QResear.ch

#21494421 at 2024-08-28 09:21:38 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #37: EVERYTHING IS AT STAKE Edition

>>21483208
>>21494416
Anthony Albanese tries his hand at soft-touch diplomacy at Pacific Islands Forum

BEN PACKHAM - 28 August 2024

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Anthony Albanese has sealed a major agreement with Pacific Island nations to create region-wide police response force, in a blow to China's ambitions to expand its security support for the region.

Australian taxpayers will foot the bill for the "Pacific-led" initiative, paying $400m over the next five years to stand up a multi-country Pacific Police Support Group and establish new police training centres across the region.

The Prime Minister secured the diplomatic win at the Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga on Wednesday, as one of the region's smallest states, Tuvalu, challenged Australia to abide by "the spirit" of the nations' landmark climate and migration treaty signed last year.

Amid grumbling on the forum's sidelines over the Albanese government's plans to expand natural gas production, Tuvalu's Prime Minister Feleti Teo urged Australia to "do what it has promised to the region in terms of its commitment to combat climate change".

At least four police training centres will be opened in Pacific countries under the new law and order partnership, starting with Papua New Guinea, while a new co-ordination hub will be established in Brisbane to prepare Pacific police force members for regional deployments.

Forum members will contribute members to the standing police response force, which will be deployed to respond to civil unrest, natural disasters and major regional events.

"This policing initiative continues a long history of Pacific police forces working together to strengthen regional peace and security, and to support each other in times of need," Mr Albanese said.

"The security of the Pacific is the shared responsibility of the Pacific region and this initiative benefits each of our nations."

Mr Albanese won the support of regional counterparts for the initiative despite a warning by Vanuatu - one of China's closest partner's in the region.

"We need to make sure this (initiative) is framed to fit our purposes and not developed to suit the geo-strategic interests and geo-strategic denial security postures of our big partners," Vanuatu's Prime Minister Charlot Salwai said on Tuesday night.

Mr Salwai, who has held up finalisation of a bilateral security agreement with Australia, was backed by Melanesian Spearhead Group secretary-general Leonard Louma, who warned aspects of the plan remained "cryptic".

PNG's Prime Minister James Marape, who stood alongside Mr Albanese to announce the initiative, said it was vital to bring law and order to "the biggest unpoliced space on planet Earth".

"It is a concept that is born from within. Security challenges are always present ... whether it's cyber security, high sea security or domestic security," Mr Marape said.

Asked whether the agreement would preclude policing co-operation with China, Mr Marape said Australia "remains our security partner of choice, especially for policing matters".

Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said past police training had been a "godsend for us", and it was time for the region to step-up and deal with its own security challenges.

"Most of the problems we face are regional problems, and the rest of the world, we believe (is) targeting our region. So it's our responsibility to develop our own policing initiative," Mr Rabuka said.

(continued)

#21494416 at 2024-08-28 09:14:47 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #37: EVERYTHING IS AT STAKE Edition

>>21483208
'Godsend': Australia wins support for policing pact to counter China

Matthew Knott - August 28, 2024

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Nuku'alofa, Tonga: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has scored a significant diplomatic victory, locking in support from Pacific leaders for a far-ranging $400 million policing pact designed to counter China's growing security presence in the region.

The quicker-than-expected show of support for the Pacific Policing Initiative came despite pushback from some Pacific leaders, who said the pact was "cryptic" and risked entangling the Pacific in the superpower rivalry between China and Western nations led by the United States.

Albanese and three fellow leaders announced on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga on Tuesday that the policing agreement had been endorsed by forum leaders.

While stressing the initiative will be "Pacific-led", Australia will be the main funder for the initiative, spending $400 million over five years on the pact and setting up a new co-ordination hub at Australian Federal Police facilities in Brisbane.

The initiative will also see four regional training centres established across the Pacific, beginning with Papua New Guinea, and the creation of a new multinational standing police unit ready to respond to natural disasters or other crises.

This masthead reported on the weekend that Australian officials were confident of gaining support for the policing initiative, despite concerns from some leaders it could be perceived as "anti-China".

Underlining Beijing's energetic attempts to expand its influence in the Pacific, the leaders' meeting on Wednesday took place in a high school sports stadium that was funded by China and opened last week by China's ambassador to Tonga and Tonga's crown prince.

Progress on the policing pact has rankled Beijing, with the state-owned Global Times newspaper quoting an expert saying the agreement "not only violates general principles in international relations, but also infringes on [Pacific nations'] sovereignty to independently choose co-operation partners".

China has courted Pacific leaders in an attempt to supplant Australia as the region's primary security partner, with its police previously entering Pacific countries such as Fiji and Kiribati, and seeking to strike policing pacts with nations such as Papua New Guinea.

Albanese said: "This policing initiative continues a long history of Pacific police forces working together to strengthen regional peace and security, and to support each other in times of need.

"This is a Pacific-led, Australia-backed initiative, harnessing our collective strengths. We are stronger together."

Hailing the importance of the agreement, PNG Prime Minister James Marape described the Pacific as "the biggest un-policed space in planet Earth", saying nations like his faced major challenges including drug trafficking and illegal fishing.

Asked whether the initiative meant a policing deal with China would not be necessary, Marape said: "We have our security partners; at the moment, Australia remains our security partner of choice, especially for policing matters."

(continued)

#21049388 at 2024-06-19 12:26:54 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

>>21015592
Australia announces new initiatives to help improve PNG's internal security, law and justice as part of major bilateral security agreement

Marian Faa - 19 June 2024

Australia has announced a package of initiatives aimed at strengthening Papua New Guinea's internal security and law and justice priorities under a major bilateral security agreement.

A delegation of Australian officials - including Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong and Minster for International Development Pat Conroy - are in PNG to attend the 30th Ministerial Forum.

The measures agreed upon today will be delivered under a long-discussed bilateral pact reached last year while Prime Minister James Marape was visiting Australia.

Senator Wong said the two nations shared inextricable ties.

"This is the only country with whom we have this type of ministerial engagement and it reflects who we are to one another," she told a press conference.

Australia will give additional support for stability in the PNG Highlands as part of the agreement, including a new program to help PNG improve weapons management.

It comes more than a year after one of PNG's worst massacres, which left at least 49 people dead and drew attention to the stacks of illegal firearms and ammunition making their way through the region.

"A stronger and safer Papua New Guinea is good for PNG and it is good for Australia," Senator Wong said.

As well as the weapons management program, Australia will provide support for PNG's legal system to help it investigate and prosecute financial crime and assist with making its correctional facilities safer and more secure.

The new initiatives also include investments in programs to improve access to justice for young people and remote and regional communities and the supply of 12 armoured LandCruisers to Papua New Guinea's Defence Forces.

Transport hangar and labour mobility plan also announced

Under a swathe of announcements made on Wednesday, Australian and Papua New Guinean ministers agreed to the opening of an Australian-supported refurbished Air Transport Wing hangar in Port Moresby to accommodate aircraft supplied by Australia.

It follows the gifting and commissioning of a large police patrol vessel to PNG yesterday - the largest in the country's fleet - which will be used to combat trans-border organised crime, particularly in the Torres Strait Region.

PNG's Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchencko said the security cooperation was in both countries' interests.

"A strong, resilient, safe, prosperous Papua New Guinea will equate to the same in Australia," he said during a bilateral meeting with Senator Wong.

"We look forward to this very important 30th ministerial dialogue between Australia and Papua New Guinea to continue strengthening our relationship, taking our levels higher and higher than they've ever been before."

Australia will also help develop a labour mobility plan to boost PNG's participation in the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme and support PNG's ambition of sending 8,000 workers overseas by 2025.

In his closing remarks, Mr Marles acknowledged the forum was being held in the shadow of the landslide tragedy in Enga Province last month.

He said the Australian delegation will travel to the area tomorrow.

"This meeting has happened with a heavy heart and we stand ready to provide assistance," he said.

Australia's finalisation of the bilateral security agreement with PNG last year came after China signed a police cooperation deal with PNG's neighbour, Solomon Islands.

Mininster Tkatchencko yesterday reiterated that his country was not considering similar policing and security offers made by China to PNG.

"We have chosen not to entertain that at all, made that very, very clear," he said.

"We need to now strengthen our partnership with Australia, who is our traditional partner."

In November, Mr Marape told the ABC his country was caught in a "confluence of interests" in the region, but said PNG's relationship with Australia ranked as number one.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-19/australia-announces-initiatives-to-improve-png-internal-security/103990486

#21015596 at 2024-06-13 10:40:06 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

>>21015592

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Beijing's efforts to sign a security agreement with Port Moresby will loom over the ministerial talks, but Mr Tkatchenko said PNG's relationship with China was strictly an economic one.

"I want to make this crystal clear - Australia does not have to worry at all about any security agreements with China," he said.

"They put that all on the table, but I made it very clear, we will only be entertaining agreements on an economic and trade basis between China and Papua New Guinea.

"And China knows that. They know the boundaries, and they know that we have our traditional partners."

The ministerial forum follows Anthony Albanese's visit to PNG in April when he walked the Kokoda Track with counterpart James Marape. They commemorated Anzac Day together in a demonstration of the nations' close historical ties.

Australia is on track to provide $500m worth of aid to PNG this financial year on top of a $600m loan revealed in the May budget to help keep the country solvent.

The Lowy Institute's Pacific Islands program project director Mihai Sora said PNG was "sliding against pretty much every human development indicator right now".

"The country really is approaching a real point of tension in terms of services and security that the government can provide for its own people," he said.

"There's a huge need to address security and law enforcement across the country. Economically, the extractive industry is kicking along, but there really is a need to expand its narrow economic base and to continue to address governance reforms."

Mr Sora said the country's 50th anniversary of independence next year would mark an important milestone in the bilateral relationship.

"I think Australia will be doing what it can to use that moment to demonstrate that we have an enduring and special relationship with Papua New Guinea," he said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/png-offers-skilled-workers-for-australias-infrastructure-sector-pledges-no-riff-raff/news-story/b24fc74abc8f444105431db6cf4fa25e

#20964568 at 2024-06-04 10:48:47 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

>>20964564

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As well as meeting ADF entry standards and security requirements, permanent residents wishing to join the ADF will be required to have lived in Australia for at least a year immediately before applying and to have not served in a foreign military in the previous two years.

Once foreign nationals have served for 90 days, they will be expected to apply for Australian citizenship.

The government previously introduced a $50,000 retention bonus, dropped the ADF's one-size-fits-all fitness test - which requires recruits to be able to complete dozens of sit-ups, push-ups and sprints in a set time - and made it easier for people with medical conditions to serve in the military as a way to boost personnel numbers.

New Zealand Defence Minister Judith Collins said she was not concerned about the proposal depleting her nation's defence force, because of the eligibility criteria.

"Australia is New Zealand's only ally, and we continue to have a very close relationship," she said.

The New Zealand government expressed its anger last week at the Albanese government's plan to change an immigration rule known as direction 99 to make it easier to deport criminal non-citizens.

Australian Strategic Policy Institute executive director Justin Bassi welcomed the initiative as "very positive" and a "sensible idea".

Asked about possible security concerns, he said: "I think a baby-steps approach involving New Zealand and then branching out in terms of the Five Eyes and the Pacific is the way to go."

Friendly countries should be "white-listed" for acceptance, instead of problematic countries being blacklisted, he said.

Retired major general Fergus McLachlan said the policy was a "good start, but lots more to do" to address the ADF's recruitment issues.

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape said in April that he would be delighted for his citizens to serve under the Australian flag.

"As soon as you change the laws, we will be ready," he said. "You will find our soldiers will be very loyal."

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/can-t-get-story-straight-confusion-over-plan-to-allow-foreigners-to-serve-in-adf-20240604-p5jj5j.html

https://www.defence.gov.au/news-events/news/2024-06-04/adf-opens-its-ranks-non-citizens

#20886301 at 2024-05-19 08:24:30 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

#35 - Part 34
Australian Politics and Society - Part 26
>>20774750 Video: Anthony Albanese attends Anzac Day dawn service at Isurava, saying 'we will never forget' people of PNG - The prime minister has told the crowd at an Anzac Day dawn service in Papua New Guinea that Australia "will never forget" the help the country's people provided to Australian soldiers during World War II. Anthony Albanese marked Anzac Day with the completion of a two-day, 16-kilometre journey along the Kokoda Track with PNG's Prime Minister James Marape, a visit the leaders have used to highlight their shared legacy of war in the context of a growing security relationship. "We feel the weight of history as we gather here along the Kokoda Track, this great artery of mud and suffering and perseverance that has come to occupy a place of singular power in Australia's shared memory." Mr Albanese used the speech to highlight how the events of the war forged a powerful bond between Australians and the people of PNG. "We thank every one of them who helped Australians in the face of retribution and sometimes unfathomable cruelty," he said. "The troops, the coast watchers and the shipping pilots. The villagers who risked their own lives to feed and guide and shelter Australians in desperate need. The stretcher bearers whose courage was matched only by their kindness. To the people of PNG, I offer Australia's promise: We will never forget."
>>20775620 Australians gather at Anzac Day services across the country to honour service men and women - Thousands of Australians and New Zealanders have gathered for Anzac Day dawn services and parades across both countries to honour those who served. This year marks 109 years since Australian and New Zealand soldiers landed on the Turkish coastline at Gallipoli during World War I. Their eight-month battle was ultimately unsuccessful, but their courage and bravery amid hardship have become an enduring symbol of military sacrifice. The day now honours the more than 1.5 million men and women who have served Australia in all conflicts, wars and peacekeeping operations, and the 103,000 Australians who lost their lives while serving. Dawn services were held in cities and towns across every state and territory in Australia, in Papua New Guinea and Samoa, and a later service at Gallipoli at dawn local time.

>>20775653 Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post: - Lest We Forget - "U.S. Marines and Sailors are honored to be included in #AnzacDay activities with our Australian Defence Force brothers and sisters. The display of national support to those that serve and sacrifice on behalf of this great nation is awe-inspiring. We are humbled to share in the love and support from the people of Darwin and the surrounding communities." - U.S. Marine Corps Col. Brian T. Mulvihill, the commanding officer of MRF-D 24.3. Anzac Day marks the landings in Gallipoli of Australian and New Zealand Army Corps soldiers in 1915, and commemorates all Australian personnel who served and died in wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations. MRF-D 24.3 #Marines and #Sailors showed their support to Defence Australia personnel commemorating Anzac Day through dawn services and other commemorative services.
>>20780481 Video: Stabbed bishop takes swipe at those using attack 'to serve political purposes' - The Sydney bishop who was stabbed in an alleged terror attack has taken a swipe at those who he says are using his assault to serve their political purposes. In a lavishly produced 11-minute YouTube video -- his first public statement since he was stabbed multiple times on April 15 while delivering a livestreamed sermon - Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel commented on eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant's takedown order of the graphic footage. "I do acknowledge the Australian government's desire to have the videos removed because of their graphic nature; I do not condone any acts of terrorism or violence," Emmanuel said in a voice-over accompanying footage of him walking the processional route of Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem. "However, noting our God-given right of freedom of speech and freedom of religion, I'm not opposed to the videos remaining on social media. I would be of great concern if people use the attack on me to serve their own political interests to control free speech."

#20886300 at 2024-05-19 08:24:12 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

#35 - Part 33
Australian Politics and Society - Part 25
>>20770211 Video: The Last Post - Anzac Day 2024 - "They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them." Lest We Forget.
>>20770161 Video: National Dawn Service | Anzac Day 2024 - Join us as we go LIVE for the Anzac Day 2024 National Commemorative Service in Canberra from 5.30am AEST on April 25. - ABC Australia
>>20770166 Video: Anzac Day 2024 Melbourne Dawn Service - Watch the live stream of the Dawn Service at the Shrine of Remembrance. In solemn tradition, Victorians gather to commemorate those who served and died in defence of our country. The service is held at dawn to coincide with the time of the Gallipoli landing in 1915 - the first major military action by Australian and New Zealand forces (ANZACs) during the First World War. The event includes recitations, hymns, wreath-laying and an address by the Governor of Victoria. - ShrineMelbourne
>>20770170 Video: Gallipoli Dawn Service | Anzac Day 2024 - Join us as we go LIVE for the Anzac Day 2024 Gallipoli Dawn Service from 12:30pm AEST April 25. - ABC Australia
>>20770177 Video: Villers-Bretonneux Service | Anzac Day 2024 - Join us as we go LIVE for the Anzac Day 2024 Villers-Bretonneux Service from 1:30pm AEST on April 25. - ABC Australia

>>20770180 Video: Melbourne March | Anzac Day 2024 - Join us as we go LIVE for the Anzac Day 2024 Melbourne March from 9:00am AEST on April 25. - ABC Australia
>>20770188 Video: Anzac Day 2024 March & Commemoration Service - Watch the live stream of the Anzac Day March and Commemoration Service. Honour and recognise those who have served and who currently serve in defence of Australia and its interests. The march commences in Swanston Street (near Federation Square) along St Kilda Road to the Shrine of Remembrance. The march is normally complete by midday, and is followed by a commemoration service at the Shrine of Remembrance. - ShrineMelbourne
>>20774481 Video: Thousands gather before dawn to commemorate Anzac Day - Thousands of Australians have gathered before first light to commemorate the solemn occasion of Anzac Day. From capital city cenotaphs to local memorials, thousands have braved the cold to honour the memory of all Australians who have served their country at home and abroad. The dawn service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra began at 5.30am after earlier services across the nation got underway. Wreaths were laid by Governor-General David Hurley before the Anzac Day dawn service address was delivered by the Vice-Chief of the Defence Force, Vice-Admiral David Johnston. The traditional sounding of the Last Post was sounded before a minute's silence and the Reveille.
>>20774499 Video: Anzac Day 2024: Marches underway in Sydney and Melbourne - Australians across the country move from dawn services to marches in our major cities to honour the fallen this Anzac Day. - 9 News Australia
>>20774576 Video: PM pays tribute on the Kokoda Track, 'this great artery of mud and suffering and perseverance' - Illuminated by the glow of distant stars and campers' headlights, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stood at the site of a crucial World War II battle in remote Papua New Guinea to commemorate Anzac Day. After spending two days walking the Kokoda Track in often arduous terrain alongside his PNG counterpart James Marape, Albanese told the crowd of approximately 400 people at the Isurava memorial that they were standing on "ground made hallow by Australian sacrifice". "We are gathered in a place that has known the most pitiless ferocity of battle, fought with bullet, bayonet, mortar, and the desperation of bare hands," Albanese said. "It is also a place that has seen the unadorned strength of the Australian spirit."

#20886298 at 2024-05-19 08:23:19 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

#35 - Part 31
Australian Politics and Society - Part 23
>>20765177 Selfies, snacks and ceremonies: Albanese sets up camp for night on Kokoda Track - Greeted by the sound of tribal chants and pounding drums, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arrived in Kokoda Village on Tuesday morning for an extravagant traditional welcome ceremony before beginning to walk the Kokoda Track. Thousands of locals, some of whom walked up to an hour for the event from remote villages, lined up along the hillside to welcome Albanese as he descended in a PNG defence helicopter after travelling from the capital, Port Moresby. The crowd included scores of schoolchildren wearing the national colours of Australia and PNG. Many waved national flags as they greeted Albanese and PNG Prime Minister James Marape. A public holiday was declared in the area for the visit from the prime ministers. Longtime residents said it was the most lavish welcome an Australian leader had received in the country since Paul Keating visited in 1992, when he kissed the ground at the site of one of the most important military campaigns in Australian history.
>>20769708 Video: Musk decision to leave knife attack video on X prompts police terror warning, says Australian senator - An Australian senator said on Wednesday that police feared Elon Musk's decision to ignore a regulator order and leave footage on his social media platform X of a Sydney bishop being stabbed might encourage people to join terrorist groups. An Australian court has upheld a regulator order for the billionaire to take down posts containing footage of the April 15 stabbing of the Assyrian bishop during a service. Senator Jacqui Lambie said that by keeping the violent posts online globally the Australian Federal Police (AFP) had told the federal court Musk's platform X created a risk that "the video could be used to encourage people in Australia to join a terrorist organisation or undertake a terrorist act". Musk "should put his big boy pants on and do the right thing, but he won't because he has no social conscience", Lambie said in her social media posts. The AFP declined to comment.

>>20769780 Video: 'Enemy of the people': Elon Musk unleashes on Jacqui Lambie after the Senator claimed the X owner 'should be 'in jail' - Elon Musk has clapped back at Senator Jacqui Lambie after she launched an attack on the billionaire amid calls for his social media platform X to remove violent content of last week's alleged terror attack. Speaking to Sky News Australia's Kieran Gilbert on Tuesday, Senator Lambie said Musk was "creating hatred" by ignoring requests to remove harmful content, and announced she would be boycotting X. "I think he's a social media knob with no social conscience, he has absolutely no social conscience," she said. "Someone like that should be in jail and the key be thrown away. That bloke should not have a right to be out there on his own ideology platform and creating hatred, showing all this stuff out there to our kids and doing all the rest. "I'll say this to everybody else, I'll be switching off X today, I'll be doing that before I get to the airport this afternoon, and I suggest that the other 226, there's 227 members of Parliament, do the same thing. Show him that you mean business." Musk responded to Ms Lambie's suggestions he should be in jail from a clip of her appearance on Sky News Australia. "This woman has utter contempt for the Australian people," he wrote.
>>20769820 Video: ASIO boss says privacy 'not absolute' as he urges social media companies to do more on extremism - Social media companies must do more to stamp out extremism and assist law enforcement to track criminals, the heads of Australia's federal police and security agencies have urged. In comments likely to provoke criticism from some civil and digital rights campaigners, the ASIO director general, Mike Burgess, will use a major speech on Wednesday to argue "privacy is important but not absolute", while the AFP commissioner, Reece Kershaw, believes "there is no absolute right to privacy". Burgess will also sound an alarm about artificial intelligence, warning the new technology "is likely to make radicalisation easier and faster". In the latest salvo in an expanding dispute between the Australian government and tech companies such as Facebook and X, Burgess and Kershaw will use a joint address to the National Press Club to call for social media companies to give more assistance to law enforcement in certain circumstances, including in cases of potential crimes being discussed on encrypted messaging platforms.

#20886296 at 2024-05-19 08:22:42 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

#35 - Part 30
Australian Politics and Society - Part 22
>>20759636 Meta new AI tool names Turnbull, Albanese among our 'best' PMs, sparking political bias fears - Meta's new artificial intelligence tool has ranked Malcolm Turnbull and Anthony Albanese as among Australia's five best prime ministers, while labelling Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison as controversial and named Peter Dutton among the least humane politicians - sparking fresh concerns of political bias from big tech. Meta unleashed its latest large language model, Llama 3, on Friday as the AI race intensifies between Silicon Valley's biggest tech companies. It labelled Kevin Rudd as one of Australia's most humane politicians for his apology to the stolen generations in 2008, while it said Mr Dutton was the least humane for his role in implementing the "Stop the Boats" policy and his comments on "African gangs". It comes as big tech has attracted criticism for promoting political biases via its powerful AI models.
>>20759654 Video: ANZAC Day 2024: Australia's Federation Guard prepare to stand on hallowed ground - Australia's Federation Guard prepare to stand on hallowed ground, representing ADF at Gallipoli for the 2024 ANZAC Day service. There is no bigger stage than Gallipoli, it is where the ANZAC spirit was forged and continues to live on today. "It's a huge honour, it feels special to come after them, to keep their legacy going and what they fought for alive," AC Jordan McGrath, Australia's Federation Guard. - Defence Australia
>>20764915 Video: Watchdog wins urgent court bid to make X take down stabbing videos - Australia's online watchdog won an injunction to force Elon Musk's social platform X to hide videos of last week's Sydney church stabbing as a high-powered ministerial taskforce leads a bid to tackle online algorithms pushing anti-women influencers. Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton have joined the many politicians savaging digital platforms in recent days as momentum grows for new laws to assert Australia's sovereignty after Musk rebuffed Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant's take-down orders, calling them "unlawful and dangerous". Late on Monday, Inman Grant launched a Federal Court bid to force X to comply with the order. The court found in favour of the Australian regulator on an interim basis and decided the videos should be removed by putting them behind a notice within 24 hours. The order also applied to Meta, which Inman Grant said last week was co-operating with her demand to take videos down.

>>20764968 Video: Anthony Albanese and Elon Musk feud over X's bid to show graphic stabbing footage, as conservative senator shares footage - Federal senator Ralph Babet has shared the unedited violent footage of the Wakeley church stabbing attack as a feud continues over X's bid to be able to host it on its site. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday morning hit back at "arrogant" billionaire Elon Musk after he made comments goading Mr Albanese on his social media platform X. Overnight Mr Musk twice posted comments mocking Australia's prime minister, suggesting X's refusal to remove the violent videos left it alone among social media platforms as a defender of free speech. "I'd like to take a moment to thank the PM for informing the public that this platform is the only truthful one," Mr Musk wrote. Mr Albanese retorted that Mr Musk's comments only exposed his arrogance. "This guy is saying more about himself than anything else, he's putting his ego and putting his billionaire's dollars towards taking a court case for the right to put more violent content on what will sow social division and cause distress," Mr Albanese told Channel Nine. "It just shows his arrogance really, if he doesn't see that this is essentially a common sense position by the eSafety commissioner."
>>20765147 Albanese to trek Kokoda in campaign for PNG's hearts and minds - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has brushed off Beijing's attempts to expand its influence in Papua New Guinea, insisting no country can match the depth of Australia's relationship with its closest neighbour as he prepares to undertake a gruelling hike of the Kokoda Track alongside counterpart James Marape. Albanese's arrival in Port Moresby on Monday came a day after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited the Papua New Guinean capital, a rapid turnaround underscoring the increasingly intense conflict for geopolitical influence in the Pacific. As well as signing lucrative deals for Papua New Guinea to export cocoa and coffee into the Chinese market, Beijing's top diplomat used his visit to criticise the AUKUS pact and favourably compare China's approach to international development with Australia's. Albanese will become the first sitting prime minister to walk part of the Kokoda Track this week, embarking on a 15-kilometre walk in 30-plus degree temperatures and stifling humidity alongside Marape.

#20886284 at 2024-05-19 08:19:02 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

#35 - Part 23
Australian Politics and Society - Part 15
>>20710562 Albanese to visit the Kokoda Track for Anzac Day - Anthony Albanese will mark Anzac Day by walking part of the Kokoda Track with his Papua New Guinea counterpart, James Marape. The two leaders are expected to attend a dawn service at Isurava to commemorate the hundreds of people who died during the World War II Kokoda campaign. Originally a network of trails to connect mountain villages, the track stretches for 96 kilometres from the Kokoda Plateau in the north to Owers Corner in the south. Australian forces were stationed in the area from July 1942 to stop Japan advancing towards the PNG capital of Port Moresby. More than 600 Australians were killed during the campaign, and thousands more became ill or were seriously injured. The campaign was considered critical to the security of the Australian mainland. Now part of Australian folklore, Kokoda attracts thousands of Australian tourists every year.
>>20719788 Video: Multiple dead and more seriously injured in horror stabbing at Westfield Bondi Junction - A heroic police officer ended a knifeman's reign of terror inside a packed Westfield at Sydney's Bondi Junction as she bravely took him on alone and shot him dead with a bullet to the chest. The horror unfolded at 3.20pm on Saturday afternoon when a man in an NRL jersey began stabbing shoppers at random, including a woman and her nine-month-old baby, with six people confirmed dead and many more injured. Multiple people were stabbed during the horror as panicked families ran for their lives. He was then shot dead by a senior female police officer who was nearby at the time and bravely decided to take him on alone, stalking him through the mall before gunning him down. Five people were confirmed dead at the scene, as well as the attacker, with a sixth victim later dying in hospital. The sixth victim is the mother of the nine-month-old baby, with witnesses describing how the 38-year-old desperately battled to save her child despite her own injuries by stumbling towards other shoppers and handing the infant to them.

>>20719871 Video: Six people killed in stabbing attack at Sydney's Westfield Bondi Junction, alleged offender shot dead - Six people have been killed in a knife attack at Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre in Sydney's east on Saturday afternoon, NSW Police say. Five of the victims died at the scene and the sixth died from their injuries in hospital, NSW Police said. Nine people, including a small child, were stabbed by a man in the centre and some are in a critical condition. The offender was shot dead at the scene by a police officer. NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Anthony Cooke said authorities believe the man acted alone and there is no ongoing threat. Assistant Commissioner Cooke said he did not have further information about the man's identity. He said there was no indication of the offender's motive but police had not ruled anything out.
>>20719889 Video: Six people killed, attacker shot dead in Bondi Junction stabbing attack - Six people have been killed and an attacker has been shot dead after multiple people were stabbed at Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre in Sydney's east. - 9 News Australia
>>20719892 Attacker identified as 40-year-old man: Police Commissioner Webb - Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the six victims killed in the Bondi Junction Westfield attack were five women and a man. Five died onsite, while one woman died later in hospital. The attacker has been identified as a 40-year-old man known to law enforcement, though police are waiting to formally identify him. He is believed to have acted alone. "If he is the person that we believe, then we don't have fears of that person holding an ideation. In other words, it's not a terrorism incident," Webb said. She said it was too early to comment on his psychological state.

#20545559 at 2024-03-10 08:36:51 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #34: UNITED AGAINST THE INVISIBLE ENEMY OF ALL HUMANITY Edition

#34 - Part 17
Australian Politics and Society - Part 10
>>20377086 Video: Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape urges Australia to not 'give up' on his country in historic parliament address - The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape has urged Australia to not "give up" on his country during an historic address to the federal parliament. On Thursday morning, Mr Marape became the first Pacific leader to address the joint sitting of both houses, with MPs and Senators packing into the lower house to listen. The prime minister dwelt heavily on the shared history between Australia and Papua New Guinea, paying tribute to prime minister Gough Whitlam who helped shepherd his country to independence almost 50 years ago. "It was from this parliament that many decisions were made that have helped and shaped what Papua New Guinea was before 1975, and what Papua New Guinea is after 1975," Mr Marape said. "This is why Papua New Guinea has a very special and very unique relationship with Australia. We are the only country Australia has birthed."
>>20383187 'Ball in Australia's court': Fiji lobs torture issue back at ADF - Fiji's top military chief has reportedly told Australian Defence Force chief Angus Campbell that "the ball is in Australia's court" to decide whether a Fijian colonel keeps his job as deputy commander of the Australian 7th Brigade, following allegations that he was involved in torture and human rights abuses.
>>20383200 Killer drone 'in service this year': Conroy - The Albanese government will introduce an armed drone into service this year, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy has revealed. Mr Conroy disclosed the existence of the secret drone program as he announced $400m more for the air force's developmental Ghost Bat unmanned aircraft.
>>20387063 Victorian Labor: We're taking on Advance Australia - Victorian Labor Party telling lies and using tried and proven tactic of accusing the other side of what they are in fact doing.
>>20389048 Let local Indigenous voices be heard, Marcia Langton tells Anthony Albanese - Marcia Langton wants the Albanese government to continue to support various forms of Indigenous voices across Australia, including legislated voices, as a way of fixing the failing Closing the Gap agreement.
>>20389124 Video: 'Yes but I hate you!' Trump and Turnbull's explosive phone call - Malcolm Turnbull describes his infamous call with Donald Trump over Australia's refugee swap deal as 'tough'. This is not the only revealing moment during the shooting of Nemesis, the ABC's landmark political docuseries charting nine years of Coalition government from 2013 to 2022. - ABC News In-depth

>>20389124 Q Post #479 - How much did AUS donate to CF? How much did SA donate to CF? Compare. Why is this relevant? What phone call between POTUS and X/AUS leaked? List the leadership in AUS. IDEN leadership during Hussein term. IDEN leadership during POTUS' term. Who controls AUS? Who really controls AUS? UK? Why is this relevant? Q
>>20389124 Q Post #908 - Which conversation leaked? POTUS & AUS? Why that specific conversation? Signal? We (they) hear what you are saying? Threat to AUS? Why? What do they know? Trapped? Forced? Blood. Q
>>20389124 Q Post #910 - Do not focus on the call details. We knew it would leak. We knew certain areas of the WH were bugged. We knew certain people would leak. Focus - why AUS? Q
>>20394585 Republicans 'shameful' for blocking Ukraine aid, says Australia's Tony Abbott - U.S. Republicans are "shameful" for blocking fresh military aid to Ukraine and holding the country "hostage to some other political objective," according to staunchly conservative former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
>>20394679 Kwinana Beach factory fire - The second Agricultural Chemical supplier plant I'm aware of in Western Australia has gone up in flames. The war on the food supply chain in Australia continues.
>>20400646 Tony Abbott warns 'war drums are beating' - Tony Abbott says the "war drums are beating again" as dictators in Moscow, Beijing and Tehran exploit fissures in the democratic world made by an unlikely coalition of Donald Trump-supporting US Republicans and far left social activists.
>>20400665 Why the future rests on our moral and martial fortitude - "The immediate need is to re-arm Ukraine, stand by Israel, position more ships and planes into East Asia, urgently excise China from critical supply chains, swiftly rebuild our defence industrial infrastructure, be ready to mobilise armed forces that adversaries would shrink to take on, and better befriend India which should one day be America's equal as a bastion of democracy." - Tony Abbott, former prime minister of Australia - theaustralian.com.au

#20545557 at 2024-03-10 08:36:09 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #34: UNITED AGAINST THE INVISIBLE ENEMY OF ALL HUMANITY Edition

#34 - Part 16
Australian Politics and Society - Part 9
>>20365452 How Donald Trump's election victory in November could shatter Australia-US relations - "Australian ministers, public servants and diplomats are quietly assessing the implications of a Donald Trump presidential election victory in November. Trump's single presidential term was a disaster for the US but also for traditional alliance partners and the standing of the great republic around the world. Trump did not and does not have a coherent foreign policy, was irrational and unpredictable, prone to snap judgments and policy reversals. Even though I regard a Trump victory over Biden as unlikely, it cannot be ruled out. It makes sense for Australian government officials to prepare for this worst-case scenario." - Troy Bramston - theaustralian.com.au
>>20371195 Productivity Commission pushes for state Indigenous powers and Aboriginal watchdog - Governments across the country should relinquish powers on Aboriginal affairs policy to Indigenous communities and legislate watchdogs with more authority than the defeated voice would have had, to save failing efforts to close the gap, the Productivity Commission has declared.
>>20371298 While drama continues to develop at home, PNG prime minister touches down in Australia for historic speech - Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape has arrived in Canberra ahead of a historic address at Parliament House, but a political storm is continuing to brew at home in Port Moresby.

>>20371346 ABC cancels controversial drag queen story hour for kids after 'hateful response' - The ABC has backflipped on a controversial decision to organise a Drag Queen Story event for children as young as three in a Sydney suburban library after questions were raised about its "appropriateness" and "gender indoctrination". The national broadcaster had made the call-out on social media for children aged from three to five years to attend a four-hour event at Rockdale Library, in Sydney's south, on February 22 as part of Mardi Gras. However the ABC said it had a "hateful and offensive response" to its plans and it was "considering how we can safely host it".
>>20371367 'Dead wrong so many times': Former Donald Trump advisor Steve Bannon hits out at Kevin Rudd over position on China - A former advisor to Donald Trump has taken aim at Australia's Ambassador to the United States Kevin Rudd over his position on China during an exclusive interview with Sky News. Steve Bannon served as a chief White House strategist under the Trump administration after the former US president's election win in 2016. Speaking to Sky News host Sharri Markson on Wednesday, Mr Bannon warned Mr Rudd's attempts to stabilise the strained Australia-China relations were dangerous. "Ambassador Rudd should know we got his number," Mr Bannon told Markson. "For people in the United States, folks in Australia should know, Rudd puts himself out as the expert in the world on China and the Chinese Communist Party. "I think he's been dead wrong so many times."
>>20377050 Video: Albanese government set for 'tense relationship' with future Trump administration - Sky News host Sharri Markson warns the Albanese Government is set for a tense relationship with Donald Trump's administration should he return to the White House. Former strategist Steve Bannon revealed Australia's Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd has been trying to "worm his way" into the Trump inner circle. "Ambassador Rudd should know we got his number," Mr Bannon told Ms Markson. Mr Bannon served as a chief White House strategist under the Trump administration after the former US president's election win in 2016. "Bannon's comments indicate that the Albanese government has cause for concern should Trump win the election later this year," Ms Markson said. - Sky News Australia
>>20377059 Kevin Rudd attempting to 'worm his way back' into hardline Republicans' 'good graces' - Australia's Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd has been warned his attempts to "worm his way back into the good graces" of hardline Republicans will be "quite difficult," according to former White House Trump advisor Steve Bannon. - Mr Bannon explained the former Australian prime minister had been very critical of Donald Trump while the former president was in office but had constantly had a different attitude towards the Chinese Communist Party. "I think Rudd's attitude about the Chinese Communist Party, at least, is so different than the hardliners," he said. "What we fought for in World War II together as allies is still on the table today and I would hope Ambassador Rudd took it as seriously as the hardline anti-CCP element in the United States." - Sky News Australia

#20545545 at 2024-03-10 08:31:03 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #34: UNITED AGAINST THE INVISIBLE ENEMY OF ALL HUMANITY Edition

#34 - Part 11
Australian Politics and Society - Part 4
>>20193851 Republic on ice after Indigenous voice referendum failure - Labor has junked plans to hold a republic referendum in the next term of parliament, with the ?Albanese government vowing to keep its focus on the cost of living after losing public support during the voice debate.
>>20193868 Anthony Albanese confirms King Charles visit later this year - A government spokesperson told The Australian that "the Prime Minister enjoys a warm relationship with the King, and looks forward to welcoming His Majesty to Australia later this year". The royal visit would be the first since King Charles's accession to the throne and the first visit to Australia by the sitting monarch since Queen Elizabeth II in October 2011.
>>20199983 Voice campaigner Thomas Mayo calls to legislate the same sort of body the country voted against - One of the most prominent ?Indigenous "Yes" campaigners at last year's defeated referendum has backed a legislated Voice to Parliament, less than three months after Australians rejected the plan to entrench one in the constitution.
>>20211922 Morrison enlists former VP Pence to write foreword for Christian memoir - Former prime minister Scott Morrison's book canvassing his Christian faith has been endorsed by fellow high-profile Christian and former US vice president Mike Pence. Pence, who served as Donald Trump's vice president and who is well known for his own evangelical views, has written the foreword to Morrison's book.
>>20211957 Secret society Freemasons throws open its doors in Cairns to dispel myths - "Conspiracy theorists have accused Freemasons of being behind world wars, starting the American revolution, worshipping Satan and even riding goats. But here in far north Queensland, two men are happy to throw open the doors to their not-so-secret club to try to dispel some myths. Raja Chohan, grand master of the district Grand Lodge of Carpentaria, and fellow member Duncan Walker, are offering a glimpse into the workings of a society usually shrouded in mystery." - Phil Brandel - abc.net.au
>>20211957 Q Post #1630 - Why are Freemasons on the scene of most shooting locations? Openly giving interviews or in background shots? Symbolism will be their downfall. Q - https://qanon.pub/#1630 - https://qalerts.pub/?q=freemason

>>20218556 US government urges court not to drop charges against Donald Day, the extremist linked to Wieambilla shooting - The US government has urged a court in Arizona to reject a request by American extremist, Donald Day Jr for charges against him be dropped.
>>20218577 Woolworths dumps Australia Day merchandise from all stores, cites 'gradual decline' in demand - Woolies had confirmed its Australia Day merchandise has been dumped from stores across the nation and will no longer be sold, citing a "gradual decline" in demand for the merchandise over the years and "broader discussion" about the January 26 date and "what it means" to different parts of the community.
>>20224502 Video: Violence and looting erupt in PNG amid police, public servant pay 'glitch' - At least 10 people have reportedly died after violence erupted in Papua New Guinea's capital on Wednesday when a payroll "glitch" sparked angry protests by police, soldiers and public servants, who surrounded the nation's parliament and Prime Minister James Marape's office.
>>20224522 Video: Violent riots in PNG leave 16 people dead, as MP calls for PM James Marape to step down - Sixteen people have died in violent riots in Papua New Guinea after some residents took advantage of police being on strike on Wednesday to set shops and businesses alight in the capital. Local security services described the rioting overnight as total anarchy.
>>20224547 Video: Peter Dutton blasts Woolworths for not carrying Australia Day merchandise - Peter Dutton has called for Australians to boycott one of the nation's biggest supermarkets for its decision to stop stocking shelves with Australia Day merchandise, declaring the move by Woolworths was "against the national interest".
>>20224564 Online safety regulator lashes X, formerly Twitter, over failure to police hate - The social media platform X, formerly Twitter, has put Australian users at greater risk since Elon Musk took over, according to Australia's eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant
>>20240946 Alleged Hells Angels chief snuck into Thailand on private jet after fleeing Sydney, say police - Rodrigo Elices, alleged leader of the Hells Angels bikie gang wanted in NSW after a drug house in Kogarah caught fire in October 2022, snuck into Thailand on a private plane with a false passport before being pulled from a luxury villa hideout, local officials claim.

#20377086 at 2024-02-08 08:21:18 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #34: UNITED AGAINST THE INVISIBLE ENEMY OF ALL HUMANITY Edition

>>20224502
>>20371298
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape urges Australia to not 'give up' on his country in historic parliament address

Stephen Dziedzic and Tim Swanston - 8 February 2024

1/2

The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape has urged Australia to not "give up" on his country during an historic address to the federal parliament.

On Thursday morning, Mr Marape became the first Pacific leader to address the joint sitting of both houses, with MPs and Senators packing into the lower house to listen.

The prime minister dwelt heavily on the shared history between Australia and Papua New Guinea, paying tribute to prime minister Gough Whitlam who helped shepherd his country to independence almost 50 years ago.

"It was from this parliament that many decisions were made that have helped and shaped what Papua New Guinea was before 1975, and what Papua New Guinea is after 1975," Mr Marape said.

"This is why Papua New Guinea has a very special and very unique relationship with Australia. We are the only country Australia has birthed."

He acknowledged that Papua New Guinea continues to grapple with profound social and economic difficulties in the wake of riots that gripped the capital Port Moresby just last month, but declared that his government was intent on overhauling the public sector, police force and judiciary in order to improve stability.

"It is true our people need greater empowerment in many aspects of their life. But not all is bad. Not all is bad," he told the joint sitting.

"Nearly 50 years on, our democracy remains strong as ever .... we have not fallen to the barrel of the gun as many emerging nations."

Australia has extended multiple loans and grants to Papua New Guinea worth billions of dollars to help support its budget bottom line and develop its infrastructure, and last year the two nations struck a security pact which will see Canberra plough a further $200 million into developing PNG's police force and judiciary.

Mr Marape said PNG's leaders had to deal with a vast and inaccessible landscape, widespread illiteracy and a large and hugely diverse population.

"As I visit you today, I ask you - do not give up on Papua New Guinea," the prime minister said.

"We have always bounced back from our low moments and we will continue to grow, learning from every low moments and every high moments."

Mr Marape has repeatedly spoken about the critical need to expand PNG's economic base and cut its dependency on development assistance, and he struck a similar theme this morning.

"Papua New Guinea must not continue to be an aid grant receiving nation, a nation that is borrowing every year to survive," he told the joint sitting.

"We must become a strong country standing on our own two feet economically independent and strong so we too can help Australia maintain democracy, preserve peace and ensure stability in our part of planet Earth, in our Pacific."

The prime minister also drew a laugh when describing Australia and PNG as siblings which were joined at the hip.

"One is stuck with family forever ... our two countries are stuck with each other. We have no choice but to get along."

(continued)

#20371298 at 2024-02-07 08:50:24 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #34: UNITED AGAINST THE INVISIBLE ENEMY OF ALL HUMANITY Edition

>>20224502
>>20328464
While drama continues to develop at home, PNG prime minister touches down in Australia for historic speech

Tim Swanston and Stephen Dziedzic - 7 February 2024

1/2

Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape has arrived in Canberra ahead of a historic address at Parliament House, but a political storm is continuing to brew at home in Port Moresby.

Mr Marape's visit comes as China continues its efforts to expand security ties with Pacific nations, with PNG's leaders moving to reassure Australia it will not press ahead with any new policing agreements with Beijing.

On Thursday, Mr Marape will become the first Pacific Island leader to deliver a speech to federal parliament, where he's expected to extol bilateral ties as PNG approaches the 50th anniversary of its independence from Australia.

But the prime minister is facing a looming motion of no confidence in his leadership, which could come as early as next week.

PNG is still reeling after deadly riots in January in Port Moresby claimed at least 15 lives, with devastating losses for businesses after widespread looting and arson.

As the violence spilled out across the country, people were killed in other provincial centres.

Mr Marape has indicated that he'll largely use the address to celebrate the relationship and thank Australia for granting PNG its independence 49 years ago.

"There is no greater moment than this for me to go down to Australia and thank them, we were birthed from the hands of Australia as a nation," Mr Marape said.

"Papua New Guineans must not take our sovereignty for granted, it could have been a different independence."

"Our flag was hoisted up and the Australian flag was lowered, not torn down."

Mr Marape and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese are also expected to discuss Papua New Guinea's internal security and broader defence and policing ties in the wake of the deadly unrest last month.

The prime minister was last in Australia in December to sign a Bilateral Security Agreement which will see Australia give PNG $200m to help support its internal security needs.

The funding is expected to be used to build up PNG's police and training, as well as expand and improve PNG's judiciary.

PNG's Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko told the ABC that the Australian and PNG government departments were now working on implementing the pact.

"We need to see outcomes, it can't just be a signed paper that gathers dust on the shelf and is forgotten," he said.

On Tuesday Mr Tkatchenko met with his Australian counterpart Senator Penny Wong and International Development and Pacific Minister Pat Conroy.

In a press release, Mr Tkatchenko said the trio discussed "agreed announcements" for the trip, which spanned "law and justice, immigration, climate funding, critical infrastructure investments (and) scholarships".

He also said he "took the opportunity to reassure" them about the PNG government's commitment to Australia as a security partner, "dispelling the misinformation that PNG is entering into a security cooperation with the People's Republic of China".

(continued)

#20328464 at 2024-01-30 08:50:59 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #34: UNITED AGAINST THE INVISIBLE ENEMY OF ALL HUMANITY Edition

>>20224502
>>20322599
PNG to 'stick with' Australia on security matters, Tkatchenko says

BEN PACKHAM - JANUARY 30, 2024

Papua New Guinea's Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko has hosed down reports the country is in talks with China on a new security agreement.

Mr Tkatchenko said Beijing had offered training and equipment for PNG's police force in September - well before recent rioting in the country - and there had been no discussions on the matter since.

"The offer is there and we will assess it," he said.

"But we are not going to duplicate at all any arrangements we have with other countries.

"We stick with our traditional partners."

Anthony Albanese signed a new security agreement with PNG Prime Minister James Marape in December.

The agreement will be at the top of the agenda during high-level talks next week, when Mr Marape visits Canberra to address the Australian parliament.

Prime Minister Albanese said on Tuesday that PNG was a sovereign government that had "no closer friend than Australia".

"We are the security partner of choice for Papua New Guinea, as we are for most of the countries in the Pacific," he said.

Mr Tkatchenko said PNG's primary security partners were Australia, New Zealand, and the US, and increasingly Indonesia.

"Our relationship with China we see completely differently. They are our economic partner; they are our trading partner," he said.

His comments will be reassuring to the Australian government, and especially Australia's new High Commissioner top PNG John Feakes, who was due to arrive in Port Moresby on Tuesday.

PNG also recently signed a sweeping security agreement with the US, and recently renewed its border security agreement with Indonesia.

The Australian government is facing fresh challenge in the Pacific amid signs Tuvalu will seek to renegotiate its "Falepili Union", and Nauru's recent decision to end diplomatic relations with Taiwan in favour of China.

The upcoming Solomon Islands election will also prove to be a test for the government, as China seeks to cement its influence through a re-elected Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/png-to-stick-with-australia-on-security-matters-tkatchenko-says/news-story/c3053afce2d787bd5b6ed8d540be2881

#20322599 at 2024-01-29 08:33:46 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #34: UNITED AGAINST THE INVISIBLE ENEMY OF ALL HUMANITY Edition

>>20224502
PNG discusses security deal with China despite links to Australia, US

Kirsty Needham - January 29, 2024

Papua New Guinea is in early talks with China on a potential security and policing deal, Foreign Minister Justin Tkachenko said, weeks after deadly riots in the South Pacific nation's capital.

Amid jostling between Washington and Beijing for influence in the Pacific, Papua New Guinea, the biggest Pacific Islands nation, has previously said that Australia and the United States are its security partners while China is an important economic partner.

China approached PNG in September with an offer to assist its police force with training, equipment and surveillance technology, Tkachenko said. Talks continued last week.

"We deal with China at this stage only at economic and trade level. They are one of our biggest trading partners, but they have offered to assist our policing and security on the internal security side," Tkachenko said.

PNG will assess if the Chinese offer duplicates security and policing assistance already being offered by Australia and the United States, he said.

"It is still in early stages of negotiation with our Commissioner of Police and our Minister of Internal Security," he said. "They have offered it to us, but we have not accepted it at this point in time."

China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China is a "strong economic partner" of PNG, and the two nations formed diplomatic ties in 1975, Tkachenko said.

PNG signed a $200 million security deal with Australia last month to boost policing, and days later Prime Minister James Marape told an investment conference in Sydney that he did not hold talks with China on security when he visited Beijing in October.

PNG had chosen Australia and the United States as security partners, he said.

Riots in the PNG capital Port Moresby earlier in January left at least 16 dead, with major retail stores burnt and looted, after police held a strike over pay. Marape's government called in the PNG defence force to restore order, but didn't seek Australia's help.

China's embassy complained to PNG over the safety risk to Chinese citizens living in Port Moresby.

PNG struck a defence co-operation agreement with the United States during a visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in May, giving the US military access to PNG ports and airports.

Tkachenko said PNG would not do anything to jeopardise its defence and security relationships with Australia or the US, and was not a "fence-sitter".

Riots in neighbouring Solomon Islands in 2021 saw China strike security and policing pacts with Manasseh Sogavare's government a year later, alarming Washington and Canberra.

Australia's Pacific Minister Pat Conroy pledged $35 million in policing assistance to neighbouring East Timor on Monday during an official visit, amid concern in Canberra that Beijing is again aggressively targeting the police and security sectors in the Pacific.

Conroy will on Tuesday visit Nauru, which switched diplomatic ties from Taiwan to Beijing this month.

https://www.theage.com.au/world/asia/png-discusses-security-deal-with-china-despite-links-with-australia-us-20240129-p5f0x2.html

#20322585 at 2024-01-29 08:30:15 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #34: UNITED AGAINST THE INVISIBLE ENEMY OF ALL HUMANITY Edition

>>20322581

2/2

Former Tuvalu foreign minister Simon Kofe raised serious concerns over the pact, warning it was unwise for the country of just over 11,000 people to insert itself in the strategic contest ?between China and the West.

Eight newcomers will take their seats in the new parliament, including former governor-general Sir Iakoba Italeli Taeia.

Tuvalu has no political parties, and it will take a week or more for a new prime minister to be appointed.

Mihai Sora, a research fellow in the Lowy Institute's Pacific program, said "everything" would be up for renegotiation as the new government considered what it could leverage from its international partners.

"Tuvalu's political figures clearly know the value of this sort of arrangement, and for a country like Tuvalu, sovereignty is one of its assets," he said.

"Negotiating access to that for a country like Australia is a huge bargaining chip for Tuvalu.

"So, I would expect it would be reopened (for negotiation). It doesn't mean that it's going to be rebuilt from the ground up, or that the gains that the two sides made are totally thrown out the window. But you can imagine a new government looking to ?extract more benefits for Tuvalu."

Mr Sora said the situation underlined the difficulties in making such agreements in the increasingly contested Pacific.

He pointed to the Albanese government's unratified security agreement with Vanuatu, which was used as "political fodder" to topple the country's prime minister.

Australia's hoped-for security treaty with Papua New Guinea was also downgraded after its Prime Minister, James Marape, suffered political blowback over a similar deal with the US.

The fall of Tuvalu's pro-?Taiwan prime minister has sparked speculation that the country could follow Nauru in cutting ties with Taipei.

Mr Paeniu, who has declared himself a candidate for the prime ministership, said ahead of the election that the future of diplomatic relations with Taiwan should be examined.

"The Taiwan-China issue remains a debatable issue for any government, particularly following a general election. No doubt it will feature once again in the debates following the election and the new government will need to take a stance on it," Mr Paeniu said.

Taiwan said it was confident the next Tuvaluan government would maintain diplomatic relations.

A week before the election, Tuvalu's ambassador to Taiwan, Bikenibeu Paeniu, said that Beijing had been trying to influence the country's politicians since a failed attempt to secure a switch ahead of the 2019 election.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/anthony-albaneses-security-pact-with-tuvalu-at-risk/news-story/ddd919d526f9d94ff0ba5cc3db39c5fc

https://twitter.com/PatConroy1/status/1751131940269506760

#20231077 at 2024-01-12 14:53:37 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #34: UNITED AGAINST THE INVISIBLE ENEMY OF ALL HUMANITY Edition

>>20224502
PNG warned to protect Chinese citizens

China has made 'stern representations' to Papua New Guinea after Chinese-owned shops were looted and torched during violent riots that claimed 16 lives.

BEN PACKHAM - January 11, 2024

1/2

China has demanded Papua New Guinea protect its citizens and their property after Chinese-owned shops were looted and torched during violent riots in PNG biggest cities that claimed the lives of 16 people.

The Chinese embassy in Port Moresby lodged "stern representations" with the PNG government on Thursday as its expatriate business owners counted their losses and the tensions spread to provincial centres.

PNG Prime Minister James Marape has declared a state of emergency and vowed to crack down on "lawlessness" that left nine people dead in Port Moresby and seven killed in the country's second city of Lae.

The state of emergency will last 14 days and more than 1000 defence personnel are on standby if the violence escalates.

Mr Marape faces growing political pressure on his leadership, with six MPs splitting from his governing coalition as a result of the unrest.

The violence erupted on Wednesday after a public service pay "glitch" sparked protests by police, soldiers and public servants, followed by a wave of opportunistic crime and violence.

The PNG Defence Force and police mobile squads were called in to restore order in the capital, which was tense but calm on Thursday.

But violence and looting were reported in regional cities, including the Eastern Highlands capital of Goroka, and Kokopo in East New Britain.

As devastated Chinese shop owners surveyed the damage, the Chinese embassy said an unspecified number of its citizens were ?injured in the riots and called for the perpetrators to be "severely punished".

It demanded the Marape government guarantee the safety of its citizens and take steps to protect their businesses from the "smashing, looting and burning".

"The Chinese embassy in Papua New Guinea has lodged solemn representations with the Papua New Guinea side over the attacks on the Chinese shops," the embassy said in a statement on WeChat.

The targeting of Chinese-owned businesses follows similar attacks during riots in the Solomon Islands in late 2021, which paved the way for a controversial security agreement between Beijing and Honiara.

There was no word on Thursday whether China had sought to provide security support to PNG to help maintain order.

Anthony Albanese said Australia, which has a bilateral security agreement with PNG, had not received a request from Port Moresby for help to quell the unrest.

"We continue to urge calm at this difficult time," the Prime Minister said.

(continued)

#20224522 at 2024-01-11 10:17:34 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #34: UNITED AGAINST THE INVISIBLE ENEMY OF ALL HUMANITY Edition

>>20224502
Violent riots in PNG leave 16 people dead, as MP calls for PM James Marape to step down

Tim Swanston, Theckla Gunga and Belinda Kora - 11 January 2024

1/2

Sixteen people have died in violent riots in Papua New Guinea after some residents took advantage of police being on strike on Wednesday to set shops and businesses alight in the capital.

Nine people died in the country's capital of Port Moresby while a further seven were killed in Lae, PNG's second largest city, according to an update from Lae Metro Command.

Paramedics responded to multiple call-outs on Wednesday night involving severe burns and gunshot wounds.

Local security services described the rioting overnight as total anarchy.

Videos of the unrest show warehouses engulfed in flames and large crowds of people engaging in looting and rioting.

On Wednesday, police, defence and other public servants held a demonstration at Parliament House over a payroll issue.

Police officers stood down at 10am local time as part of the action.

But it soon escalated into a dramatic security situation as hundreds of residents took advantage of police being off duty to flood the streets, setting shops and businesses in the capital alight.

PNG Prime Minister James Marape on Thursday issued a statement expressing "deep concern" over the unrest and urging citizens to "prioritise peace and normalcy.

At the press conference he explained the capital was "under stress and duress" on Wednesday after pay-related issues involving public servants were brought to the attention of the government.

"As a result, the absence of police presence led to riots and looting in certain parts of our city," he said.

The events in the capital appeared to have a ripple effect on other parts of the country, with Mr Marape acknowledging that it was "unfortunate that other centres are trying to copy what happened in Port Moresby".

"I appeal to people in these centres to realise that this is our country, and we have to take ownership of it," he said.

Police reinforcements for Port Moresby

The escalation prompted the country's national cabinet to authorise defence personnel "to assist police [to] restore order in the city", according to a statement from Mr Marape.

One hundred and eighty additional police are flying into Port Moresby on Thursday as police and defence try and regain control.

"[The] situation report as of this morning shows tension in the city has subsided," Mr Marape said.

The prime minister said economic times were tough and "such lawlessness does not help".

He "encouraged all our citizens to step up and give respect to your country".

"Yesterday did happen, we acknowledge, we look into how we can correct [that], we look into how we will bring responsible people to face the full arm of the law.

"As the National Security Advisory Committee meets, they will recommend to the National Security Council certain actions to take.

"The National Security Council will be convening, and will also look into recommendations ... and then recommendations will be presented to cabinet later today."

He said he would announce to the country "certain measures we will take" and would "look at the state of emergency arrangements in the city and urban areas".

(continued)

#20224502 at 2024-01-11 10:04:29 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #34: UNITED AGAINST THE INVISIBLE ENEMY OF ALL HUMANITY Edition

>>20027558 (pb)
>>20038468 (pb)
Violence and looting erupt in PNG amid police, public servant pay 'glitch'

BEN PACKHAM and GORETHY KENNETH - JANUARY 11, 2024

1/2

At least 10 people have reportedly died after violence erupted in Papua New Guinea's capital on Wednesday when a payroll "glitch" sparked angry protests by police, soldiers and public servants, who surrounded the nation's parliament and Prime Minister James Marape's office.

Shops were looted and a supermarket torched as the chaos spread across Port Moresby, with the city's ambulance service reporting multiple emergency calls over shootings and fires.

Local media reported the deaths as hundreds of protesters, including disgruntled police, corrections officers and soldiers, gathered outside the city's main government building, throwing stones and setting fire to a guardhouse.

The city's ambulance service reported multiple calls over shootings and fires across the city.

Mr Marape apologised to public sector workers for underpayments of up to $120 a fortnight, and blamed Department of Finance staff for the error.

"The police and public servant grievances are being addressed and by next pay the lost salary would be restored," he said.

He appealed to the public to "protect the city", as police and soldiers who spurned the protests were mobilised to restore order.

"To the public. This is your country. The business houses pay taxes and these taxes pay your children's school fees as well as the salary we all earn."

The protests come as Mr Marape faces a major test to his leadership through a potential vote of no confidence in the parliament.

The Australian government updated its travel advice for PNG late on Wednesday, warning of "widespread civil disorder and looting in Port Moresby".

"Protests and civil disorder can escalate quickly. Monitor the local media, avoid areas where violence is occurring and be alert to personal safety risks," it said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Australia's High Commission in Port Moresby was closely monitoring the situation and was in close contact with PNG authorities.

(continued)

#20092830 at 2023-12-18 09:54:54 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #34: UNITED AGAINST THE INVISIBLE ENEMY OF ALL HUMANITY Edition

#33 - Part 15
Australian Politics and Society - Part 8
>>20027558 Australia and Papua New Guinea to sign major bilateral security agreement during PNG prime minister James Marape's Canberra visit - The agreement will focus heavily on Papua New Guinea's internal security, with PNG looking to Australia to do more to help train and bolster its police force
>>20027565 Papua New Guinea to recruit Australia police in security deal - Papua New Guinea will recruit Australian police officers for key positions in its national police force under a wide-ranging security deal to be signed this week that also covers defence and biosecurity, Papua New Guinea's Minister of State Justin Tkatchenko said
>>20027579 Government rejects calls for O'Neil and Giles to resign after released detainees arrested - Colleagues of Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles have rejected calls for their resignations, following charges of indecent assault laid on a man released from immigration detention just weeks ago
>>20027602 Video: Senate speeds through new lock-up laws after child sex ringleader charged - A man who ran a child sex ring in Victoria has become the third former immigration detainee to face court on fresh charges after he allegedly contacted a child online following his release, as the Senate waved through tough new laws to lock up the worst offenders
>>20033209 Fourth detainee arrested as Labor, Coalition race to pass new laws - As Labor and the Coalition prepared to pass new laws late on Wednesday evening that would allow individuals to be re-detained, a fourth person was charged in Melbourne for allegedly failing to comply with a curfew and stealing luggage at Melbourne Airport.
>>20033221 Video: 'I will not be apologising': Dreyfus shouts at reporter in fiery High Court exchange - Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has lost his temper at a Sky News reporter, declaring he would not be apologising for upholding the rule of law

>>20033239 Video: Man arrested in Arizona over religiously motivated terror attack at Wieambilla sent shooters 'end of days' ideological messages - A man arrested in the US state of Arizona in connection with the religiously-motivated terrorist attack in Wieambilla last year sent the shooters "Christian end-of-days" ideological messages in the months leading up to it, police have revealed. The 58-year-old, who can now be identified as Donald Day, was arrested near Heber-Overgaard, north-east of Phoenix, on December 1 US time as part of the investigation
>>20033273 US man arrested over inciting violence online in 'religiously motivated' Wieambilla police massacre - A man has been arrested in the United States over online comments that allegedly incited violence before the "religiously motivated terrorist attack" in regional Queensland where two police officers and an innocent neighbour were slain. Queensland Police said officers travelled to the US to meet with Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents to arrest Donald Day, 58, near Heber Overgaard in Arizona on December 1
>>20038456 Video: US man faces court over alleged links to Wieambilla shootings - A US man has faced court in Arizona after being arrested by Queensland Police and the FBI in connection with last year's Wieambilla shootings - 9 News Australia
>>20038458 Video: Arizona man connected to 2022 Australia shooting - Authorities say the arrest is in connection to the murders of two police officers and another man in 2022, and say the attack was religiously motivated - AZFamily Arizona News
>>20038459 Northern Arizona man charged for inciting religious terror attack in Australia that killed two police officers - "A U.S. citizen has been charged in Arizona over online comments that allegedly incited what police describe as a "religiously-motivated terrorist attack" in Australia a year ago in which six people died, officials said Wednesday. Court documents identify the suspect as 58-year-old Donald Day Jr." - Jason Sillman - azfamily.com
>>20038464 Video: Exclusive: Witness records FBI agents arresting Arizona man tied to Australia terror attack - "The FBI has arrested and charged an Arizona man for online comments that allegedly incited what police are calling a "religiously-motivated terrorist attack" in Australia in which six people died, including two police officers. 58-year-old Donald Day Jr. was arrested on December 1 in the small community of Heber Overgaard. Residents said it happened at the Chevron on Hwy 260 on the morning of December 1. Usually, the town is quiet, with most of the buzz hitting during summer tourism. However, that changed last Friday when people said about 20 FBI officers swarmed the gas station to arrest Day." - Mason Carroll - azfamily.com

#19556112 at 2023-09-15 16:39:47 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition

>>19417267 (pb)
>>19417281 (pb)
>>19417627 (pb)
AFP denies our guns fuel PNG tribal wars

BEN PACKHAM - September 14, 2023

The Australian Federal Police says there is "no credible evidence" that large numbers of smuggled guns from Australia are being used to wage tribal wars in Papua New Guinea, after the country's police commissioner said Australia-sourced weapons were fuelling the deadly conflicts.

PNG Police Commissioner David Manning this week said illegal guns were flowing in from Australia for use in tribal wars that have killed more than 150 people this year alone.

"Some of these firearms are brought in from Australia, eventually finding (their) way into the tribal fight areas," he told the Post Courier newspaper.

He said drones from Australia were being used by tribes to spot enemies from above.

An AFP spokeswoman said Australia, which has some of the world's strongest gun laws, was not a significant source of illegal weapons.

"There is no credible intelligence to suggest large-scale importation of illicit firearms to PNG from Australia, as reported in recent media," she said.

However, she was unable to rule out a possibility that criminal syndicates may have trafficked small numbers of guns to Australia's northern neighbour.

Analysts have long warned of contraband flowing into PNG across its land border with Indonesia's West Papua province, with some claiming guns are traded for women and drugs.

However, the PNG Defence Force's acting commander, Commodore Philip Polewara, said the country's porous maritime border with Australia also posed a serious risk. "I can admit that, especially in the southern border, there are holes where ... these things do come through," he said.

Tribal fighting in PNG's Enga Province has claimed dozens of lives in recent months, as automatic weapons transform the scale and bloodiness of traditional tribal battles.

The fighting comes as PNG faces a financial crisis and surging population growth that has strained the government's ability to provide basic services.

Enga's Governor, Peter Ipatas, appealed for Australian help to contain the violence that has been marked by an influx of automatic weapons and hired gunmen.

PNG is yet to make a formal request for Australian support, and any AFP contingent would be unable to carry weapons due to constitutional restrictions.

Videos available online show piled-up naked bodies from recent fighting, and three dead men being dragged behind a four-wheel drive.

PNG Prime Minister James Marape has sent in a new squad of police and soldiers to try to wrest control of the province from the warring tribes.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/afp-denies-australian-guns-fuelling-papua-new-guinea-tribal-wars/news-story/25f6bea85c30276ecde69dd4315a90a6

https://www.postcourier.com.pg/police-defence-raise-concerns-on-illegal-guns/

#19487559 at 2023-09-04 10:17:27 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition

#31 - Part 56
Australia / China Tensions - Part 7
>>19397639 Australia to spend $1.3bn on high-tech missiles - The former deputy prime minister has warned of China's ability to target Australia from the mainland after the government announced it will spend $1.7bn on long-range strike missiles. Barnaby Joyce flagged concerns after the defence minister finalised a major weapons deal with the US on Monday. "China has certainly got missiles that can hit Australia, make no mistake," Mr Joyce told Sunrise. Under the new deal, Australia will acquire more than 200 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US, making it only one of three nations to own the high-tech weaponry. "As we enter what many are calling the missile age, these will be vital tools for the Australian Defence Force to do its job of defending Australians," Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said. "We are buying these weapons now to deliver capability quickly -- but we are also considering options to manufacture missiles domestically because of the importance of building sovereign Australian defence manufacturing capabilities." Tomahawk missiles have a strike range of 1500km, and a ship-launched version will be deployed on the Royal Australian Navy's Hobart-class destroyers.
>>19417267 Video: Plea for Australian help to quell brutal PNG fighting as Canberra and China struggle for influence - The governor of a remote Papua New Guinea province racked by tribal fighting has appealed for Australian help as the nation struggles to contain surging violence that has seen dead people dragged by four wheel-drives and a flood of automatic weapons into the country's Highlands. The Australian can reveal that multiple tribal conflicts have claimed the lives of an estimated 150 people this year, including two dozen lives in the past fortnight alone, and left thousands homeless.
>>19417281 Anthony Albanese restricted but ready to help troubled PNG and pro-Australia ally James Marape - Escalating tribal fighting in Papua New Guinea's Highlands is a rolling human rights tragedy that the country's government has been unable to contain. It is also a difficult issue for federal Labor, which has remained ?silent on the fighting, despite an estimated 150 deaths this year. Anthony Albanese has forged a strong personal relationship with PNG counterpart James Marape, who is standing firmly with Australia on the need to keep China at arm's length. Marape is happy for his country to reap the economic benefits from China, but - unlike Manasseh Sogavare in Solomon Islands - has rebuffed Chinese efforts to forge closer security ties.
>>19417627 James Marape mobilises elite squad to deal with PNG violence - Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has vowed to mobilise a new joint force of heavily armed police and soldiers to stamp out tribal warfare in the country's remote Enga Province, condemning the surging violence as "domestic terrorism". The pledge came as Australia's Minister for the Pacific Pat Conroy vowed Australian support for PNG's response, saying the Albanese government was "deeply committed" to the nations' policing and security partnership. Mr Marape declared on Wednesday he would not seek outside police support to deal with Enga's ongoing tribal wars, despite calls by the province's governor for Australian boots on the ground.
>>19446096 Australian fears he'll die in Chinese prison after doctors find huge kidney cyst - Detained Australian Yang Hengjun says he is increasingly fearful he will be denied medical treatment and die in a Chinese prison after medical authorities told him they had discovered a huge, 10-centimetre cyst on his kidney. Ahead of a planned trip to Beijing by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese later this year, Yang's supporters are urging the federal government to demand the academic be given medical parole or access to Australian-supervised medical care outside his Beijing detention centre. "If something happens with my health and I die in here, people outside won't know the truth," Yang said in a message conveyed through his supporters. "That is frustrating. If something happens to me, who can speak for me?"

#19487438 at 2023-09-04 09:35:03 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

#31 - Part 56
Australia / China Tensions- Part 7
>>19397639 Australia to spend $1.3bn on high-tech missiles - The former deputy prime minister has warned of China's ability to target Australia from the mainland after the government announced it will spend $1.7bn on long-range strike missiles. Barnaby Joyce flagged concerns after the defence minister finalised a major weapons deal with the US on Monday. "China has certainly got missiles that can hit Australia, make no mistake," Mr Joyce told Sunrise. Under the new deal, Australia will acquire more than 200 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US, making it only one of three nations to own the high-tech weaponry. "As we enter what many are calling the missile age, these will be vital tools for the Australian Defence Force to do its job of defending Australians," Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said. "We are buying these weapons now to deliver capability quickly – but we are also considering options to manufacture missiles domestically because of the importance of building sovereign Australian defence manufacturing capabilities." Tomahawk missiles have a strike range of 1500km, and a ship-launched version will be deployed on the Royal Australian Navy's Hobart-class destroyers.
>>19417267 Video: Plea for Australian help to quell brutal PNG fighting as Canberra and China struggle for influence - The governor of a remote Papua New Guinea province racked by tribal fighting has appealed for Australian help as the nation struggles to contain surging violence that has seen dead people dragged by four wheel-drives and a flood of automatic weapons into the country's Highlands. The Australian can reveal that multiple tribal conflicts have claimed the lives of an estimated 150 people this year, including two dozen lives in the past fortnight alone, and left thousands homeless.
>>19417281 Anthony Albanese restricted but ready to help troubled PNG and pro-Australia ally James Marape - Escalating tribal fighting in Papua New Guinea's Highlands is a rolling human rights tragedy that the country's government has been unable to contain. It is also a difficult issue for federal Labor, which has remained ?silent on the fighting, despite an estimated 150 deaths this year. Anthony Albanese has forged a strong personal relationship with PNG counterpart James Marape, who is standing firmly with Australia on the need to keep China at arm's length. Marape is happy for his country to reap the economic benefits from China, but - unlike Manasseh Sogavare in Solomon Islands - has rebuffed Chinese efforts to forge closer security ties.
>>19417627 James Marape mobilises elite squad to deal with PNG violence - Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has vowed to mobilise a new joint force of heavily armed police and soldiers to stamp out tribal warfare in the country's remote Enga Province, condemning the surging violence as "domestic terrorism". The pledge came as Australia's Minister for the Pacific Pat Conroy vowed Australian support for PNG's response, saying the Albanese government was "deeply committed" to the nations' policing and security partnership. Mr Marape declared on Wednesday he would not seek outside police support to deal with Enga's ongoing tribal wars, despite calls by the province's governor for Australian boots on the ground.
>>19446096 Australian fears he'll die in Chinese prison after doctors find huge kidney cyst - Detained Australian Yang Hengjun says he is increasingly fearful he will be denied medical treatment and die in a Chinese prison after medical authorities told him they had discovered a huge, 10-centimetre cyst on his kidney. Ahead of a planned trip to Beijing by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese later this year, Yang's supporters are urging the federal government to demand the academic be given medical parole or access to Australian-supervised medical care outside his Beijing detention centre. "If something happens with my health and I die in here, people outside won't know the truth," Yang said in a message conveyed through his supporters. "That is frustrating. If something happens to me, who can speak for me?"

#19417627 at 2023-08-24 09:49:06 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

>>19417267
James Marape mobilises elite squad to deal with PNG violence

BEN PACKHAM and GORETHY KENNETH - AUGUST 23, 2023

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has vowed to mobilise a new joint force of heavily armed police and soldiers to stamp out tribal warfare in the country's remote Enga Province, condemning the surging violence as "domestic terrorism".

The pledge came as Australia's Minister for the Pacific Pat Conroy vowed Australian support for PNG's response, saying the Albanese government was "deeply committed" to the nations' policing and security partnership.

Mr Marape declared on Wednesday he would not seek outside police support to deal with Enga's ongoing tribal wars, despite calls by the province's governor for Australian boots on the ground.

He said he would instead mobilise a combined new "special unit" that is due to arrive in Enga next week.

"So far, defence have their own operation and police have their own operation," Mr Marape said.

"We are ordering our police and defence (to look at) how they structure under one command."

The Prime Minister, who visited the province this week to urge the reopening of the Porgera goldmine, said the combined force could in the future be rolled out "not just for Enga but ... for the ?entire country".

Mr Conroy said Australia shared PNG's concerns over the tribal fighting - in which dead ?bodies have been dragged behind 4WD vehicles and reports of ?sexual violence have escalated - pledging to "continue to work with PNG to support its response".

"Australia is a longstanding partner to PNG on policing and security, and is deeply committed to continuing our co-operation," the minister said.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said the escalating violence in PNG was "deeply concerning", and added the Coalition would seek an urgent briefing from the government on the matter.

"Australia should always stand ready to support the security needs of our Pacific neighbours and partners, especially when the lives of women and children are threatened," Senator Birmingham said.

"We offer bipartisan support to Australian government efforts to work with PNG to ensure law and order in Enga is restored."

Enga governor Sir Peter Ipatas told The Australian earlier this week that PNG was unable to quell the violence without outside help, calling on Mr Marape "to ask the Australian government to give us some manpower".

The Australian Federal Police has 32 sworn officers in PNG but they are prevented from acting in frontline roles after the country's Supreme Court found they could not be granted legal immunities under PNG's constitution.

Meanwhile, Enga landowners threatened to block the reopening of the province's Porgera goldmine - one of the country's richest - until the national government contained the violence that has claimed some 150 lives this year.

Porgera Landowners' Association Mark Tony Ekepa said gold from the mine must "not be stained by the blood of Engan women and children through unabated tribal conflicts and inhumane killings".

"I must protest against the government and corporates' insatiable appetite for gold and riches without concern for landowners' safety and security," Mr Ekepa said. He added the government "must intervene now to stop the violent killings in Enga and restore normalcy".

The PNG government is desperate for the mine to reopen after negotiating a new lease with joint venture partners Barrick and China's Zijin Mining Group to take a 51 per cent share of the operation. The mine has been closed for three years but was previously one of the PNG's biggest earners, accounting for 10 per cent of the country's exports.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/James-Marape-mobilises-elite-squad-to-deal-with-png-violence/news-story/8fb9c93c044695335fb303fe60a7030d

#19417281 at 2023-08-24 06:22:44 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

>>19417267
Anthony Albanese restricted but ready to help troubled PNG and pro-Australia ally James Marape

BEN PACKHAM - AUGUST 22, 2023

Escalating tribal fighting in Papua New Guinea's Highlands is a rolling human rights tragedy that the country's government has been unable to contain.

It is also a difficult issue for federal Labor, which has remained ?silent on the fighting, despite an estimated 150 deaths this year.

Anthony Albanese has forged a strong personal relationship with PNG counterpart James Marape, who is standing firmly with Australia on the need to keep China at arm's length.

Marape is happy for his country to reap the economic benefits from China, but - unlike Manasseh Sogavare in Solomon Islands - has rebuffed Chinese efforts to forge closer security ties.

The federal government doesn't want to do anything to jeopardise this critical relationship, but knows that it cannot sit on its hands.

Tribal fighting in PNG has ?traditionally been undertaken under strict honour codes.

But hired mercenaries with automatic weapons now ignore such rules, dramatically escalating the violence. Images and videos of the carnage are circulating widely online, piling pressure on Prime Minister Marape to take action.

The problem highlights the country's fragility, and deep economic problems.

When the Solomon Islands capital Honiara was burning in 2021, Sogavare asked for Australia to send in peacekeepers, who ?arrived within days.

Australia stands ready to assist PNG too, but has not been asked for help. Coming in heavy-handed would risk humiliating PNG, ?undermining years of relationship-building.

Australia's ability to send in armed police and defence personnel is also highly constrained, after a court ruled that it was uncon?stitutional to grant AFP officers legal immunities to undertake frontline roles.

The same concerns over legal immunities are now holding up negotiations between Australia and PNG on a bilateral defence treaty. The treaty is crucial to locking in the Pacific country's support for a more robust Aus?tralian and US security role in the region.

Foreign Minsiter Penny Wong and other senior Australian ministers discussed the challenges posed by tribal violence with their PNG counterparts in February.

A concrete support plan is ?likely to follow in coming months that could involve an increased role for unarmed AFP advisers on the ground in PNG.

On a deeper level, PNG also needs serious help to develop its economy and lift its people from poverty.

As the government's new aid policy rightly states, "development underpins stability".

Australia needs to seize on the current good relations with PNG to advocate a transformative ?development agenda.

Major infrastructure projects and support for PNG to develop its mineral resources, agriculture and fisheries will be critical, rather than hodgepodge health and ?education initiatives, and old-fashioned training for public ?servants.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/anthony-albanese-restricted-but-ready-to-help-troubled-png-and-proaustralia-ally-James-Marape/news-story/7de60139e053fa041fda443f31657927

#19417267 at 2023-08-24 06:18:58 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

Plea for Australian help to quell brutal PNG fighting as Canberra and China struggle for influence

BEN PACKHAM and GORETHY KENNETH - AUGUST 23, 2023

1/2

The governor of a remote Papua New Guinea province racked by tribal fighting has appealed for Australian help as the nation struggles to contain surging violence that has seen dead people dragged by four wheel-drives and a flood of automatic weapons into the country's Highlands.

The Australian can reveal that multiple tribal conflicts have claimed the lives of an estimated 150 people this year, including two dozen lives in the past fortnight alone, and left thousands homeless.

The bloodshed in PNG's Enga Province is threatening to further destabilise Australia's nearest neighbour and biggest aid recipient, which is at the centre of an intense contest between Australia and China for regional influence.

The fighting comes as PNG faces a financial crisis and surging population growth that has strained the government's ability to provide basic services, as Beijing looks to take advantage of any regional instability to further its own strategic interests.

Police have blamed politicians for fuelling the brutal violence, while local MPs, including Governor Sir Peter Ipatas, have accused police of failing to deal with the perpetrators.

At least three tribal fights are currently under way in the province, waged with high-powered military rifles, home-made guns and metre-long bush knives that leave victims with devastating wounds.

Grisly videos and images of the carnage are circulating on ?social media, including recent pictures of slain and naked fighters being towed by vines from a Toyota ute.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which is on the ground in the province, said women and girls displaced by the fighting faced being "raped in ?really big numbers".

Australia is alert to the issue, announcing $1.4bn in the May budget to support peace and security building across the Pacific but the Albanese government has not publicly advocated on what is seen by PNG as a highly sensitive matter.

PNG Prime Minister James Marape, an ally of Australia who has taken a wary approach to China, announced on Tuesday that those who engaged in tribal fighting would face life imprisonment under proposed new legislation aimed at ending the horrific violence.

The governor's plea for Australian support comes just weeks after the Albanese government released its new foreign aid policy promising a whole-of-government effort to support Pacific partners to become "effective states.

Australia is on track to provide more than $600m worth of aid to PNG this year, on top of hundreds of millions in budget support loans.

Australia rapidly mobilised a peacekeeping force to send to Solomon Islands in 2021 after a request by Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare to quell rioting in the capital. Mr Sogavare has since signed a security pact with Beijing and Chinese police have been training Solomon Islands law enforcement officials.

There has been no such request for police help to Australia or any other country from Mr Marape.

PNG police commissioner David Manning has ordered his officers to use lethal force against armed tribesmen and mercenaries contracted by clans to fight on their behalf.

Enga's provincial police commander, Superintendent George Kakas, said his officers were outgunned and legally unable to shoot fighters carrying weapons unless officers or civilians were in immediate danger.

The explosion in tribal violence is just the latest in PNG's Highlands region, and comes as conflicts simmer in at least two other provinces - Hela and Southern Highlands.

Sir Peter, a "Grand Chief" of the PNG system who has served five terms, said the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary had shown "they are not able to effectively do their constitutional duty and that is to basically arrest criminals or offenders".

"I have said many times that we do not have the capacity to fix this," he told The Australian. "We need the government to ask the Australian government to give us some manpower so the police men and women in Australia can contribute to a contingent that would be sent to PNG to work alongside our policemen and women."

Sir Peter said he wanted to see Australian police officers walking side by side in Enga with their local counterparts to prevent more violence, and to help PNG police to "develop the right culture to be a policeman or woman".

"We need Australian police officers to help our (Central Intelligence Division), the prosecutors, and assist the provincial police commander in managing the province. There is a lot to be done."

(continued)

#19250231 at 2023-07-27 12:01:27 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

>>19188991
United States says 'door is open' for New Zealand to join AUKUS as Blinken, Macron continue Pacific tour

Nick Sas, Emily Clark and Tim Swanston - 27 July 2023

1/2

The United States says "the door is open" for New Zealand to join AUKUS, as geopolitical competition reaches fever pitch in the Pacific, with three of the world's most influential leaders continuing lightning tours of the region.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in New Zealand after opening the new US embassy in Tonga yesterday.

He has met with New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta.

His tour comes as French President Emmanuel Macron visits Vanuatu, where he has given a speech in the capital Port Vila warning that Pacific "sovereignty and independence" is being shaken by what he describes as "new imperialisms".

Mr Macron is in Vanuatu after visiting French territory New Caledonia this week, where he made a separate speech flagging more military personnel for the territory and warning that independence could mean a "Chinese naval base tomorrow".

The Indigenous kanak population has been agitating for independence, with some boycotting Mr Macron's visit. But Pacific watchers say Mr Macron is keen to see the territory in French hands to counter China's lingering threat in the region.

In the speech in Port Vila on Thursday, Mr Macron again referred to China's aggressive push in the Pacific - although he did not mention the nation by name.

"First of all, there is the predation of the major powers: foreign ships fish illegally in the exclusive economic zone, numerous loans [that] are literally strangling development in the region," Mr Macron said.

"Commercial practices are being increasingly distorted, interference is multiplying, and new imperialisms are emerging in the Indo-Pacific, particularly in Oceania, and a logic of power is threatening the sovereignty of many states, the smallest and often the most fragile."

Mr Macron, the first French president to tour a non-French Pacific island, is set to leave Vanuatu for Papua New Guinea on Thursday night.

The US Pacific tour

United States Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin arrived in Papua New Guinea on Wednesday, amid US attempts to cement its relations in the region's most populous nation.

Mr Austin held a bilateral meeting PNG's Prime Minister James Marape this morning, as PNG itself looks to leverage the US's renewed interest in the region and ratify a defence agreement between the two nations.

The Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) was signed between PNG and the United States when Mr Blinken visited Port Moresby earlier this year.

Mr Marape has faced domestic pushback over the agreement, with protests at the time of its signing and a possible legal challenge flagged by PNG's opposition leader over certain provisions of the document.

Speaking on Thursday, Mr Austin revealed a US Coast Guard ship would arrive in Papua New Guinea next month, and that the US was not seeking "permanent basing" in the country.

Yet, the agreement would give the United States access to key PNG bases for the next 15 years.

It still has not been ratified by the country's parliament, with debate over the document adjourned until next month.

On Thursday, Mr Lloyd said the United States' goal was to strengthen PNG's defence forces. He said the agreement would "expand PNG capacity" to modernise its forces and increase interoperability.

"We're not seeking permanent basing - this is a foundational framework to deepen that defence relationship," he said.

Mr Marape told reporters that US defence personnel would visit the country from September, looking firstly at infrastructure development in PNG's second-largest city, Lae.

"[The DCA] means infrastructure is developed, not just our defence infrastructure and utilities, but more importantly the supporting infrastructures in and around the footprint of where the defence presence will be," he said.

"I'm looking forward to the full rollout of the 15-year program we have with US defence force."

(continued)

#18153815 at 2023-01-16 08:28:48 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition

>>18153811

2/2

Mr Albanese's strident defence of the AUKUS agreement also comes after former prime ministers Malcolm Turnbull and Paul Keating have warned it could limit Australia's sovereignty.

Mr Turnbull last week said it was being overlooked that ?"nuclear-powered submarines to be acquired from the US will not be able to be operated or maintained without the supervision of the US Navy".

"The submarine element of the agreement delays vital capabilities and diminishes Australian sovereignty," he said.

Mr Albanese said the government was considering the "most effective way forward" to plug the capability gap until the new submarines are built in Australia, after Peter Dutton revealed the former government was considering buying two Virginia-class submarines from the US by 2030.

In the long-ranging interview, the Prime Minister also said ?important strategic meetings in 2023 would include his visit to India in March and Australia hosting a Quad leaders meeting mid-year.

Mr Albanese said there was no scheduled visit to China this year but he was committed to improving the relationship.

"I have no scheduled visit there at this point in time," the Prime Minister said.

"I think there's been a lot of positive engagement with the discussions that I was able to have with President Xi.

"But also I had informal discussions with Premier Li as well and I want to see co-operation with China where we can.

"We will disagree where we must but we will continue to engage in our national interest."

Action on climate change is also set to play a central role in the Albanese government's foreign policy this year, especially when it comes to improving ties in the Pacific region.

"We made steps to improve the relationship with our major trading partner, China, in 2022. We want to see further improvement in the relationship," he said.

"The precondition for engagement internationally is our action on climate change."

In a visit to Papua New Guinea last week, Mr Albanese and PNG Prime Minister James Marape vowed to sign a new security pact by June.

The treaty will follow a similar pact signed with Vanuatu in ?December and is part of the government's push to limit Chinese influence in the region.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/albanese-confident-us-powerbrokers-will-keep-faith-in-aukus/news-story/3bbaccbe5148975d9e8aa7daa30cf75a

#18135941 at 2023-01-13 11:06:34 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition

>>18128995
PNG security deal to push Beijing back

TOM MCILROY - JANUARY 12, 2023

Australia will sign a new security pact with Papua New Guinea by June, as the two countries agree to move more quickly to push back against China's regional ambitions and address entrenched law and order struggles facing the ?Pacific nation.

On the first day of a landmark visit, Anthony Albanese and PNG Prime Minister James Marape signed a joint statement promising negotiations on the bilateral security agreement would wrap up by April 30, with the new pact due to come into force by the ?middle of the year.

The treaty will follow similar Pacific agreements, including one signed with Vanuatu in December, and comes as China seeks to control sensitive infrastructure projects in PNG. Beijing is funding a new military hospital at Taurama Barracks in Port Moresby, prompting fears it could establish a military presence to Australia's immediate north.

A joint statement said the new agreement would enable both countries to protect and enhance their independence, sovereignty and resilience, while also addressing "non-traditional security challenges" such as climate change, cybersecurity threats, and economic coercion.

Increased defence co-operation is expected, with a focus on training, personnel capacity and possible joint exercises.

The Prime Minister and Mr Marape said decisions taken by one country affected the security of the other, and pledged more regular sharing of information on threats and strategic challenges. Speaking after one-on-one talks and a meeting with senior ministers, Mr Marape, PNG's Prime Minister since 2019, denied China was a factor in the new agreement.

He did not rule out any formal agreement with Beijing, or new Chinese-backed projects in PNG.

"Those were not issues before us, in as far as our discussions were concerned," he said.

"The PNG-China relationship remains the PNG-China relationship. At no instance was China or any other nation brought into the picture.

"Our relationship with Australia is particularly unique. Every other nation understands this."

Australian officials consider PNG a gap in the suite of regional security partnerships and are being pushed by Mr Albanese to quickly finalise a deal, taking advantage of a workable political window in both countries this year.

A second joint statement by the two leaders highlighted the need for more effective law and order capacity in PNG, including a strong justice and police system.

Currently, Australia supports the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary through a $144m grant.

Australia will also work to boost PNG's participation in Pacific labour mobility schemes, as Mr Marape seeks to have as many as 8000 of his citizens working across the Torres Strait.

Ministers in Canberra and Port Moresby will be tasked with finding ways to speed up labour sharing opportunities, and reciprocal work and holiday visa ?arrangements will be put in place from July 1 this year.

Mr Albanese became the first foreign leader to address the PNG parliament on Thursday, describing the two countries as "the greatest of friends".

PNG is also the largest recipient of Australian aid, worth $602m in 2022-23, and making up more than 30 per cent of Australian aid to the Pacific region.

He called on Australian business to boost investments in PNG. "We want you to invest here, in your interests, but also in the interests of lifting the living standards of people in PNG," he said.

Mr Marape praised his Australian counterpart's comments on economic development.

"There are more Australian investors here in this country than anywhere else on the face of the planet. He is not wasting time," Mr Marape said.

Mr Albanese said he wanted to see a PNG-based, Pacific Islander team compete in the National Rugby League competition.

After a state dinner on Thursday, the Prime Minister was due to fly to Wewak on Friday morning to visit the gravesite of PNG founding father Michael Somare.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/png-security-deal-to-push-beijing-back/news-story/4e782a572f34227093891730354d0a8f

#18128995 at 2023-01-12 08:33:15 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese keen to strengthen ties in first visit to Papua New Guinea

Natalie Whiting and Stephen Dziedzic - 12 January 2023

1/2

Anthony Albanese will touch down in Papua New Guinea's capital today; the first Australian prime minister to visit the country in more than four years.

Australian flags have been hoisted across Port Moresby, and Mr Albanese's face has been put up on billboards, alongside PNG Prime Minister James Marape's.

At a time when Australia is keen to strengthen ties and push the two nations' "special relationship", COVID-19 and elections in both countries have delayed a top-level visit until now.

Mr Albanese has a busy two-day schedule, which will include giving an address to PNG's parliament - the first foreign leader to ever do so.

"That is an extraordinary honour for Australia and one I regard as ... one of the great honours of my life," Mr Albanese told journalists yesterday.

The prime minister will use the speech to reflect on PNG's journey of independence from Australian colonial rule, saying independence "was not Australia's gift to give" but "the people of Papua New Guinea's right to assert".

"Australia and Papua New Guinea are bound not just by a shared past and a shared border but by a common determination to shape our own futures," Mr Albanese will say.

"As two big Pacific Ocean states, Australia and PNG must work as equals with our fellow Pacific states to build a stronger, safer, more secure region."

It will also be Mr Marape's first time hosting an Australian leader since he took on the top job in 2019.

PNG Foreign Affairs Minister Justin Tkatchenko said that with the new Australian government, PNG sees a "brighter light" and expects "more partnership", which he believes will make the relationship "bigger and better than it has been before".

"The prime minister [James Marape] is keen to improve and enhance the relationship with Australia under the leadership of the [new] prime minister of Australia," he said.

"So, it's all about strengthening ties, building independent economic capacity for Papua New Guinea [and] strengthening our security in the region."

Regional security in focus

Security is set to be a key talking point during the visit, with the two leaders expected to progress a defence treaty between the countries - although it is not yet clear if they will sign an interim document or the final agreement.

Australia and PNG have long shared a close defence relationship, and that was elevated in 2018 when Australia and the US committed to fund the redevelopment of the strategically positioned Lombrum Naval Base in Manus, in a move largely seen as designed to block any potential Chinese interest.

Both Mr Albanese and Defence Minister Richard Marles have made it clear that they would like to expand Australia's training programs for PNG troops.

Australia has also been exploring ways it can help PNG develop its fledgling air force.

While discussions around defence and security often focus on the broader Pacific, PNG also faces some severe domestic security challenges.

The country has extensive land and maritime borders and large fishing territories which it does not have the capacity to properly patrol.

PNG has also been plagued by significant law and order problems, an issue highlighted during the recent election period when political and tribal violence was estimated to have displaced 89,000 people.

In his speech to parliament, Mr Albanese will declare that the treaty will be "based on deep trust" and "build on the family-first approach to regional security".

He will also say it will "underpin our work together to address PNG's priority needs including law and order challenges, strengthening the justice system and rule of law".

(continued)

#18097141 at 2023-01-07 12:12:27 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to address Papua New Guinea's national parliament on two-day trip

Melissa Maykin - 5 Jan 2023

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to address Papua New Guinea's parliament during a two-day visit next week.

Mr Albanese had been due to visit PNG in December last year but the trip was postponed after he tested positive to COVID-19.

He will be in the country from January 12 to 13 to attend an annual Leaders' Dialogue, before flying to Wewak in the north to pay homage to the late Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare.

Mr Albanese told News Corp in December that he planned to offer PNG increased defence and security support during the visit.

"We provided support for security for their recent elections, and we're looking to provide increased support for Papua New Guinea and collaboration on defence and security issues," he said.

It will be the first visit by an Australian prime minister since May 2019.

PNG Prime Minister James Marape said the visit would reinforce the strong bond between the two countries.

"Part of the program will include Prime Minister Albanese addressing our national parliament, which we are offering as a mark of respect to the Australian leader, as PNG marches towards our 50th anniversary of independence," Mr Marape said in a statement.

"It is only befitting that the leader of the Australian Labor Party, which granted independence to PNG in 1975 - through then-leader Gough Whitlam - be given this honour of addressing our national parliament."

Sir Michael Somare led the former Australian colony to independence in 1975 and preparations are under way to celebrate its approaching 50th anniversary.

"The Australian Labor Party [was then] led by the late Gough Whitlam, who was in government in Australia, while the Pangu Pati [was] led by the late Sir Michael Somare [who] was in government in PNG," Mr Marape said.

"Australia and Papua New Guinea have a long history and this visit will strengthen our shared vision for the future.

"Australia is a very important foundation bilateral partner of PNG, in as far as nation-to-nation relations are concerned."

'Long history and shared vision'

Mr Albanese said he had enjoyed hosting "good friend" Mr Marape on several Australian visits last year and the bilateral relationship remained strong.

"Australia and Papua New Guinea are close not just geographically, but also because of our long history and shared vision for the future," he said.

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles in October flagged an "ambitious" bid to expand military ties and sign a security treaty with Papua New Guinea.

It came after PNG's new foreign minister, Justin Tkatchenko, earlier said he would like officials from the two countries to strike a formal treaty.

While anxiety about China has propelled Australia's renewed push to deepen defence ties in the Pacific, Mr Marles insisted at the time that was not the primary driver.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-05/albanese-Marape-say-relationship-is-strong-ahead-of-pm-visit/101829560

#16707480 at 2022-07-10 18:47:26 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>16707476

2/2

The withdrawal of Kiribati, revealed by New Zealand's 1News, presents fresh challenges for Australia, which is relying on regional unity to keep China at bay.

The government was heartened in May by the rejection by 10 Pacific nations of a proposed ?regional security agreement with China, on the grounds the Pacific forum needed to consider it before a decision could be reached.

China, which is a forum "dialogue partner" but not a member like Australia, has not been invited to the summit.

But in an audacious diplomatic move, Beijing has invited the same Pacific states to attend a virtual meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday - the same day as the forum leaders' meeting.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Solomon Islands had granted entry to Australian aid workers during the pandemic but advisers were now facing delays. "Currently, visa arrangements for five specific advisers are awaiting Solomon Islands approval," a spokeswoman said.

Solomon Islands Opposition Leader Matthew Wale said Mr Sogavare had previously "slowed down" the entry of US diplomatic and project staff, "so I am not surprised he is making it hard for Australian advisers".

"He has made himself a puppet of China," Mr Wale said.

After last year's violent protests targeting government buildings and Chinese businesses, Beijing sent at least six security advisers to Honiara, together with donated equipment, to help train local police in Chinese riot control tactics.

Mr Sogavare, in a speech last Thursday to mark Solomon Islands' Independence Day, praised China's "genuine intention" to be a "worthy partner" in his country's development.

He did not specifically mention Australia in the speech but, after months of tensions between the countries, declared that "relationships at times can sour".

New Zealand's Anne-Marie Brady, an expert on China's interests in the Pacific, said the Chinese Communist Party was "running Sogavare like a puppet on a string".

"Xi Jinping seems to be demanding a deliverable on the ?Pacific before the 20th party congress (later this year)," Professor Brady said.

"We will see very soon if the existing Pacific institutions like the PIF and (the region's) partnership with the US, Australia, NZ and other states can withstand the pressure."

In a recent phone call, Mr Sogavare assured Mr Albanese that Australia remained his country's "security partner of choice".

Australian and US officials remain concerned Solomon Islands' security agreement with China could open the way for a Chinese base in the country.

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape will attend the forum, which falls during the voting period for the national election. His main leadership rival, former prime minister Peter O'Neill, said he had information Mr Marape was attending "to push for China's inclusion in this important regional group".

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/solomon-islands-blocks-australian-aid-workers/news-story/bf0857f97ffab01b3a354c2730fe702c

#16701738 at 2022-07-10 01:22:33 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

#23 and #24 - Part 17
Australia / China Tensions - Part 2
>>16356449 China inks deal on economic technologies with Samoa during FM's trip, welcomes partnership with Australia, NZ to help PICs - Global Times - globaltimes.cn
>>16356468 China's FM visits the remote Pacific nation of Kiribati, where the future of a vast fishing ground is at stake.
>>16356495 Wang's visit to Kiribati shows devt opportunities, injects firmness to one-China principle - Zhang Hui and Hu Yuwei - globaltimes.cn
>>16356551 New Australian foreign minister Penny Wong's rhetoric of leaving regional security to Pacific region shows hypocrisy, double standard - Global Times - globaltimes.cn
>>16356601 Why China's Pacific sweet talk will fail - Beijing's plan to corral ten Pacific Island countries into an exclusive grouping is a daring attempt to take control of the region - Peter Jennings - theaustralian.com.au
>>16361632 Embassy of The People's Republic of China in The Republic of Fiji - Statement by the Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Fiji on the China-Pacific Island Countries Cooperation
>>16361649 More than 100 Australian Defence Force personnel will travel to Papua New Guinea in coming months to help the country conduct its national election, combat cyber threats and conduct joint exercises amid a growing tussle for influence between Australia and China in the region
>>16366827 We're turning to China because you neglect us, says East Timor president Jose Ramos-Horta
>>16366850 Fijian vow to hold the line on China influence - China's aggressive bid to exert power in the South Pacific will meet strong resistance if Fiji's former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka returns to office this year, with the two-time coup leader vowing to side with Australia as Beijing steps up its battle for dominance in the region
>>16366881 China, Pacific islands unable to reach consensus on security pact - China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged the Pacific region not to be "too anxious" about his country's aims after a meeting in Fiji with his counterparts from 10 island nations was unable to agree to a sweeping trade and security communique

>>16366904 China shelves plan to sign a regional agreement with Pacific island nations - Foreign Minister Wang Yi says China will instead release a position paper following a meeting with Pacific foreign ministers in Fiji on Monday
>>16372869 'I won't back down on Beijing' - Peter Dutton says he won't back away from his pre-election warnings about the dangers posed by China, declaring the country under President Xi Jinping's leadership "is the biggest issue our country will face in our lifetimes"
>>16372884 China tries to calm Pacific fears after security snub - Pacific Islands leaders have rebuffed Beijing's sweeping security and trade pact while calling on China - the world's biggest polluter - to do more to address its "greatest threat": climate change
>>16372900 Timing of Wang Yi visit to PNG 'inappropriate', say Former PNG prime minister Peter O'Neill and Opposition Leader Belden Namah - Two of Papua New Guinea's most senior politicians have blasted the timing of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to the country during its national election period, and warned Prime Minister James Marape not to sign any agreements while parliament was dissolved
>>16372930 Fiji's 'Rambo' will take the fight to Xi Jinping - China's aggressive bid for influence in the Pacific will depend in part on the outcome of an epic struggle for power between Fiji's rival strongmen: Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama and Sitiveni Rabuka, instigator of two military coups in 1987, and later democratically elected as prime minister from 1992 to 1999
>>16372962 China, Pacific Island nations expand cooperation at second FMs' meeting covering poverty alleviation, climate change and agriculture - China respects local countries in signing cooperation, but could be sabotaged by few politicians used as US pawns - Zhang Hui, Liu Caiyu and Shan Jie - globaltimes.cn
>>16372987 China's foreign minister visits Tonga after Pacific islands delay regional pact
>>16373021 China, Tonga are examples of 'building a community with shared future', long-term Chinese investments dwarf US, Australia - Long-term Chinese investments dwarf US, Australia - Li Xuanmin - globaltimes.cn
>>16373148 Crown Resorts hit with $80m fine by Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission over use of China Union Pay cards to illegally transfer funds from China
>>16373172 Star Entertainment Group is not suitable to hold a casino licence, say lawyers for NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority inquiry following allegations of money laundering, links to organised crime and fraud at the Pyrmont casino

#16655184 at 2022-07-07 08:44:21 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #24: TRUMP CARD COMING Edition

#23 - Part 16
Australia / China Tensions - Part 2
>>16356449 China inks deal on economic technologies with Samoa during FM's trip, welcomes partnership with Australia, NZ to help PICs - Global Times - globaltimes.cn
>>16356468 China's FM visits the remote Pacific nation of Kiribati, where the future of a vast fishing ground is at stake.
>>16356495 Wang's visit to Kiribati shows devt opportunities, injects firmness to one-China principle - Zhang Hui and Hu Yuwei - globaltimes.cn
>>16356551 New Australian foreign minister Penny Wong's rhetoric of leaving regional security to Pacific region shows hypocrisy, double standard - Global Times - globaltimes.cn
>>16356601 Why China's Pacific sweet talk will fail - Beijing's plan to corral ten Pacific Island countries into an exclusive grouping is a daring attempt to take control of the region - Peter Jennings - theaustralian.com.au
>>16361632 Embassy of The People's Republic of China in The Republic of Fiji - Statement by the Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Fiji on the China-Pacific Island Countries Cooperation
>>16361649 More than 100 Australian Defence Force personnel will travel to Papua New Guinea in coming months to help the country conduct its national election, combat cyber threats and conduct joint exercises amid a growing tussle for influence between Australia and China in the region
>>16366827 We're turning to China because you neglect us, says East Timor president Jose Ramos-Horta
>>16366850 Fijian vow to hold the line on China influence - China's aggressive bid to exert power in the South Pacific will meet strong resistance if Fiji's former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka returns to office this year, with the two-time coup leader vowing to side with Australia as Beijing steps up its battle for dominance in the region
>>16366881 China, Pacific islands unable to reach consensus on security pact - China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged the Pacific region not to be "too anxious" about his country's aims after a meeting in Fiji with his counterparts from 10 island nations was unable to agree to a sweeping trade and security communique

>>16366904 China shelves plan to sign a regional agreement with Pacific island nations - Foreign Minister Wang Yi says China will instead release a position paper following a meeting with Pacific foreign ministers in Fiji on Monday
>>16372869 'I won't back down on Beijing' - Peter Dutton says he won't back away from his pre-election warnings about the dangers posed by China, declaring the country under President Xi Jinping's leadership "is the biggest issue our country will face in our lifetimes"
>>16372884 China tries to calm Pacific fears after security snub - Pacific Islands leaders have rebuffed Beijing's sweeping security and trade pact while calling on China - the world's biggest polluter - to do more to address its "greatest threat": climate change
>>16372900 Timing of Wang Yi visit to PNG 'inappropriate', say Former PNG prime minister Peter O'Neill and Opposition Leader Belden Namah - Two of Papua New Guinea's most senior politicians have blasted the timing of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to the country during its national election period, and warned Prime Minister James Marape not to sign any agreements while parliament was dissolved
>>16372930 Fiji's 'Rambo' will take the fight to Xi Jinping - China's aggressive bid for influence in the Pacific will depend in part on the outcome of an epic struggle for power between Fiji's rival strongmen: Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama and Sitiveni Rabuka, instigator of two military coups in 1987, and later democratically elected as prime minister from 1992 to 1999
>>16372962 China, Pacific Island nations expand cooperation at second FMs' meeting covering poverty alleviation, climate change and agriculture - China respects local countries in signing cooperation, but could be sabotaged by few politicians used as US pawns - Zhang Hui, Liu Caiyu and Shan Jie - globaltimes.cn
>>16372987 China's foreign minister visits Tonga after Pacific islands delay regional pact
>>16373021 China, Tonga are examples of 'building a community with shared future', long-term Chinese investments dwarf US, Australia - Long-term Chinese investments dwarf US, Australia - Li Xuanmin - globaltimes.cn
>>16373148 Crown Resorts hit with $80m fine by Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission over use of China Union Pay cards to illegally transfer funds from China
>>16373172 Star Entertainment Group is not suitable to hold a casino licence, say lawyers for NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority inquiry following allegations of money laundering, links to organised crime and fraud at the Pyrmont casino

#16395527 at 2022-06-04 12:38:37 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #23: HOUSE OF CARDS Edition

>>16343917
>>16390437
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says resetting China-Australia relations requires 'concrete action'

Natalie Whiting - 4 June 2022

1/2

China says a "political force" in Australia that views it as a rival and its development as a threat has been responsible for the deterioration of the relationship between the two countries.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi made comments about China-Australia relations to members of the Chinese media while visiting Papua New Guinea.

Mr Wang said a reset in the relationship required "concrete actions" and that there was "no autopilot".

"The crux of the difficulties in China-Australia relations in the past few years is that some political force in Australia insists on viewing China as a rival rather than a partner and framing China's development as a threat rather than an opportunity," a statement from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

"This has led to a significant retrogression of the many-year positive and pragmatic China policy by Australia.

"The solution is looking at China and China-Australia relations in a sensible and positive way, uphold mutual respect, seek common ground while shelving differences, and create the necessary conditions for bringing bilateral relations back on the normal track."

The comments came as Mr Wang finishes an eight-country tour of the Pacific region that has raised concerns in Washington and Canberra.

In the wake of his trip, Australia's new Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, also flew flown to the region, visiting Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.

China has signed more than 50 agreements while touring Pacific countries but failed to convince 10 nations to sign on to a sweeping regional trade and security deal.

It now appears discussions around that agreement could be delayed until next year and could lead to the creation of a new sub-regional discussion forum between China and the 10 Pacific nations that have diplomatic relationships.

Agreements signed in Timor-Leste

Mr Wang finished his unprecedented tour in Timor-Leste on Saturday.

On the final leg of his trip, he held a series of meetings with Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta, the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and former president Xanana Gusmao.

The two countries also signed several agreements on issues such as civil aviation, agriculture and increased economic and technical cooperation, and a media licensing agreement.

He flew into Timor-Leste from Port Moresby, where he had meetings with PNG's Foreign Minister and Prime Minister during a very brief visit.

The limited schedule in PNG was likely due to the fact the country is in the midst of an election campaign, but Prime Minister James Marape hit back at criticism that the timing was awkward or inappropriate.

"Although we were not the principle point of visit to the Pacific, we are privileged to have received him," he said.

"China-PNG relationship cannot be compromised or sabotaged - it's a very important relationship."

In PNG, minor agreements were signed on promoting investment in green development, aid for COVID-19 and the development of an anti-narcotics centre.

'Give the Australian journalist a chance'

There has been criticism about the limited media access given during Mr Wang's tour.

In Port Moresby, a joint press conference was scheduled but as it was about to start, media were told that after both ministers had spoken, only one Chinese journalist and one PNG journalist could ask a question of their own foreign minister.

Solomon Islands journalists boycotted a press conference when similar rules were set in advance there.

However, when Mirriam Zarriga, a reporter from PNG daily paper The Post Courier, asked a question about the Solomons security deal, both the PNG and Chinese foreign ministers responded.

So, at last, a pacific journalist was able to ask a question and get a response from Mr Wang.

At the end of the press conference, Mr Wang then made a point of calling on the ABC to also ask a question.

"The host country asked one question while China asked another," he said in Mandarin.

"It seems that reporters from Australia have always wanted to ask questions."

He turned to his PNG counterpart as he finished, saying: "If my friend agrees, we will give the Australian journalist a chance."

The ABC asked Mr Wang about the inability to get the 10 Pacific nations to sign on to the proposed regional deal, and if he viewed his trip as a success.

Following the joint press conference as PNG media were interviewing Mr Marape, Chinese media conducted a separate interview where Mr Wang made the comments about the relationship between Australia and China.

In Timor-Leste, journalists protested the ban on questions to the Foreign Minister ahead of the press conference and Mr Wang then agreed to speak to journalists.

(continued)

#16390437 at 2022-06-03 12:06:31 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #23: HOUSE OF CARDS Edition

>>16343917
>>16366827
Beijing targets East Timor, four deals set to be signed

Eryk Bagshaw and Raimundos Oki - June 3, 2022

Singapore/Dili: East Timor will sign agreements with Beijing covering air services, healthcare, economic and technical cooperation, ending Foreign Minister Wang Yi's tour of the region with a swag of new deals.

Landing in Dili on Friday afternoon, Wang was expected to sign off on the pacts driven by East Timorese Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak who is looking to leverage infrastructure investment from Australia, Japan and China. Timorese government figures confirmed the deal would also include an agreement with Chinese state TV to digitise the country's national radio and television services, expanding China's reach just as the ABC prepares to step up its presence in the Pacific.

Jose Ramos Horta, who was re-elected as president in March, has been keen to maintain Dili's connection to Beijing. The president's palace, the Foreign Ministry, the Defence Ministry and major shopping centres in the capital were built with Chinese investment. A commercial port built by a Chinese state-owned company less than 700 kilometres from Darwin is also set to open later this year.

Horta thanked Xi Jinping in May for his strong support for East Timor's "nation-building process". The country has large gas and oil reserves, but major mining companies have described the environment as too challenging, forcing it to turn to Chinese state-backed firms to fund the Timor GAP facility.

Wang left Papua New Guinea on Thursday after committing to buying more gas from PNG, and helping Port Moresby with green development, as well as COVID-19 and anti-narcotics programs.

PNG Prime Minister James Marape, who is facing an election in July, said China was a "very strategic and important bilateral partner".

"PNG is friends to all and enemies to none," Marape said. "China is the major buyer of our produce, and we will engage with them more in commerce and trade, as well as other aspects of our bilateral relationship going into the future."

Marape dismissed criticism of Wang's visit in the middle of the PNG election campaign after the opposition accused him of politicising PNG's diplomacy.

"For the Chinese Foreign Minister to visit us is an affirmation of the warm relationship and friendship between our two countries," Marape said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is not expected to visit Port Moresby until after PNG's election.

The final tranche of bilateral deals came after Wang failed to secure consensus among Pacific Island nations to adopt a 10-country security and trade pact this week. Beijing's top envoy has faced resistance elsewhere in the Pacific and has been forced to trumpet bilateral deals, and a position paper in lieu of the mega security and trade deal sought by Beijing.

Wang accused the opponents of China's plan of using "geopolitical rivalry to misinterpret and smear the cooperation between the two sides".

Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who flew to Samoa and Tonga this week, urged Pacific Island nations to consider their independence, debt levels and regional security before signing any deal with Beijing.

In PNG, the Chinese foreign minister remained optimistic his country would execute its plans for the region.

"We believe that Pacific Island countries have the wisdom and ability to overcome temporary difficulties and have a rebirth and rejuvenation, and expect Pacific Island countries to enhance solidarity and adhere to open regionalism," he said in a meeting with Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown on Thursday night.

But China's aggressive push into the Pacific has put some countries offside. On Friday, Tonga - which is heavily indebted to China's infrastructure bank - became the latest country to raise concerns about attempts to shape the regional order. Samoa and New Zealand had criticised China's approach on Thursday.

"There are common strands that bind us," Tongan Prime Minister Hu'akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni said after his meeting with the Australian foreign minister. "They include respect for democracy, the rule of law, and the rights and freedoms of others. This remains the important tenets of our relations."

Wong said China had become more active in the region and Australia had to respond.

"What we have to do is to lift our engagement in the region," she said. "We have to talk to them, with them, about our climate policy, which, as I've said previously, is the central issue."

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/asia/beijing-targets-east-timor-four-deals-set-to-be-signed-20220603-p5aqx3.html

#16390422 at 2022-06-03 11:58:29 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #23: HOUSE OF CARDS Edition

>>16343917
>>16344026
Papua New Guinea PM warns opposition not to 'play politics' with China visit

Kirsty Needham - June 3, 2022

SYDNEY, June 3 (Reuters) - Papua New Guinea's prime minister warned the opposition not to "play politics" with the visit of China's foreign minister amid an election campaign, noting China is a major trade partner and the biggest buyer of the Pacific nation's gas exports.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Prime Minister James Marape on Friday, after signing agreements with his counterpart, in the final days of an eight-nation tour that has raised concern over Beijing's ambitions in the region.

China was unable to gain consensus from 10 Pacific island nations for a sweeping regional pact on security and trade at a meeting on Monday. Several nations said it was too rushed and they wanted to consult the broader region, where some countries have diplomatic ties with Taiwan and not Beijing.

Nonetheless, Wang struck a series of bilateral deals on infrastructure, fisheries, trade and police equipment on his tour, and officials say discussions over a regional pact will continue.

Chinese state media outlet Xinhua this week reported Beijing wanted developing countries to join its new "Global Security Initiative", although details have been scant.

The United States, Australia and New Zealand have expressed concern over Beijing's offers for a greater security and policing presence in the Pacific, after it struck a security pact with Solomon Islands.

In a letter to other Pacific leaders last month, the Federated States of Micronesia warned a multilateral pact with China could bring "Cold War" to the region.

In a virtual meeting with his Federated States of Micronesia counterpart on Thursday, Wang said China wasn't expanding its military into the Pacific but focusing on economic development.

"The facts over nearly half a century have proved that the exchanges between China and (Pacific island countries) did not and will not affect regional security and stability," he said, according to a foreign ministry statement on Friday.

Wang is expected to travel to East Timor later on Friday to sign bilateral agreements on health, agriculture, media and economic cooperation, according to East Timor's foreign ministry.

In Dili, he will also meet with newly elected president Jose Ramos-Horta who has advocated for a stronger relationship between the two nations.

'FRIENDS TO ALL'

Administered by Australia until 1975 and its nearest neighbour, Papua New Guinea is strategically positioned and rich in resources but largely undeveloped.

Papua New Guinea had a foreign policy of "friends to all and enemies to none", Prime Minister Marape said in a statement.

"China is the major buyer of our produce, and we will engage with them more in commerce and trade, as well as other aspects of our bilateral relationship going into the future," he said.

China buys over 50% of all the gas produced in Papua New Guinea and has given an undertaking to buy more, he said.

Marape hit back at former prime minister Peter O'Neill, who is running for the top job and who criticised the timing of Wang's visit as being inappropriate and warned no deals should be signed.

"The former prime minister knows very well not to play politics with the visit of an international leader to our country," Marape said.

TONGA SHARES 'RESPECT FOR DEMOCRACY'

Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong arrived in Tonga on Friday to highlight the new Australian government's commitments on climate change, in her second trip to the region since being sworn in last week.

"We are not a government or country that wants to come in and tell you what to do," said Wong, who visited Samoa on Thursday and pledged a new coastguard patrol vessel.

Tonga's Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni, who signed six agreements with China on Tuesday, told a joint media conference Tonga and Australia shared "respect for democracy and rule of law and the rights and freedoms of others".

Australian aid has been crucial in Tonga's history, and will continue in the priority areas of education, health, defence, trade, policing and democratic governance, he said.

Tonga has external debt of $195 million or 35.9 percent of its GDP, of which two-thirds is owed to China's Export-Import Bank, its budget shows.

Sovaleni told reporters on Wednesday the debt had been discussed during the Chinese foreign minister's visit, and Tonga will continue to make repayments.

Australia has offered to increase work opportunities for Tongans in Australia, and export opportunities, he added.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/papua-new-guinea-leader-warns-opposition-not-play-politics-with-china-visit-2022-06-03/

#16372900 at 2022-05-31 08:31:51 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #23: HOUSE OF CARDS Edition

>>16361649
Timing of Wang Yi visit to PNG 'inappropriate', says Peter O'Neill

BEN PACKHAM - MAY 30, 2022

Two of Papua New Guinea's most senior politicians have blasted the timing of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to the country during its national election period, and warned Prime Minister James Marape not to sign any agreements while parliament was ?dissolved.

Former PNG prime minister Peter O'Neill and Opposition Leader Belden Namah, said the visit was inappropriate and should have been delayed until a new government had been formed.

Their comments came after Mr Wang was forced to shelve a ?region-wide security and trade pact on Monday after Pacific Islands foreign ministers rejected the deal.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong welcomed the decision, declaring "the security of the Pacific is the responsibility of the Pacific family, of which Australia is a part".

Mr O'Neill, who is considered a contender to return to the prime ministership, told The Australian that PNG's foreign partners were aware of the election timeline, "and should respect the democratic processes of our country".

"PNG welcomes our trading and diplomatic partners graciously but now is not the appropriate time for high-level state visits," he said.

Mr Namah said the visit was "premature and irresponsible" now the election period was in full swing.

"It is not an appropriate time for Wang Yi to visit Papua New Guinea, when the writs have been issued and we are in the campaign period," he told The Australian.

"Marape is only (leading) a caretaker government. He cannot commit the independent state of Papua New Guinea to any form of agreements, be they international or domestic."

Mr Wang urged regional leaders not to be concerned about his ?country's intentions in the region, after 10 Pacific counterparts had declined to support the sweeping trade and security agreement during a meeting in Fiji.

"Don't be too anxious and don't be too nervous," Mr Wang said.

He added that co-operation with China would deliver "great harmony, greater justice and greater progress".

China's ambassador to Fiji, Qian Bo, later told reporters that the draft communique and five-year plan had been set aside "until we have reached an agreement".

The rejection of the proposed deal follows an outcry from Australia and the US over a new China-Solomon Islands security pact, and a snap trip to Fiji by Senator Wong, who urged the region to stick with Australia as its "security partner of choice".

"Australia will always work with the Pacific family to address shared security challenges, which is why we will boost support for Pacific maritime security and increase defence co-operation," Senator Wong said on Monday.

"We want to bring new energy and more resources to the Pacific.

"And we want to make a uniquely Australian contribution, including through the culture we share and economic opportunities through our Pacific labour programs and permanent migration."

Fiji's Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, said Pacific nations had put "consensus first".

"Geopolitical pointscoring means less than little to anyone whose community is slipping beneath the rising seas, whose job is being lost to the pandemic, or whose family is impacted by the rapid rise in the price of commodities," he said.

Mr Wang, who is on a diplomatic blitz of the region, is due to depart Fiji for Tonga on Tuesday and head to Vanuatu and PNG.

The Chinese embassy had been in talks with PNG officials about providing funding or equipment to support the country's election ?security efforts, but Mr O'Neill said the offer of support had come too late.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/timing-of-wang-yi-visit-to-png-inappropriate-says-peter-oneill/news-story/f5ccaf0caef71c7fd6b0c09267fbdac1

#16361649 at 2022-05-29 10:25:41 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #23: HOUSE OF CARDS Edition

>>16343917
More than 100 ADF personnel to be sent to PNG to help with election, cyber threats

Anthony Galloway - May 29, 2022

1/2

More than 100 Australian Defence Force personnel will travel to Papua New Guinea in coming months to help the country conduct its national election, combat cyber threats and conduct joint exercises amid a growing tussle for influence between Australia and China in the region.

Following Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to Samoa on Saturday, the country's government announced it had signed three deals with Wang, including an "economic and technical co-operation" agreement.

The details of the new deals are unclear, but it comes as Australia races to stop China from signing a new regional security deal with as many as 10 Pacific island nations following the controversial pact between Beijing and Solomon Islands.

Wang arrived in Solomon Islands last week on a 10-day tour of the Pacific that also includes visits to PNG, Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu and East Timor.

Wang is pushing a new regional security deal that would allow the Chinese government to provide high-level police training and security and data co-operation across the region.

China's top diplomat said attempts by the United States and Australia to sabotage its security plans for the Pacific were "doomed to failure" as he arrived in Kiribati to forge ahead with plans for Chinese-built infrastructure in the island nation.

At the same time, Australia's new Foreign Affairs Minister, Penny Wong, scrambled to Fiji this week in her first solo visit to another country, where she urged Pacific leaders to weigh up the "consequences" of accepting security offers from Beijing.

PNG will go to the polls in July, which will likely involve a contest between incumbent James Marape and former prime minister Peter O'Neill.

Australia's closest neighbour has had issues with elections in the past; more than 200 people died in violent clashes during the election in 2017, and the result was heavily disputed.

A Defence spokesperson said Australia would support the PNG election at the request of its government.

This support will include air force, army and cyber personnel to help PNG with logistics and planning, including air lifts to help in distributing and collecting votes.

In addition, about 90 ADF personnel have travelled to PNG since March to conduct joint training exercises with the nation's military, and more Australian soldiers will arrive in coming months to help with infantry skills and operations.

At the same time, Australia recently signed a new agreement with PNG to provide support to help the country better detect and fight cyberattacks. It will allow the two countries to more easily share information on cyber threats and help train cyber experts in PNG.

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the "number, type and sophistication" of cybersecurity threats to Australia and the region were increasing.

"A variety of cyber-enabled means such as cybersecurity incidents and misinformation or disinformation campaigns can represent potential threats," the DFAT spokesperson said. "We must engage internationally to advance and protect our shared interests."

(continued)

#16134023 at 2022-04-23 03:08:49 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16133978
>>16133996
THE WHITE HOUSE

Readout of Senior Administration Travel to Hawaii, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands

APRIL 22, 2022

On April 22, a high-level U.S. delegation - led by National Security Council Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink, Deputy Commander INDOPACOM Lieutenant General Stephen Sklenka , and USAID Acting Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for Asia Craig Hart - visited Honiara, Solomon Islands. The delegation met for ninety minutes with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, along with two dozen members of his cabinet and senior staff. While there, the delegation also met with prominent religious leaders on the island and with key members of the political opposition.

This visit to Solomon Islands was the final leg of the delegation's trip across the Pacific. It followed stops in Hawaii, where the delegation met with senior officials from Australia, Japan, and New Zealand; Fiji, where they met with Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, as well as leadership of the Pacific Island Forum, and held the U.S.-Fiji Strategic Dialogue; and Papua New Guinea, where they met with Prime Minister James Marape and senior defense officials to discuss ways to enhance security ties. Across these engagements, the United States reiterated that it will seek to further deepen our enduring ties with the Pacific Islands and take tangible steps to advance a free, open, and resilient Indo-Pacific. The United States will do so by fulfilling and strengthening its commitments in the region, working to advance regional unity, coordinating with allies and partners on meeting twenty-first century challenges, and protecting the sovereignty of Pacific Island states.

In the meeting with Solomon Islands' Prime Minister Sogavare, the delegation reiterated the key priorities animating the trip and also outlined specific steps the United States would take to advance the welfare of the people of Solomon Islands. The United States will expedite the opening of an embassy in Solomon Islands; advance cooperation on unexploded ordinance; launch a program on maritime domain awareness; dispatch the Mercy hospital ship to address public health; advance a dialogue on the return of the Peace Corps; deliver additional vaccines; and advance initiatives on climate, health, and people-to-people ties.

The United States respects the right of nations to make sovereign decisions in the best interests of their people. The two sides engaged in substantial discussion around the recently signed security agreement between Solomon Islands and the People's Republic of China (PRC). Solomon Islands representatives indicated that the agreement had solely domestic applications, but the U.S. delegation noted there are potential regional security implications of the accord, including for the United States and its allies and partners. The U.S. delegation outlined clear areas of concern with respect to the purpose, scope, and transparency of the agreement.

If steps are taken to establish a de facto permanent military presence, power-projection capabilities, or a military installation, the delegation noted that the United States would then have significant concerns and respond accordingly. In response to these enumerated concerns, Prime Minister Sogavare reiterated his specific assurances that there would be no military base, no long-term presence, and no power projection capability, as he has said publicly. The United States emphasized that it will follow developments closely in consultation with regional partners.

At this critical juncture, the United States and Solomon Islands agreed to launch a high-level strategic dialogue, co-chaired on the U.S. side by the White House and the Department of State. Its purpose will be to enhance communication, address mutual concerns, and drive practical progress. In particular, both sides agreed to discuss in greater detail security issues of mutual concern, economic and social development, public health, and finance and debt. Each side committed to take the necessary steps in the intervening period to prepare for a successful engagement.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/04/22/readout-of-senior-administration-travel-to-hawaii-fiji-papua-new-guinea-and-solomon-islands/

#16104788 at 2022-04-19 10:02:08 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16047451
US warns that China's soldiers could be stationed in Solomons

Eryk Bagshaw - April 19, 2022

The United States has warned Solomon Islands that China's soldiers could be stationed in the Pacific nation if it signs a security deal with Beijing.

In its first public intervention in the geopolitical rift that is dominating the region, Washington urged Solomons to remember that Australia led the multinational peacekeeping force that restored order after riots in Honiara in November and suggested China's presence would destabilise an already volatile situation.

The Biden administration's Indo-Pacific chief Kurt Campbell flies into Honiara this week to communicate America's concerns, after protests from Australia and New Zealand to ditch the draft agreement were dismissed by the Solomons' Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare as "nonsense".

US State Department spokesman Ned Price on Tuesday said that assurances from Sogavare that there would be no Chinese naval bases had not convinced the US that the deal was in the region's best interests.

"Despite the Solomon Islands government's comments, the broad nature of the security agreement leaves open the door for the deployment of [People's Republic of China] military forces to the Solomon Islands," said Price.

"We believe that signing such an agreement could increase destabilisation within Solomon Islands and will set a concerning precedent for the wider Pacific Island region."

The Solomons lies less than 2000 kilometres from Australia's east coast and is on a key shipping route between Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the United States. The country has been beset by poverty, corruption and poor infrastructure, pushing its leaders closer to promises of Chinese investment. Beijing has requested it be allowed to protect those investments by force if necessary through a security agreement in exchange for economic cooperation.

Australian officials have been quietly frustrated by the lack of public diplomacy from Washington as they attempted to convince Sogavare to pull out of the deal while respecting Solomons sovereignty. That position came to a head last week when Pacific Minster Zed Seselja explicitly asked Sogavare not to sign the deal in a meeting in Honiara.

"Australia will continue supporting peace, prosperity, stability and our shared democratic values in Solomon Islands and across the region," Seselja said last week.

China has been elevated alongside Australia as Solomons' top strategic partner after the Pacific nation switched its diplomatic allegiance to Beijing from Taiwan three years ago.

Price said Campbell intended to "share perspectives, to share interests, to share concerns" while in Honiara but did not say when he would arrive.

Campbell, who along with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is in charge of China policy in the White House, will also visit Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

Australian officials have been specifically concerned about what precedent the Solomons deal could set for PNG, Australia's closest neighbour and another key target of Chinese investment in the region. PNG Prime Minister James Marape in February signed an agreement with China's President Xi Jinping at the Winter Olympics that opposed "other countries' interference in their internal affairs under the pretext of democracy and human rights".

Australia is spending $580 million on upgrading six ports across PNG - including turning one into a regional container hub for the Pacific - in an attempt to counter-bid China's investment in mining and infrastructure. At the same time, PNG has agreed to supply more LNG to China, hitting some of Australia's exports to Beijing.

Price said Fiji, PNG, and Solomon Islands were important partners to the United States.

"It's precisely why the Secretary met with the Pacific Islands Forum earlier this year when we were in the region," he said.

Price said Campbell would outline what the United States can bring to the region as Washington pushes ahead with plans to establish its first embassy in Honiara.

"We'll leave it to them to contrast what we offer from what other countries, including rather large countries in the region, might offer," he said.

https://www.theage.com.au/world/asia/us-warns-that-china-s-soldiers-could-be-stationed-in-solomons-20220419-p5aeib.html

#16028346 at 2022-04-07 08:44:44 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition

>>16028339

2/2

Solomon Islands firm on position

The statement pointedly says that China remains an "important trading partner for both countries" and makes it clear that the government is not prepared to abandon efforts to strike security pacts with more countries.

"Prime Minister Sogavare assured Australia, Solomon Islands will continue to roll out the implementation of its National Security Strategy and uphold its Foreign Policy of "Friends to all and enemies to none," it reads.

Several Australian government ministers have publicly raised concerns about the pact since it was leaked online last month.

It has since been "initialled" by top officials from China and Solomon Islands, but not yet signed and formalised by their foreign ministers.

Last month, Mr Morrison said the agreement showed the "constant pressure" being placed on Pacific states, and earlier this week a top US admiral labelled the security negotiations between Honiara and Beijing "very concerning."

Mr Sogavare lashed out at critics of the pact during a fiery address to parliament last week, insisting there was no prospect of a Chinese military base in Solomon Islands, and saying it was "insulting" to suggest his country couldn't navigate its relationship with Beijing.

China's government has also berated Australia for publicly criticising the deal, accusing it of paranoia and trying to undermine the sovereignty of Solomon Islands.

Some Pacific neighbours uneasy about deal

Mr Morrison and the Pacific Minister Zed Seselja have rung several Pacific counterparts to try and coordinate a united regional response to the development.

Some Pacific Island nations are also uneasy about the agreement and the prospect of China striking its first bilateral security deal in the region, although few Pacific leaders have waded into the public furore.

The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape told the ABC earlier this week that other states in the region were "conscious" of events in Solomon Islands and wanted to discuss the matter at the Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting this year.

Samoa's Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa also did not criticise the security pact but said Pacific Island countries had to hammer out a collective response to growing geopolitical competition in the region.

"That is why we from Samoa have been pushing for the Forum to quickly come together and to be looking at these issues growing and deepening in our region," she said.

The controversy over the agreement has also stoked domestic political controversy in Australia.

The government has denied Labor's declaration that Australia was "blindsided" by the leaked deal, with Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce saying Australian intelligence agencies were "all over" what was happening.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne also told Senate Estimates that Australia had been aware of security negotiations between China and Solomon Islands for quite some time, although she conceded she only learned about the specific agreement when the draft was leaked publicly.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-07/australian-intelligence-officials-meet-with-solomon-islands-pm/100972282

#16014957 at 2022-04-05 07:58:56 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition

>>15939896
US admiral lashes 'concerning' Solomon Islands security pact with China

Jade Macmillan and Andrew Greene - 5 April 2022

1/2

A top American admiral has criticised a potential security pact between China and Solomon Islands, describing it as a "secret" arrangement worrying the US and its partners.

Australia has warned that a Chinese naval base in the Pacific nation, less than 2,000 kilometres from the Queensland coast, would "change the calculus" for the Australian Defence Force.

Those sentiments have now been backed by the Commander of the US Pacific Fleet, Admiral Samuel J Paparo, who said he was "undoubtedly concerned" about the situation.

"There is still a path ahead. But anytime that a secret security arrangement makes its way into the light of day, it is a concern," he told the ABC in Washington DC, during an event with foreign journalists.

"And it's a concern for all of our partners throughout the western Pacific and notably, Australia, New Zealand.

"And so that revealed security arrangement in the Solomons is very concerning to us."

Last week Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare lashed out at critics of the draft Chinese security saying their comments were "insulting".

Mr Sogavare said the deal was "ready to be signed" but insisted existing security arrangements with Australia would be maintained and there were no plans to allow a Chinese military base.

Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape has also weighed into the controversy over the security agreement.

Australia has been trying to rally Pacific Island states to press Solomon Islands over the pact, with Scott Morrison ringing regional heavyweights including Mr Marape and Fiji's Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama to express concern.

Mr Marape told the ABC that PNG and other Pacific states were "conscious of what's taking place" in Solomon Islands, and he had had "conversations" with his Solomon Islands counterpart.

He said Mr Sogavare assured him there were no plans for China to establish a military base in the country, and that the agreement was focused on offering police support.

But Mr Marape also suggested that Papua New Guinea and other Pacific countries were in the best position to provide police support, saying "we stand ready to work side by side in upskilling and training police [and] having more police engagements … into Solomon Islands if they require help".

Australian and Papuan police are already in Honiara as part of a regional police mission to help stabilise the country in the wake of the riots last year.

(continued)

#15975222 at 2022-03-30 08:54:22 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition

>>15975221

2/2

Sources said Pacific Island leaders have felt blindsided by Mr Sogavare's secret negotiations with China, which they believe goes against the region's traditional approach of consultation and collective security.

Mr Morrison spoke to Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape and Fiji's leader, Frank Bainimarama, on Monday.

One possible pathway is for Fiji, as this year's chairman of the Pacific Islands Forum, to ask Mr Sogavare to pause the agreement to allow regional leaders to talk about it privately.

"Pacific leaders are concerned about the implications of this agreement. I would expect there to be attempts to reach out to Sogavare from leaders in the region," said Mihai Sora, a Lowy Institute research fellow and a former Australian diplomat to Honiara.

Mr Sora acknowledged the strength of Mr Sogavare's commitment to an agreement, which made it difficult for him to dump it, but the pact could be narrowed in scope and made more clearly defined and transparent.

China's latest broadside over strategic positioning in the region came as Beijing went on the attack over the treatment of Chinese students in Australia.

Beijing had lodged a complaint with Canberra about the deportation of two Chinese students after they arrived in Sydney because they reportedly did not disclose their military training, something that is compulsory in China for all university students.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman said there were many incidents where Australian border law enforcement officers in Sydney interrogated Chinese students, and examined their cellphones and personal belongings for "no reason".

"Such acts have gravely undermined the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese students," he said.

The Australian Border Force (ABF) said it would not comment on individual cases.

"The travelling public should be aware that the Australian Border Force can and does cancel visas at the border if a traveller has provided false information," the ABF spokesman said.

Meanwhile, China has suspended imports from Australian meat exporter JBS Australia for one week after traces of coronaviruses were reportedly detected in a sample taken from the outer packaging of frozen lamb.

However, the move is unlikely to be politically motivated as China has suspended shipments from more than 100 exporters over the last two weeks alone, mainly seafood from India, Pakistan, Ecuador, and Vietnam.

Separately, China said it was stepping up aid to Pacific Island countries fighting COVID-19 with a new shipment of medical equipment delivered to Tarawa, Kiribati this week.

The China Daily said China delivered more than 20 tonnes of medical supplies to the Solomon Islands last month, while COVID-19 test kits for 240,000 people were expected to arrive in Samoa this weekend.

https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/png-fiji-enlisted-to-persuade-the-solomons-against-china-deal-20220330-p5a9ao

#15962100 at 2022-03-28 08:41:50 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition

>>15939896
China's Solomon Island naval base security draft agreement designed to 'intimidate' Australia, Joyce says

Stephen Dziedzic - 28 March 2022

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has suggested China may want a naval base in Solomon Islands to "intimidate" Australia or "restrict our capacity of movement".

Mr Joyce has also denied the government was caught by surprise when a draft security agreement between the two countries leaked last week, saying Australian intelligence agencies were "all over" the development.

The Opposition Leader in Solomon Islands, Matthew Wale, has criticised Australia's response to growing security cooperation between China and the incumbent government of Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, and said he first warned the federal government about nascent security negotiations last year.

But Mr Joyce said it was wrong to suggest Australia had been caught unaware, or that its response had been flat-footed.

"I think they'd be highly naive to think the Australian government is not completely over this issue. The Prime Minister, the national security community, they are not fools," he said.

The draft agreement between Solomon Islands and China would provide a broadly worded framework which could be used to authorise a future for a Chinese military presence in the Pacific Island nation just north of Australia.

However, it's not clear whether the version which was leaked online is the most recent one, or whether it represents an early "ambit claim" by China.

Mr Joyce said the federal government had ploughed enormous effort and resources into building its ties with Pacific Island nations.

"We are engaged because we are not blind to the tactics of other people who are going through the process of trying to restrict our capacity of movement and intimidate us," he said.

He also questioned why China would want a military base in Melanesia, and suggested it might well be aimed directly at Australia.

"I think what Australia has to do is say well, what is the point of the Chinese having a naval base in Solomon Islands?" he said.

"I mean, they are not under threat from the Antarctic and New Zealand."

Mr Joyce said the episode demonstrated why Australia had to build up its military muscle and economic resilience in order to "become as strong as possible, as quickly as possible".

Australia has also begun to lobby other Pacific Island nations against the draft agreement.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke to his Papua New Guinea and Fijian counterparts James Marape and Frank Bainimarama today, while the Minister for International Development Zed Seselja last week predicted "significant pushback" in the region.

This morning, Mr Morrison said the agreement was "not a surprise" to Australia, and a "reminder of constant pressures and threats that present in our region to our own national security".

He also defended the government's Pacific Step Up, saying Australia had put huge resources into security cooperation, development and vaccine distribution across the region.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also weighed in this morning, saying the agreement being negotiated by Solomon Islands and China was "gravely concerning" to her country.

"We see such acts as the potential militarisation of the region," she told Radio NZ.

"We see very little reason in terms of Pacific security for such a need and such a presence."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-28/china-solomon-island-naval-base-intends-to-intimidate-joyce-says/100944228

#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

#14657225 at 2021-09-25 04:33:07 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #18 - Talisman Sabre: MAGIC SWORD Edition

Scott Morrison touts new global security alliances during UN meeting

Tracey Shelton - 25 September 2021

Australia's global strategic partnerships have been the focus of a speech by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on the fourth day of the United Nations General Assembly.

In a pre-taped video statement, Mr Morrison touted Australia's $100 million contribution to the Quad Vaccine Partnership "with our good friends the United States, India and Japan".

"This will support a boost in production by at least 1 billion doses by the end of 2022 and provide access to vaccines and delivery support to countries across the Indo-Pacific," Mr Morrison said.

As Mr Morrison's message aired inside UN headquarters in New York, the Prime Minister met in person with the Quad leaders in Washington at their first summit.

Mr Morrison joined US President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to discuss COVID-19 vaccines, infrastructure and technological cooperation.

During his message to the United Nations, Mr Morrison also touted Australia's new AUKUS security pact, under which Australia will be provided with nuclear-powered submarines, a move that has been roundly denounced by Beijing.

Mr Morrison said AUKUS was "designed to further the cause of peace, stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region for the benefit of all who live within that region".

"Australia's interests are inextricably linked to an open, inclusive, and resilient Indo-Pacific region where the rights of all states, no matter how large or how small, are protected," he said.

"We must reinforce a sustainable rules-based order while ensuring it is also adaptable to the great power realities of our time."

PM says technology key to combating climate change

Mr Morrison praised the countries' efforts to reduce the impacts of climate change, saying "Australia has a proven track record of ... setting, achieving and exceeding" commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

He said "practical scalable and commercially viable technologies" were the key to achieving global emission reductions "while still lifting living standards across all nations".

"That's why we're investing $20 billion to commercialise promising new technologies like clean hydrogen, green steel, long-duration energy storage, and carbon capture - vital to meeting the global task to achieve net zero emissions."

Speaking via video link from New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern urged world leaders to give the highest priority to reducing emissions.

"Any global response that fails to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels is unacceptable," she said.

She said climate change was "one of the most pervasive crises of our time".

"The impacts are global in scope, unprecedented in scale and happening right now," she said.

"Climate change touches all of our lives but countries in the Pacific are some of the most affected, despite having contributed least to the problem."

"Pacific leaders view climate change as the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security, and wellbeing of the peoples of the region."

PNG calls on big carbon emitters to 'own up and apologise'

Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape echoed Ms Ardern's words in his speech, using his live address to the UN to call for greater action on climate change.

"It is time the big carbon emitters of planet Earth own up and apologise to the small island states and all other victims of climate change," he said. "And I make this statement with no apologies."

Mr Marape said children and families were living in "fear and uncertainty" as they watched sea levels rise and "the structures that their lives are built upon slip away".

"Today I make a call for all of us, especially to the big carbon-emitting nations who are now enjoying their national economic transformations through industrialisation, to pause, think, and take responsibility to save our planet."

Mr Marape said it was disappointing PNG had so far "had limited or no success" in accessing climate change funding and said it should be considered separate from official development assistance.

Mr Marape said he was "comforted" by recent climate action announcements from the US, Britain and China, but there had been "enough talk" and more action was needed for the "survival of Earth".

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-25/pacific-nations-focus-on-climate-change-at-un-general-assembly/100491250

#12909359 at 2021-02-13 05:15:48 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #13 - THE WAR IS REAL Edition

>>12828457
Warnings over PNG's Chinese hydro project

BEN PACKHAM - FEBRUARY 12, 2021

Papua New Guinea has given the green light to a new $2.6bn Chinese hydro-electric plant despite warnings it could cripple the nation's state-owned power company, as PNG's cash-strapped Marape government seeks another $400m loan from Australia.

The Ramu 2 power plant would be financed, built and operated by China's Shenzhen Energy before being handed back to PNG after 25 years.

The Weekend Australian has learned the PNG Power Ltd board approved a provisional Ramu 2 power purchase agreement this week - under pressure from the government - after years of lobbying by China and the project's domestic political backers.

Its approval comes amid growing Australian government concerns over PNG's susceptibility to bad Chinese deals that could leave the country financially and politically beholden to Beijing.

PNG is pursuing the project against the wishes of the Australian government, and despite efforts by the country to secure a fresh budget support loan in the upcoming Australian budget.

The Weekend Australian can reveal PNG is seeking $400m, on top of $558m it already owes Australian taxpayers, to shore up the country's battered finances.

Part of the last Australian government loan was used to pay PNG's 111 members of parliament $2.9m each in local "service improvement" funds.

Prime Minister James Marape travelled to Kainantu, in Eastern Highlands Province, on Friday to announce the project would go ahead.

The 180MW Ramu 2 plant would be one of the world's most expensive hydro projects, with a construction cost of at least $12.3m per megawatt. A transmission upgrade to link it to the national power grid was awarded to another Chinese company under a $223m Exim Bank loan.

One senior PNG business source, not authorised to speak about the project, said the Ramu 2 deal would require utility to purchase all the power produced by the plant even if it was not required. "If you went to the market to get it done this would not be anywhere in the vicinity of a good deal," the source said.

The PNG Power Ltd board made the deal provisional on the securing of a power offtake agreement with one of the big mining projects.

The prime candidate, Newcrest's proposed Wafi-Golpu goldmine, has plans to generate its own power. But there is speculation the PNG government could force it to take Ramu 2 electricity as a condition of approval.

Australia, the US, Japan and New Zealand had promised at the 2018 APEC summit in Port Moresby to electrify and provide internet to 70 per cent of PNG's population. So far, only a $250m solar project has been announced but not yet commenced.

The Australian government is also concerned about the strategic implications of a $200m Chinese fisheries project in Daru, just kilometres from Australia, and is seeking answers about a proposal by a Chinese company to build a $39bn megacity in Daru.

Lowy Institute Pacific program manager Jonathan Pryke said Australia should have used its financial leverage to impose conditions on Ramu 2.

"For the past two years Australia has been partially underwriting PNG's budget with cheap loans, and we look set to for years to come. Given how cheap we can borrow it's a sensible move, which also gives us more leverage.

"There are major concerns about this project - its size, its cost, its quality - not to mention a Chinese-owned and operated hydro station controlling power for half the country and establishing its own network of patronage. If we're really worried ... we should look to peg that support to a public cost-benefit assessment of the project."

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/warnings-over-pngs-chinese-hydro-project/news-story/7dbbfbdb37e0edc6e2dd5d7c0fdfe117

#12828457 at 2021-02-05 08:08:00 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #13 - THE WAR IS REAL Edition

Australia watching China PNG city proposal

Daniel McCulloch - 5 February 2021

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has downplayed a Chinese company's proposal to build a new mega city just kilometres from Australian territory.

Leaked documents reveal a conceptual plan to build a 100 square kilometre city with a major seaport, industrial area and free-trade zone on Papua New Guinea's south coast.

The "New Daru City" would be built within kilometres of Australian islands in the Torres Strait and less than 200 kilometres from the mainland.

Mr Morrison said the ambitious plans were "very speculative at this point".

"I'm not surprised by it but I think at this stage it would be best to file it under 'speculation'," he told reporters in Canberra on Friday.

A spokesman for PNG Prime Minister James Marape said he was unaware of the project but the country would not turn away foreign investment, so long as it complied with laws and benefited locals.

Australian security agencies have grown increasingly concerned about China's interest in PNG, with the superpower intent on growing strategic power and economic influence in the region.

Another Chinese company plans to build a $200 million fishing park in the same impoverished PNG province.

"I have a very close relationship with prime minister Marape as I've had with previous prime ministers in Papua New Guinea," Mr Morrison said.

"We regularly discuss the various pressures in our region and I think we're very much on the same page about those issues."

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said the $39 billion development proposal was evidence of a regional leadership vacuum created by the Morrison government.

Senator Wong said the proposal represented a security and strategic threat.

"Australia should be the partner of choice in our region, working with allied and aligned nations to build the sort of region we want - one that is stable, prosperous and respects sovereignty," she said.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said he was very keen to discuss the proposal with the PNG government.

"We will have a look at it. I think there are all sorts of sovereignty issues and there are local issues in terms of landowners and land rights that I think would provide a significant hurdle," he said.

"So we will look at it closely but Australia will always act in our best interests and we will seek to support our neighbours."

The development plans would need to secure approval from local landholders and multiple layers of government.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg cautioned against jumping to conclusions about the Chinese proposal.

"I'm not going to go into what our government knows about various matters," he told reporters in Melbourne.

"Our relationship with Papua New Guinea is very strong, it is co-operative, it is multifaceted. And between prime minister Morrison and prime minister Marape, there is constant dialogue."

https://thewest.com.au/politics/australia-watching-china-png-city-proposal-ng-s-2048257

#11646899 at 2020-11-14 23:01:29 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #11 - THE SILENT WAR CONTINUES Edition

Scott Morrison cancels trip to PNG amid political crisis

Scott Morrison has cancelled his upcoming trip to Papua New Guinea after being asked by the island nation's leader, James Marape, to postpone the visit.

The Prime Minister will still meet with his Japanese counterpart Yoshihide Suga in Tokyo next week as planned.

"Prime Minister Marape contacted the Prime Minister and asked him to defer his visit, and the Prime Minister was happy to do so," a government spokesman told The Australian.

Mr Morrison was due to visit Port Moresby next Wednesday on the way home from a trip to Japan, where he was going to ­announce a new $142m loan to PNG and an Australian bailout of Pacific airlines.

However, a mass defection of ministers and MPs on Friday from Mr Mar­ape's ruling coalition to the opposition benches, apparently in support of former prime minister Peter O'Neill, forced a rethink of the trip.

This is the second time political chaos in Port Moresby has prevented Mr Morrison from visiting the country.

He was due to visit PNG after the election last May but went to the Solomon ­Islands instead after Mr O'Neill was ousted as the nation's leader.

It is understood Mr Morrison will return to Canberra after visiting Japan.

He will isolate for 14 days and attend Question Time via videolink.

PNG's opposition numbers swelled to the point where it was able to adjourn parliament until ­December 1, with a 57-39 vote against the Marape government.

Mr Marape was under pressure to resign amid threats of a vote of no confidence in his leadership when parliament does resume.

The move will defer the handing down of the country's 2021 budget, which was due to be unveiled next week amid dire financial forecasts.

Mr Marape had promised to "take back PNG" and make it the "richest black Christian nation on earth".

But he struggled to do deals on key resource projects with multinational miners, leaving the country's economy in crisis.

Mr Morrison was due to announce the $142m budget support loan and the rollover of an existing $442m loan during his visit to Port Moresby, heading off Chinese ­offers of assistance.

The refinanced loan and new funding will be made available ­directly from Australia's Treasury, unlike the previous arrangement that channelled funds through ­Export Finance Australia.

The Prime Minister was also set to announce a rescue package for regional Pacific airlines, including PNG's national carrier Air Niugini, which have been hammered by the COVID-19 crisis.

The Prime Minister was due to visit PNG after his election last May but went to the Solomon ­Islands instead after Mr O'Neill was ousted as the nation's leader.

Mr Marape said on Friday afternoon that his leadership was "not over until it's over".

"I am happy this divide is taking place so (the) country can now know who (the) patriotic PNGeans (are)," he said in a Facebook post.

"I am not finished in politics yet, now or into the future."

Mr Marape said he saw no reason why Mr Morrison should cancel his November 18-19 visit.

"If he wants to come, he will come; if not, it's all right," he said.

Opposition Leader Belden Namah said Mr Morrison's trip was "highly suspicious" and should be deferred.

Mr Morrison told Sydney radio station 2GB on Friday afternoon that he still intended to visit PNG but "you monitor events as they unfold".

Senior government sources said the trip now appeared ­"tenuous", given that Mr Morrison did not want to appear to endorse either side in PNG's domestic political dispute.

At least nine government ministers abandoned Mr Marape's government, including former deputy prime minister Sam Basil.

Mr O'Neill's camp told The Weekend Australian that the former prime ­minister was not putting himself forward for the top job at this stage, with the role to be discussed between opposition parties.

Lowy Institute Pacific program director Jonathan Pryke said Mr Marape had struggled to achieve policy wins in government.

"Marape was strong on rhetoric but far weaker on delivery.

"It seems a lot of MPs have had enough of the inaction," Mr Pryke said.

"Unless there's quick resolution here, I can't see any way Prime Minister Morrison could, nor would want to, fly into the middle of this."

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/scott-morrisons-trip-in-doubt-amid-political-crisis-in-png/news-story/d5534018af57874924cd9e5313e7fe0c

#10197753 at 2020-08-06 08:14:45 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #9 - Welcome to the Digital Battlefield Edition

We're waiting to take your call: PM to Xi

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has put the onus on China's President Xi Jinping to pick up the phone and open dialogue amid the worsening bilateral tensions between Canberra and Beijing.

Mr Morrison also hit back at Chinese bureaucrats' and state media's constant carping Australia is beholden to Washington, saying Australia and the US had different relationships with China because of economics and geography.

"One of the errors that is made about analysing Australia's position and one of the criticisms that is made of Australia is it's somehow tied inextricably to precise rhetoric of what is done in the United States," he said. "That is simply not true," he told the Aspen Security Forum, a US think-tank.

"To look at it that way would be to misunderstand Australia and miss out on the opportunities of working with Australia in a more constructive way."

Mr Morrison also ruled out banning Chinese-owned social media application TikTok after Australian security agencies found no evidence people's private data had been misused.

Its Chinese owner ByteDance is in talks to sell the application to Microsoft after US President Donald Trump threatened to ban it on national security grounds, a call backed by some Australian MPs.

Mr Morrison said there was "nothing at this point that would suggest to us that security interests have been compromised or Australian citizens have been compromised because of what's happening with those applications".

"But people should know that the line connects right back to China and that they should exercise their own judgment about whether they should participate in those things or not," he said.

Mr Morrison said he last spoke to Mr Xi more than a year ago and his last high-level contact with China's leadership was on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit with Premier Li Keqiang.

"There hasn't been the opportunity to do so but the welcome and the invitation for such a discussion is always there from our perspective," Mr Morrison said when asked about the absence of communication with Mr Xi.

"I don't get hung up on these things to be honest. The phone's there, it works.

"Those sorts of things are of less concern to me. What matters is the trading relationship, the economic relationship is able to be pursued. That is occurring. It has its frustrations from time-to-time."

Mr Morrison used his speech to urge like-minded nations in the Indo-Pacific to create an alliance to build a strategic balance in the region as tensions intensify between the US and China.

His speech about the value of alliances came as he unveiled a significant deepening of economic and military ties with Papua New Guinea, including launching negotiations on a bilateral security treatment.

Mr Morrison upgraded the relationship to the level of Comprehensive Strategic and Economic Partnership during a virtual summit with PNG counterpart James Marape.

As well as security, the partnership agreement covers trade and investment opportunities, and promoting economic growth, governance, people-to-people links, social and human development, and regional and multilateral co-operation.

The government will also commit to building a solar power plant in PNG, the first major project to be funded from the $2 billion Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific.

Australia will also inject $45 million to expand technical and vocational training outside Port Moresby.

Negotiation of the security treaty comes as joint Australian-US plans to develop the Lombrum naval base on Manus Island runs into local resistance.

Mr Morrison confirmed the base had been discussed during the virtual summit. Australia and the US pushed for the base amid alarm over China's efforts to establish a military base in the Pacific.

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said the sentiment behind Mr Morrison's speech on alliances was correct but he had demonstrated an absence of leadership on post-pandemic economic recovery and climate change in the region while cutting foreign aid.

"If he is serious about showing leadership in the region, he has to deliver more than words," Senator Wong told Sky News.

Australian Institute of International Affairs president Allan Gyngell said Mr Morrison's move to put the onus on China to reopen the lines of communication was "fair enough", saying the Morrison government had signalled it was anxious to talk.

"From the Chinese point of view, if they want to improve their relations with their neighbours you've got to talk to them," he said.

"One of the burdens that goes with being a large power is the requirement that you work effectively with a range of different countries."

https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/we-re-waiting-to-take-your-call-pm-to-xi-20200805-p55ip9