least, it will allow Chinese police to guard Chinese infrastructure assets and at the most, Chinese warships to be based in Solomon Islands. Both scenarios will strain Australian defence resources and encourage other Pacific nations to use their diplomatic leverage to get more out of both sides.

This is a fundamental shift in the region's international order. It downgrades decades of Australian diplomacy and requires a complete re-evaluation of Australian engagement with the Pacific. There is serious concern within Defence, Department of Foreign Affairs and cabinet about the precedent it sets for countries such as Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, which are also being courted by China.

(continued)

#15981988 at 2022-03-31 10:25:09 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition

>>15939896
Federated States of Micronesia calls on Solomon Islands to reconsider security treaty with China

Evan Wasuka and Toby Mann - 31 March 2022

The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) has called on Solomon Islands to reconsider its plans for a controversial security treaty with China, becoming the first Pacific country to voice its opposition to the deepening of ties.

The treaty would put the Pacific at the centre of a geopolitical conflict between China and the US, FSM President David Panuelo warned.

"The US and China are increasingly at odds with one another," Mr Panuelo wrote in a letter to Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare.

"This presents an issue because the Federated States of Micronesia is a friend to the people and government of China, but we are also a sincere friend, even an ally, of the people and government of the United States of America."

FSM had "grave security concerns" about the "unprecedented" agreement, Mr Panuelo said as he noted further fears about what "the larger countries are privately preparing for".

"Is it within the realm of plausibility that, as more Pacific Islands seek security arrangements with larger countries, that we could see a sovereign and peaceful Pacific become fragmented, and become tools for these larger countries' spheres of power and influence," Mr Panuelo wrote.

"Isn't it plausible that our islands could become collateral damage once again, such as we saw occur in Guadalcanal in your country, and Chuuk in my country, during World War II?"

The draft document, leaked last week, specifically provided a framework for Chinese forces to come to Solomon Islands to "protect the safety of Chinese personnel and major projects" as well as "preserve social order".

The draft agreement will be "cleaned up" before being signed by the foreign ministers of Solomon Islands and China, the Office of the Prime Minister of Solomon Islands said in a statement released on Thursday.

"Solomon Islands reiterate that the Framework of Cooperation is to respond to Solomon Islands' soft and hard domestic threats," the statement said.

"Solomon Islands continue to roll out the implementation of its National Security Strategy and uphold its Foreign Policy of 'friends to all and enemies to none'.

"The country will work with all partners in providing a safe and secure nation where all people are able to co-exist peacefully."

Other regional leaders will weigh in

Australia, New Zealand, and the US have raised concerns that the treaty gives China military access to the Pacific, and could lead to it establishing a military base in Solomon Islands.

Mr Sogavare said he had spoken with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, saying while his country's traditional security partners were always important, Solomon Islands needed to diversify its partners to "achieve our security needs".

Mr Sogavare declared that there were no plans to allow China to build a naval or military base in his country, saying the suggestion was "misinformation."

"We are not pressured in any way by our new friends," he said.

Mr Morrison did not directly criticise Solomon Islands for pursuing the agreement, but Australia's Minister for the Pacific, Zed Seselja, was more forceful.

He said Australia did not want to see an authoritarian regime coming into the Pacific's "security environment", and predicted significant pushback from other Pacific Island nations.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has suggested China may want a naval base in Solomon Islands to "intimidate" Australia.

James Batley, Australia's former high commissioner to Solomon Islands and a research fellow at ANU, told the ABC it was a bit surprising for the Solomon Islands government to claim they hadn't anticipated such a strong reaction.

"Perhaps the Prime Minister did not get good advice, because I think the sorts of reactions that we are seeing would or should have been entirely predictable," he said.

Mr Batley said he expected other regional leaders to weigh in.

"It may be just the first of similar sorts of messages that he [Mr Sogavare] receives," he said.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-31/federated-states-micronesia-solomon-islands-china-security/100955650

#15975242 at 2022-03-30 09:05:52 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition

>>15975239

2/2

China, Australia, and New Zealand have all been trying to outdo one another in supporting the national-level political class, which is one of the most prominent antagonists in the historic Solomon Islands conflict. RAMSI, the 2003-2017 Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands, was an exercise in propping up a constitutional system that had never worked. The RAMSI mission attempted to distract the whole country from the fact that they were rebuilding the same arrangements that Solomon Islanders had already called out as unresponsive, disempowering, and destructive.

The worst of the fighting ended in 2000 under the terms of the Townsville Peace Agreement, whereby there was an agreement to decentralise development, return Indigenous lands, and pass a new constitution to allow autonomy and good governance. The Townsville Peace Agreement has been deposited at the UN. And there it has been allowed to rot.

These were not new demands. A federal constitution has been demanded by Western Province in the Solomons for almost 45 years, a return of customary lands has been demanded by Guadalcanal for at least 35 years. A fair opportunity to employ labour in the Malaitan mainland has been demanded for generations. All these are set down in the Townsville Peace Agreement. The Townsville Peace Agreement is a massive opportunity missed for achieving a more united, more resilient, more independent, Solomon Islands.

Premier Suidani of Malaita Province asked the UN Security Council president for a review of the Townsville Peace Agreement last November. There has been no action, no communication, no back-channel discussion on treating this seriously.

It needs to be. Otherwise, the process of turning the Solomon Islands government into a puppet state of China will accelerate.

China is providing money for the Solomon Islands white elephant 2023 Pacific Games sports facilities. The games will undermine democracy by forcing a delay in the national elections, also due next year. And there has been a massive increase in PRC companies getting public funds for new construction projects. As of last week, these companies are even housing government ministers in gated estates that social media has shown with armed Chinese guards.

The Solomon Islands has been a pawn in great power politics before. This time the solution to the security dilemma in the Solomons is immediate constitutional reforms and distributed development. Our true external friends will show their colours by helping the people of Solomon Islands, not the oligarchs.

Celsus Irokwato Talifilu is political adviser to Premier Daniel Suidani, Malaita Province, Solomon Islands.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/oceania/solomon-islands-in-danger-of-becoming-a-puppet-state-of-china-20220329-p5a8rz.html

#15098173 at 2021-11-29 05:48:07 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #19 - THE ONLY WAY IS THE MILITARY Edition

>>15098172

2/2

RAMSI was a huge success and my only regret was the decision by the Turnbull government to withdraw RAMSI altogether in 2017. At the time, I thought it was a mistake not to leave just a small, token presence in the country. If we had done that, it's possible the latest riots and intervention would never have occurred. Still, we don't know.

What is clear is that the latest riots were connected to the decision by the Solomon Islands government in 2019 to switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to the People's Republic of China.

Over the years I had pleaded on many an occasion with the government in Beijing - with which I had constant contact - and also indirectly with the government in Taipei, to desist from making payments and inducements to Pacific island politicians and bureaucrats as a reward for diplomatic recognition.

After I ceased to be the foreign minister, I visited Taipei and met with the then president of Taiwan. I told him of the damage the investments and bribes paid by the previous Taiwan government had done to our attempts to try to achieve stability and prosperity in the Pacific. He was interested and sympathetic and promised to ensure Taiwan behaved responsibly. As foreign minister, I received precisely the same promises from Beijing.

Looking at the latest riots in the Solomon Islands, it is clear the country is still living with the legacy of that China-Taiwan competition.

By all accounts, Taiwan has remained close to the Malaitans despite the change of recognition in 2019 to Beijing by the Solomon Islands government. It seems the two sides of the China argument have been exploiting the tensions inherent in the Solomon Islands between the Malaitans and the people of Guadalcanal.

So, there we have it. Competition between Beijing and Taipei has been destabilising our region.

These tensions in the Pacific simply underline why the Pacific islands countries should be a key focus for Australian foreign policy.

The recent announcement by the Morrison government of its step-up in the Pacific is welcome, but I'm sorry it was necessary.

While Julie Bishop as foreign minister showed great interest and energy in the Pacific, the decision to withdraw the RAMSI mission in 2017 gave an impression of strategic retreat by Australia.

It may not have been the intention - and I'm sure it wasn't - but my guess is in Beijing and Taipei they interpreted the decision as a sign Australia was de-prioritising the region.

Morrison, by the latest intervention, has shown that assumption to be wrong. It may be worth keeping at least an Australian police presence in Honiara for quite a while.

Alexander Downer was Australia's longest serving foreign minister, from 1996 to 2007, and most recently Australian High Commissioner to the UK.

https://www.afr.com/policy/foreign-affairs/solomon-islands-intervention-is-always-about-the-china-factor-20211125-p59c9l

#15098172 at 2021-11-29 05:47:29 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #19 - THE ONLY WAY IS THE MILITARY Edition

>>15076199
Opinion: Solomon Islands intervention is always about the China factor

The competition between Beijing and Taipei that destabilises the region means we should maintain a presence in Honiara for quite a while.

Alexander Downer - Nov 28, 2021

1/2

The Australian government has made a sensible decision to send troops and police to the Solomon Islands to quell the rioting in Honiara.

It's to the credit of Prime Minister Scott Morrison that he has acted without hesitation. Order will be restored quickly and the Solomon Islands public will be thankful for that.

The events of recent weeks should be a stark reminder that Australian foreign policy must always have a significant focus on the Pacific islands. We have to invest considerable time and resources in keeping the region stable. If we don't, no one will.

The recent crisis in the Solomon Islands also reminds us that in the diplomacy of the Pacific there's always a China factor. But it's not what many commentators think. It's not that Beijing is trying to exercise influence in the Pacific to threaten the security of Australia and its allies.

China's interest is to lever all the Pacific island countries away from Taiwan. It's had great success in recent years, leaving Taiwan with just Nauru, Palau, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands as diplomatic partners.

Over the years, this competition between Taipei and Beijing has been an irritant to Australia. Both sides have been offering inducements and, to be frank, bribes to try to win Pacific island countries over to their side.

In my time as foreign minister, these inducements undermined much of the work we were doing through our aid program to try to improve governance in the Pacific.

Indeed, at one stage, the then prime minister of Papua New Guinea, Michael Somare, started toying with the idea of switching PNG's recognition from Beijing to Taipei. I could only guess why he thought that might be a good idea, and my guess didn't boil down to geopolitics!

So back to the Solomon Islands. Between 1998 and 2003, the Solomon Islands gradually descended into chaos as the people of the island of Malaita and those of the neighbouring island of Guadalcanal took up arms against each other.

It worried me. There was no outside power which could bring stability to the Solomon Islands other than Australia. Within the Australian government, particularly in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Defence department, there was a lively debate about whether we should directly intervene to restore peace.

The prevailing view was that if we did send in troops and police at the invitation of the Solomon Islands government, we would not have an exit strategy. We would be stuck there.

For a long time, I accepted this advice. We would try to bring peace to the Solomon Islands using our aid budget and diplomacy. But by 2003 it became clear none of this was working. That year, the then Solomon Islands prime minister wrote to John Howard asking for Australia to intervene. I asked DFAT for its advice.

The advice was clear: we should not intervene. But days later, I was at the Aldgate Pump hotel in the Adelaide Hills with my family having dinner when John Howard rang on my mobile. What do you think we should say in response to this request from the Solomon Islands to intervene? he asked.

I told him of the DFAT advice and said my instinct was different. We had refused to do so for years and the situation was just getting worse. We may not have an exit strategy, but we could afford to stay there for a long time. Howard said he had been thinking exactly the same thing, and what became known as RAMSI - the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands - was born.

(continued)

#15076220 at 2021-11-25 06:36:45 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #19 - THE ONLY WAY IS THE MILITARY Edition

>>15076216

3/3

Has this sort of thing happened before?

Yes.

Australia deployed a peacekeeping mission known as the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) in 2003 after years of ethnic tension and violence between militia from the islands of Guadalcanal and Malaita.

Honiara has also seen violent demonstrations target ethnic Chinese-owned businesses in the past.

In 2006, following the election of then-prime minister Snyder Rini, rioters looted and burned Chinese-owned businesses, because of claims that the election had been rigged with the financial assistance of Chinese businesspeople.

Many Chinese residents were left homeless, and the riots led to the deployment of Australian and New Zealand soldiers to help restore order.

Riots again broke out after the current Prime Minister, Mr Sogavare, was elected for the fourth time in 2019, with police using tear gas to dispel crowds in the city's Chinatown.

"I honestly thought that we had gone past the darkest days in the history of our country," Mr Sogavare said in response to Wednesday's unrest.

"Today's events are a painful reminder that we have a long way to go."

Will Sogavare stand down?

Most don't think so.

Mr Cavanough said he believed it was "very unlikely" Mr Sogavare would stand down.

"He was democratically elected through their process back in 2019," he said.

"Though the China switch, which has led to a lot of tension, kind of came as a surprise, he had long been on the record really being opposed to the Taiwan partnership.

"It didn't come entirely as a surprise."

Mr Cavanough said the only natural resolution to the enduring stand-off between Mr Sogavare and Mr Suidani would be an election.

"The next election isn't until 2023 as well, so the reality is that the country is going to be stuck in the dynamic for quite some time."

What is likely to happen next?

Neighbouring Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape has appealed to the people of Solomon Islands to "respect the rule of law and democratic institutions", urging them "not to take the law into their own hands".

"Solomon Islands has always been a beacon of hope for us in Melanesia, and a middle ground for many of our Pacific and Melanesian issues, so I ask for peaceful democratic dialogue to any issues of discontent," Mr Marape said.

But those on the ground say there is likely to be more unrest before the dust settles.

Local journalist Gina Kekea said while the protests surprised most in Honiara, she believes the "worst is yet to come".

Mr Seda said Honiara residents' "biggest fear" was the continuation of violence.

Police said they would "continue to conduct high visibility patrols throughout Honiara day and night to make sure those planning to disturb the peace that continues to dominate our communities have any chance of carrying out their criminal activities".

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-25/solomon-islands-protests-explainer-china-taiwan/100648086

#15076199 at 2021-11-25 06:31:07 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #19 - THE ONLY WAY IS THE MILITARY Edition

Solomon Islands PM Manasseh Sogavare has asked for Australian help to regain control of the nation's capital

BEN PACKHAM and GEOFF CHAMBERS - NOVEMBER 25, 2021

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has asked for Australian help to restore order in the nation's capital amid a second day of rioting, with Defence and Australian Federal Police personnel on standby to fly out to the Pacific Island nation.

The national security committee of cabinet will consider the request for help in coming hours, after crisis talks between the Sogavare Government and the Australian High Commission in Honiara.

Senior government sources said ADF and AFP were readying to depart, but a decision was yet to be made on whether they would be deployed, or in what capacity.

There are understood to be deep concerns in the government about propping up Mr Sogavare, who has been a critic of Australia and whose government is widely unpopular.

But if Australia doesn't intervene, it risks Mr Sogavare seeking assistance from China.

The Australian has learned senior Solomon Islands police - who have been forced to withdraw from large areas of Honiara - have had talks with Mr Sogavare in an effort to secure his resignation.One longtime watcher of Solomon Islands politics said if Australian troops were deployed, it could have the effect of rescuing the leadership of the "lifelong Australian antagonist".

Australian diplomats confined to homes

Australian diplomats and their families were confined to their homes as large numbers of rioters from the country's largest island province of Malaita burned a number of public and private buildings in the capital, including at least one police station, a bank, and a number of Chinese-owned shops.

They have called for Mr Sogavare's resignation, and unsuccessfully attempted to storm the nation's parliament.

They are angry about perceived neglect by the central government. There is also lingering dissatisfaction at the Solomons' decision to switch diplomatic allegiances from Taiwan to China in 2019.

Mr Sogavare made a formal request for assistance to the Australian government after ordering a 36-hour lockdown, which is being defined by protesters.

"No one is above the law ... these people will face the consequences of their actions," he said.

"I had honestly thought that we had gone past the darkest days in the history of our country, however ... (these) events are a painful reminder that we have a long way to go."

The violence began after a boatload of people from the country's most populous island Malaita, which is pro-Taiwan, arrived in Honiara for a peaceful protest pressuring Mr Sogavare to resign.

The protest turned violent after a grass hut near the Solomons parliament caught fire.

The Australian understands the situation on the ground, which is currently contained to Honiara, dramatically worsened on Thursday as locals looted shops in Chinatown and burnt-down buildings.

After ordering the lockdown, which was due to end on Friday morning, Mr Sogavare described the violent protests as "another sad and unfortunate event aimed at bringing a democratically elected government down".

Parents have been told to keep their children at home and for businesses to lockup their premises.

Mr Sogavare, who has established closer ties with Beijing since reclaiming the top job in 2019, has come under pressure from Malaitan Premier Daniel Suidani to end relations with China.

ADF and AFP personnel spent a decade stationed in the country under the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands, which was stood-up in response to a bloody ethnic conflict known locally as "the tensions".

The Morrison government will be wary about being drawn into a lengthy intervention, following the 2003-2017 Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands, or RAMSI, which cost more than $2.6bn.

RAMSI was established by former prime minister John Howard in response to a formal request by the Solomons government to help broker peace between rival Malaitan and Guadalcanal militants, and rebuild the country.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/solomon-islands-pm-manasseh-sogavare-has-asked-for-australian-help-to-regain-control-of-the-nations-capital/news-story/ce802d262685d10f192a52c338ab2f9c

#14534007 at 2021-09-07 08:15:20 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #18 - Talisman Sabre: MAGIC SWORD Edition

>>14501858
U.S. Department of Defense

Anniversary Marks 70 Years of Australia, New Zealand, U.S. Treaty

AUG. 31, 2021 - JIM GARAMONE, DOD NEWS

The U.S. military is marking the 70th anniversary of its alliance with America's closest Pacific allies - Australia and New Zealand.

The Australia, New Zealand and United States Security Treaty was signed in San Francisco on Sept. 1, 1951. The pact formally committed the nations to protect the security of the Pacific together, but its roots go much deeper.

In 1907, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt sent the Great White Fleet of U.S. warships around the world. The voyage of American battleships and other vessels marked the emergence of the U.S. Navy as a worldwide force to be reckoned with. The fleet visited New Zealand and Australia as part of its swing through the Pacific. Fully 10 percent of the population of the nation of New Zealand turned out to see the ships when they arrived in Auckland in August 1908. In Sydney Harbor later that month, around 500,000 Australians cheered the fleet as it arrived. Sydney, Australia, had a population of 600,000 at the time.

Fast-forward to July 4, 1918, and the muddy Hell of the Western Front in France. Australian and American soldiers went into battle against the Germans side-by-side in one of the first battles involving Americans.

In World War II, American, Australian and New Zealand forces fought alongside each other around the world. From the coast of Java to the sands of North Africa and from the jungles of New Guinea to the mountains of Italy, the nations cooperated. Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands; Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea; the Coral Sea; Okinawa, Japan; Monte Cassino, Italy; Tunis, Tunisia; the Po Valley, Italy; and more were places hallowed by the shared sacrifices of the Kiwis, Aussies and Yanks.

The three nations signed the pact in 1951 at a time when they were fighting alongside each other in Korea. Australian and Kiwis fought in Vietnam and were again operating together during Desert Storm.

When America was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001, Australian Prime Minister John Howard invoked the mutual defense portion of the treaty in support of the United States. Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria became places where the "mates" stood together once again.

The three nations share intelligence, plan together, exercise together, and operate together. It would be hard to find a peacekeeping or humanitarian operation where they don't cooperate.

Today, Australian and New Zealand officers work as integral members of the Joint Staff in the Pentagon and at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii. American officers man positions with Australian forces in the capital of Canberra.

And the partnership continues to grow. U.S. Air Force personnel work closely with their Royal Australian Air Force counterparts. U.S. Marines - who rotate through the northern Australian city of Darwin - train constantly with their counterparts. U.S. Navy ships operate with New Zealand and Australian ships ensuring freedom of navigation throughout the Pacific. American, New Zealand and Australian special operators train together for a variety of missions.

The ANZUS Pact was important in 1951 when the world faced the threat of the Soviet Union. It remains important in 2021 when the international situation is becoming more and more complex.

https://www.defense.gov/Explore/News/Article/Article/2760211/anniversary-marks-70-years-of-australia-new-zealand-us-treaty/

#13848191 at 2021-06-07 08:21:03 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #16 - INFILTRATION NOT INVASION Edition

>>13833648
USS Canberra a shiny new symbol of US-Australia relations

Matthew Cranston - Jun 6, 2021

Washington | A new $US500 million ($645 million) warship christened at the weekend will serve as a symbol for the Australia-US alliance as they celebrate the 70th anniversary of the ANZUS treaty.

The USS Canberra - which is the only US Navy ship to be named after a capital city outside the US - was first announced by then-president Donald Trump in 2018 when then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull visited the US.

It was built by Australian-owned Austal.

Mr Trump also presented a model of the USS Canberra to Prime Minister Scott Morrison during his trip to the White House.

It is the second US Navy warship named in honour of the original HMAS Canberra, which was sunk in August 1942 while defending US marines desperately fighting to defend the island of Guadalcanal.

In 2001, then-president George W Bush presented John Howard with the bell from the original USS Canberra.

On Saturday, Australian Ship Commodore Matthew Hudson had to step in for Australian ambassador Arthur Sinodinos and Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne at the official christening ceremony in Alabama.

"It is apt that in choosing a name for one of its warships the US chose Canberra. It says a lot of the friendship between our two nations that Australia is the only allied country whose capital has been used to name a ship," Commodore Hudson said.

"As Secretary of State [Antony] Blinken said recently, the US and Australia strive for a region that is unconstrained by coercion and anchored by democratic values."

US Navy Rear Admiral Casey Moton said the ship was a symbol of the relationship between the two countries.

"A month after the attack on Pearl Harbour the first contingent of US Navy planners arrived in Darwin to establish planning operations for the south-west Pacific campaign, initiating the island-hopping strategy with which we as allies secured eventual victory," he said.

He quotes then-prime minister John Curtin, saying: "Without any inhibitions of any kind I make it quite clear that Australia looks to America.

"Those words uttered in the dark early days of WWII helped forge the strong bonds that bind Australia together to this day," Rear Admiral Moton said.

The USS Canberra is the 15th of 19 small surface combatants Austal USA is building for the US Navy. Five are under construction at Austal's Mobile ship-building facility in Alabama.

The high-speed, shallow-draft multi-mission ship, known as a littoral combat ship, is capable of operating independently or in a group. As the name suggests, they are designed to defeat growing littoral (close to shore) threats and provide access and dominance along coastal waters. They offer flexibility to execute focused missions such as anti-submarine warfare.

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said Austal was "a great example of the business-friendly climate here in Alabama and the ability we have to partner with businesses from Australia or anywhere in the world".

"We pride ourselves on providing an environment where companies like Austal can thrive, and that's exactly what they're doing," Ms Ivey said, "We're proud of Austal, and we're proud of our continued relationship with Australia."

https://www.afr.com/world/north-america/uss-canberra-a-shiny-new-symbol-of-us-australia-relations-20210606-p57yga

#13848187 at 2021-06-07 08:18:59 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #16 - INFILTRATION NOT INVASION Edition

>>13833648
US Navy christens only warship named for a foreign capital

Brad Lendon - June 7, 2021

(CNN) A bottle of wine was broken across a mass of gray steel in Mobile, Alabama, on Saturday, as the United States Navy unveiled the only ship in its fleet to be named after a foreign capital.

The USS Canberra - named for Australia's seat of power - is a brand new littoral combat ship, one of the US Navy's newest platforms.

"It says much to the strength of the friendship between our two nations that Australia is the only allied country whose capital the US Navy has used to name a ship," Commodore Matthew Hudson, Australia's military attache at its embassy in Washington, said at the christening ceremony Saturday.

The ship is the second US Navy vessel to bear the Canberra name. The first was during World War II, when the then-USS Pittsburgh, a cruiser, was renamed Canberra after an Australian ship of the same name was sunk by Japanese forces in the Battle of Savo Island, part of the Guadalcanal campaign in the Solomon Islands.

The cruiser Canberra would go on the serve until 1970, with roles in the Cuban missile crisis and the Vietnam War.

"I am proud to join Australian partners in continuing the legacy of this name," Vice Adm. Ricky Williamson, US deputy chief of naval operations, said at Saturday's ceremony.

The first Canberra was also in the US fleet when the ANZUS Treaty, a non-binding security agreement among the United States, Australia and New Zealand, was struck in 1951.

Hudson noted that milestone on Saturday.

"As we mark the 70th anniversary of the ANZUS alliance, the friendship between our two countries is stronger than ever," he said.

"The alliance between our two countries makes the world a safer place," said Todd Schafer, an acting assistant secretary of the Navy.

The newest USS Canberra is a 421-foot- (128-meter-) long, 3,200-metric-ton ship that can accommodate a crew of up to 75 sailors.

With a top speed of around 50 mph (80 kph), it will be one of the fastest ships in the US Navy. It will also be armed with the Naval Strike Missile, a sea-skimming cruise missile that is difficult to spot on radar, and can maneuver to avoid enemy defenses.

Littoral combat ships come in two variants, the single-hull Freedom class and the Independence class catamarans, of which Canberra is the 15th.

The symbolism of tight US-Australia security ties extends beyond the ship's name. It was built at the shipyard of Austal USA, part of the Australia-based global defense giant Austal.

"Just 16 years after Austal USA joined the US defense industrial base, the company is hosting its 15th littoral combat ship christening - LCS 30, a ship proudly named after the capital of Australia and yet another symbol of the great ties between our two countries," Austal USA interim president Rusty Murdaugh said.

The Canberra's christening marks the ship's evolution from construction to testing its systems at sea. It will be commissioned when that testing is complete and then join the fleet for deployment.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/07/australia/uss-canberra-us-navy-new-warship-intl-hnk-scli-ml/index.html

#13833648 at 2021-06-05 07:34:09 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #16 - INFILTRATION NOT INVASION Edition

U.S. Navy to christen USS Canberra littoral combat ship on Saturday

UPI Defense News - JUNE 4, 2021

June 4 (UPI) – The U.S. Navy's newest littoral combat ship, to be called USS Canberra, will have its christening ceremony on Saturday in Mobile, Ala., its maker, Austal USA, said on Friday.

While the Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs Marise Payne is the ship's sponsor, Arthur Sinodinos, Australia's ambassador to the United States, will deliver the principal address at the 1pm EDT ceremony, the Navy said Friday in a press release.

"Tomorrow we christen the second USS Canberra, named for the great capital city of Australia, our stalwart ally and superb naval partner," acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Harker said in the Navy's release.

Armed with guns and missiles, and capable of carrying helicopters, 412-foot-long littoral combat ships are small, fast surface warships designed to operate in near-shore environments, countering submarines, mines and small craft.

Independence-class vessels, which include the USS Canberra, feature a trimaran hull design, which differs from the steel/aluminum monohull of the Freedom class.

Construction of the vessel began in 2019.

The ceremony at noon on Saturday will be livestreamed on Facebook.

Built by Austal USA in Mobile, it is the first LCS launched by the company this year, and the first to be launched from the shipyards' new floating dry dock, the company said.

It is the second U.S. Navy ship named after in honor of the HMAS Canberra, a Royal Australian Navy heavy cruiser that was sunk in the Battle of Savo Island at the start of the Guadalcanal campaign in World War II.

https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2021/06/04/navy-lcs-canberra-usscanberra-christening/2931622834453/

https://www.facebook.com/AustalUSA/posts/2905144529725513