/qnotables/ - ===Q Notables===

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16944283 (011149ZAUG22) Notable: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ROC (Taiwan) Tweet: What a triumvirate! Minister Wu was pleased to maintain the momentum of the Ketagalan Forum by exchanging ideas on #Taiwan's role in building a more free & open #IndoPacific with @cpyne & @kevinandrewsmp. The visit of #Australia's ex-defense ministers is greatly appreciated.

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Xi Jinping has launched a ‘new Cold War’: Kevin Andrews

WILL GLASGOW - JULY 26, 2022

Xi Jinping’s Chinese Communist Party is waging a “new Cold War”, which the world must call out and resist, former defence minister Kevin Andrews has warned in a blunt address in Taiwan.

Citing speeches by China’s leader and recent Communist Party texts on “Xi Jinping Thought”, which are “replete with Cold War rhetoric”, the former Abbott government minister said Mr Xi was involved in an international struggle against democracy.

“It’s naive to think that this Cold War is avoidable. It is currently being prosecuted,” Mr Andrews said on Tuesday at a major security summit in Taipei, organised by Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry.

Mr Andrews noted Communist Party opposition to “so-called constitutionalism, multi-party elections, the division of powers, the bicameral system, and the independence of the judiciary”, quoting a speech by one of Mr Xi’s senior cadres last year.

“What, I ask, remains of democracy after removal of these fundamental pillars?”

Mr Andrews’ speech underlines the depth of concern among many current and former Australian politicians about the Xi administration.

It comes amid threats from Beijing over a scheduled trip to Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi, the US Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Former prime minister Paul Keating on Monday said Ms Pelosi’s trip was “foolish, dangerous and unnecessary”.

Asked by The Australian on Tuesday for his thoughts on the planned trip, former Japanese defence minister Taro Kono said the decision for any politician to travel to Taiwan was “totally up to them”.

“And if Speaker Pelosi would like to come to Asia, I think it’s her freedom to do so,” Mr Kono said after giving a keynote address at the same Taipei event, the Ketagalan Forum.

The Japanese politician — who lost the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership contest last year to Fumio Kishida — also called for Japan to be allowed to join the AUKUS trilateral pact, along with Australia, Britain and the US.

“Maybe we can make it JAUKUS,” he said.

Concern about Beijing’s menacing of Taiwan has risen since Russia invaded Ukraine, days after Mr Xi signed a “no limits” pact with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mr Kono said the UN’s failure to deal with that situation suggested it might be time for a “UN 2.0”.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen was unable to attend the forum. She was overseeing Taiwan’s annual Han Kuang military exercises, signalling her government’s determination to resist any attack from Beijing.

Mr Andrews said Beijing needed to understand that “force will be resisted”, citing the counsel of the late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.

“They must recognise that Taiwan is the first chain of defence in the fight against the authoritarian CCP,” Mr Andrews said.

“If China was to invade Taiwan, the ramifications for the world, including Japan and Australia, are enormous. It must be clear that any attempted invasion of Taiwan will be resisted militarily by allied nations,” he said.

Mr Andrews was on his fifth visit to Taiwan. He first visited in 1991, early in Taiwan’s transition from a one party, authoritarian state to a vibrant democracy.

Christopher Pyne, another former Australian defence minister, will also speak at the forum.

The joint appearance of the former Liberal factional rivals — who are visiting Taiwan for a week-long trip — indicates the elevated concern in Australia about the threats to the democracy of 24 million.

Beijing reacts furiously to visits by senior Australian politicians to Taiwan, which it claims is a breach of Australia’s “One China” policy.

Opposition members and backbenchers have continued to visit, a demonstration of the strong unofficial ties between Taiwan and Australia.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Taiwan on a parliamentary delegation in 2018. Three other Labor members who are now members of his cabinet also visited Taiwan in 2018 – Communications minister Michelle Rowland, Skills and Training minister Brendan O’Connor and Trade Minister Don Farrell.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/xi-jinping-has-launched-a-new-cold-war-kevin-andrews/news-story/64bf0ee34363c8e942c0f6e93bbb4366

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外交部 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ROC (Taiwan) Tweet

What a triumvirate! Minister Wu was pleased to maintain the momentum of the Ketagalan Forum by exchanging ideas on #Taiwan's role in building a more free & open #IndoPacific with @cpyne & @kevinandrewsmp. The visit of #Australia's ex-defense ministers is greatly appreciated.

https://twitter.com/MOFA_Taiwan/status/1552647796880441345

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16948432 (021144ZAUG22) Notable: Australian Government doubles down on AUKUS plan to acquire nuclear powered submarines from either the United States or Britain - Assistant trade minister Tim Ayres tells international nuclear non-proliferation conference that Australia is committed to the treaty, and the procurement of such submarines will not violate its obligations

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>>41616

Government doubles down on AUKUS plan

Dominic Giannini - August 2 2022

Australia has doubled down on its plan to acquire nuclear powered submarines from either the United States or Britain.

Assistant trade minister Tim Ayres has told an international nuclear non-proliferation conference that Australia is committed to the treaty, and the procurement of such submarines will not violate its obligations.

"At this conference and beyond, each of us must work to forestall the catastrophic humanitarian consequences that await us unless we take real steps towards the elimination of nuclear weapons," Senator Ayres told the conference in New York on Tuesday.

"The challenges to the non-proliferation treaty have never been greater.

"All three (AUKUS) partners are committed to upholding our legal obligations and to strengthening the integrity of the non-proliferation regime. We will not simply uphold but strengthen the integrity of the regime."

Senator Ayres told the conference Australia is proceeding with its acquisition in a transparent way, and working with the international nuclear regulator and community to maintain "a nuclear weapons-free and independent Pacific".

"The international safeguards system is essential for global confidence in the nuclear non-proliferation regime."

The assistant minister's speech came after Indonesia raised concerns about how nuclear technology for military purposes fits within the treaty.

While not directly mentioning the AUKUS alliance, Indonesia raised concerns about the risks of near-weapons-grade uranium being used for naval propulsion in a working paper submitted to the conference.

"The use and sharing of nuclear technologies and materials for military purposes could run counter to the spirit and objectives of the treaty, as it could potentially set precedence for other similar arrangements and complicate safeguards mechanisms," it reads.

Australia, the US and the UK submitted its own working paper, stating "naval nuclear propulsion cooperation under AUKUS will be conducted in a manner that is fully consistent with our respective obligations under the (treaty)".

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7844656/government-doubles-down-on-aukus-plan/

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16948446 (021150ZAUG22) Notable: ‘Very serious interest’: Indonesia wants AUKUS submarines monitored by UN watchdog - Indonesia wants Australia’s acquisition of nuclear-propelled submarines to be monitored tightly by the United Nations watchdog, saying it is taking “a very serious interest” because its waters will be passed by such vessels

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>>41592

‘Very serious interest’: Indonesia wants AUKUS submarines monitored by UN watchdog

Chris Barrett - August 1, 2022

Singapore: Indonesia wants Australia’s acquisition of nuclear-propelled submarines to be monitored tightly by the United Nations watchdog, saying it is taking “a very serious interest” because its waters will be passed by such vessels.

Along with south-east Asian neighbour Malaysia, Indonesia has expressed consternation about Australia’s submarine ambitions since the AUKUS deal was unveiled last September.

Now, Jakarta has raised major concerns about the sharing of nuclear technology for military purposes in a working paper for this week’s UN nuclear non-proliferation review conference in New York, highlighting safety issues with the transportation and use of highly enriched uranium and the risk of it being diverted to weapons programs.

Indonesia’s proposal for stricter regulations around the sharing of nuclear material to fuel submarines is being supported by Malaysia, according to Tri Tharyat, the director general for multilateral cooperation at Indonesia’s foreign ministry.

“As an archipelagic country, whether we like it or not, [Indonesia] will definitely be passed by nuclear-powered submarines and therefore we have a very serious interest in getting our proposals done,” he said.

“The bottom line is the use of nuclear energy for submarines should be monitored tightly by IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency]. We hope through our working paper there will be attention and steps from the IAEA for an inspection, preventing proliferation from taking place.”

Indonesia’s submission to the conference was made in the same week that President Joko Widodo met with China leader Xi Jinping.

Beijing has made no secret of its opposition to Australia buying nuclear-powered submarines from the United States or United Kingdom under AUKUS, claiming it would be a dangerous precedent and a violation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, known as the NPT.

While not mentioning Australia or AUKUS in its working paper, Indonesia also argued sharing of nuclear technology and materials for military purposes may be counter to the spirit and objective of the NPT. Without proper safeguards in place, such arrangements “could be exploited to provide a shield for diversion of that material to [a] nuclear weapons program,” it warned.

But ahead of the US conference, there was also an indication by Jakarta that it was trying to find a middle ground.

Tharyat even suggested there were “pros and cons” to plans by nuclear non-weapon states Australia and Brazil to get nuclear-propelled submarines. Brazil is developing a nuclear-powered submarine with France’s Naval Group, the company that Australia tore up a $90 billion deal with last year in a decision that at the time damaged bilateral relations with Paris.

“It is very clear that countries that are for nuclear-powered submarines say there are no regulations breached in the context of developing the program,” he said. “On the other side, the opposition countries or those who oppose the program are of the opinion there is a breach of non-nuclear proliferation commitments that may encourage countries that don’t possess nuclear [weapons] to ‘flirt’ with countries that possess nuclear [weapons].

“Indonesia wants - in line with our foreign policy, that is free and active - to contribute to the world’s peace and security. We want to bridge these two sharp differences through a concrete proposal which we hope can be discussed during the conference.”

The meeting in New York comes three weeks after a visit to Australia by Rafael Grossi, the director general of the IAEA, the UN nuclear regulator.

He met with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Defence Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong, saying he was satisfied with Australia’s commitment to comply with its obligations towards nuclear non-proliferation.

Grossi has admitted the AUKUS submarines deal would be “very tricky” for nuclear inspectors, with vessels fuelled by highly enriched uranium at sea for months at a time. But he told the ABC last month he was confident a monitoring agreement could be reached.

Comment was sought from Malaysia’s foreign ministry.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/very-serious-interest-indonesia-wants-aukus-submarines-monitored-by-un-watchdog-20220801-p5b68k.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16948453 (021154ZAUG22) Notable: China slams US and Britain of ‘double standards’ with AUKUS submarine deal - Senior Chinese diplomat Zhang Jun levelled scathing criticisms of the AUKUS security pact at the beginning of a month-long conference in New York that will review the UN’s Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

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>>41505

China slams US and Britain of ‘double standards’ with AUKUS submarine deal

At a major UN summit, a top China diplomat accused the US and Britain of “double standards” by helping Australia build nuclear-powered submarines in Adelaide.

Gabriel Polychronis - August 2, 2022

China has accused the US and Britain of “double standards” by equipping Australia with a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.

Senior Chinese diplomat Zhang Jun levelled scathing criticisms of the AUKUS security pact at the beginning of a month-long conference in New York that will review the UN’s Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

He accused the US and Britain of hypocrisy by helping Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines, despite opposing Iran and North Korea’s nuclear aspirations.

“They hold very strong positions on the Iran nuclear issue, they hold a very strong position on the DPRK nuclear issue, but here in this AUKUS project, they say nothing is happening,” Mr Zhang said.

“That is purely double standards.”

Indonesia is spearheading criticisms of AUKUS, submitting a paper warning that sharing nuclear propulsion technology could have “catastrophic” consequences.

The Australian reports Indonesian officials are in the background lobbying a bloc of 120 mostly developing nations to cut a legal loophole in the current treaty that Australia is relying on to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.

Addressing the conference on Monday (local time), US Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasised the submarines, to be built in Adelaide, would be “nuclear powered, not nuclear armed”.

“Other countries have this kind of submarine. And these will adhere to the highest safety and nonproliferation standards under the (treaty),” Secretary Blinken said.

But Mr Zhang, who holds the UN’s Security Council presidency for the month, said explanations offered by AUKUS members were “not sufficient enough”.

He expressed concerns about the possibility of highly enriched uranium being transferred into weapons programs and the pact triggering an “arms race” in the region.

“I hope that the relative parties will stop their double standards and respond seriously to the concerns of the international community,” Mr Zhang said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said Australia’s “longstanding commitment to our non-proliferation treaty is internationally recognised”.

During a visit to Adelaide and Canberra last month, Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said he was “satisfied” with Australia’s commitments to nuclear non-proliferation.

https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/china-slams-us-and-britain-of-double-standards-with-aukus-submarine-deal/news-story/bdfd4386efba6d8b233e6a12a773be82

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16948498 (021218ZAUG22) Notable: Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post: (r/t 9 News Darwin) Video: Exercise Koolendong has come to an end after three weeks of war games. It's part of a push to build stronger defence relationships between Australia and the U-S.

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>>41427

Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post

August 2, 2022

#MRFD

#usmc

#ADF

#lethality

#FreeandOpenIndoPacific

https://www.facebook.com/MRFDarwin/posts/418188890343600

—

9 News Darwin

August 1, 2022

Exercise Koolendong has come to an end after three weeks of war games.

It's part of a push to build stronger defence relationships between Australia and the U-S.

https://www.facebook.com/9NewsDarwin/videos/494955452395460

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16948507 (021222ZAUG22) Notable: Exercise “Super Garuda Shield”: Indonesian-led war games ‘send strong signal’ to China - Australian defence forces join thousands of troops from Indonesia, the US, Singapore and Japan for two weeks of “unprecedented” joint military exercises including combined paratrooper drops and amphibious landings on an island near the southern edge of the South China Sea

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Indonesian-led war games ‘send strong signal’ to China

AMANDA HODGE - AUGUST 1, 2022

Australian defence forces have joined thousands of troops from Indonesia, the US, Singapore and Japan for two weeks of “unprecedented” joint military exercises that will include combined paratrooper drops and amphibious landings on an island near the southern edge of the South China Sea.

US officials have insisted this year’s “Super” Garuda Shield – usually a bilateral exercise with Indonesia – is not aimed at readying for conflict with any specific nation but to “advance regional co-operation to support a free and open” Indo-Pacific, despite heightened tensions over China’s regional assertiveness.

Last week Assistant US Secretary of Defence for Indo-Pacific security affairs Ely Ratner warned it was “only a matter of time before there is a major incident or accident in the region” as a result of Chinese military aggression toward other forces.

US defence media Garuda Shield spokesman Travis Dettmer told The Australian the significantly expanded exercises were “not designed to be a threat ­toward any one entity but to build more interoperability so we can work together when we have to work together”.

But Lieutenant Colonel Dettmer said: “When we do what we do as military, especially in this day and age, we do it as a combined and joint force. This exercise was designed to include more partners this year because if we were to go to war that’s how we fight – as a combined and joint force.”

At least 4000 Indonesian and US forces from the navy, air force, army and marines, will share war tactics, simulate fighting and search and rescue operations with forces from Australia, Singapore and Japan in South Sumatra and on the Riau islands, the gateway to Indonesia’s Natuna waters on the South China Sea.

Canada, France, India, Malaysia, South Korea, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Britain are also participating as observer nations.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, confirmed his ­nation’s participation in Garuda Shield only last week during bilateral talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Jokowi’s visit was part of a three-nation tour that began with a rare diplomatic visit to Beijing and talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping where the two leaders discussed closer economic engagement.

Southeast Asia security analyst Collin Koh said the timing of ­Jokowi’s Beijing visit “could not be more interesting” given China’s previous objections to the expanded exercises.

Beijing has kept quiet in recent weeks though Dr Koh said it could still register its displeasure by moving military assets closer to the Natuna waters to monitor the drills, as it did during the 2021 Talisman Sabre military exercises with the US in northern Australia.

“That can’t be discounted. The exercise area is within reach and in an area China is familiar with,” he told The Australian.

Indonesia’s decision to host the largest ever Garuda Shield comes as China continues to push for any defence exercises in the South China Sea region to be staged in consultation with all other signatories to a code of conduct that is still being negotiated with ASEAN states.

Dr Koh said this year’s drills – unprecedented in scale and sophistication – were an “indirect Indonesian answer to China that it will carry on its military engagement with partners in line with its national interests and won’t be dictated to by anyone else”. The fact that more than 4000 troops from five nations would be conducting simulated war fighting in a “country with a stake in the South China Sea sends strong signals to those up north”.

“No other South China Sea ­nation, other than The Philippines, have hosted similar exercises – very likely because they wanted to avoid controversy. But Indonesia has been trying to showcase what it calls its free and active foreign policy. That’s why we see these strange arrangements where last week it went to China and this week it conducts these exercises.”

Indonesia is not a formal claimant in the territorial dispute between China and other Southeast Asian nations over its occupation and militarisation of islands in the South China Sea, but it too regularly contends with Chinese incursions in its North Natuna waters.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/indonesianled-war-games-send-strong-signal-to-china/news-story/881e8ba49c2123642731c254c25f82d2

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16954710 (031058ZAUG22) Notable: Urgent review of Australia’s defence ordered as security threats grow - Defence Minister Richard Marles will call in two external experts to conduct the snap review while the government considers pivotal decisions on nuclear submarines, a fleet of guided-missile destroyers and plans to build a bigger army

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Urgent review of Australia’s defence ordered as security threats grow

David Crowe - August 2, 2022

Australians will be warned of the risk of state-on-state conflict in an urgent review of the nation’s defence amid fears that $44.6 billion in annual spending is not doing enough to prepare the country for growing threats to its security.

Defence Minister Richard Marles will call in two external experts to conduct the snap review while the government considers pivotal decisions on nuclear submarines, a fleet of guided-missile destroyers and plans to build a bigger army.

The review, to be led by former Labor defence minister Stephen Smith and former defence force chief Sir Angus Houston, will run in parallel to the deliberations of a working group into the new submarine fleet, set up under the AUKUS alliance struck with the United States and United Kingdom last year.

With the Russian invasion of Ukraine raising concerns that China might use force against Taiwan, the review will question the spending priorities on all major defence programs and whether the outlays are giving the country the security it needs.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese went to the election with a pledge to maintain defence spending but Labor has blamed the previous government for leaving Australia with a “capability gap” because too many projects have been delivered too late and over their original budgets.

“Military modernisation, technological disruption and the risk of state-on-state conflict are complicating Australia’s strategic circumstances,” say the terms of reference for the review, to be released on Wednesday.

In a sign that every aspect of defence needs scrutiny, the terms of reference say the purpose of the inquiry is to assess the “structure, posture and preparedness” of the ADF and whether it can meet the challenges over the next decade.

While department officials and military chiefs conducted a Defence Strategic Update and Force Structure Plan two years ago, the government has called in the two outside experts in a clear sign it wants a fresh assessment of department decisions.

Smith, a professor at the University of Western Australia, was foreign affairs minister from 2007 to 2010 and defence minister from 2010 to 2013 under prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard.

Houston, a former Royal Australian Air Force pilot, was Chief of the Defence Force from 2005 to 2011. He was appointed to head Airservices Australia by the Gillard government and knighted by then-prime minister Tony Abbott after the Coalition won the 2013 election.

Albanese and Marles want the reviewers to submit their final report by March next year but have asked for an interim report as soon as they have done their initial analysis, highlighting the urgency of the task.

The process gives the government time to consider challenging decisions on major spending programs when there are significant delays to the purchase of new frigates under a $44 billion contract with from BAE Systems in the UK, while Spanish company Navantia says it could build three guided-missile warships by the end of this decade.

Australia also plans to buy more than 120 tanks and other armoured vehicles from the US at a cost of $3.5 billion despite questions over whether the money should be spent on air and sea defences instead.

Marles has confirmed his intention to make a final decision on the nuclear submarine fleet by March but this is complicated by the debate on the possibility of acquiring an interim fleet to replace the existing Collins-class submarines.

The first of the nuclear-propelled submarines is not expected to be in the water before 2040 and some defence experts have aired questions about whether Australia will have the spending power and the nuclear skills to support the new fleet under the AUKUS alliance.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/urgent-review-of-australia-s-defence-ordered-as-security-threats-grow-20220802-p5b6pn.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16954723 (031103ZAUG22) Notable: Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying’s Regular Press Conference on August 2, 2022

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>>41505

AUKUS trio urged to comply with nuclear treaty

WANG QINGYUN, China Daily Global - 2022-08-03

China criticized the nuclear submarine cooperation of the United States, United Kingdom and Australia on Tuesday, and urged the international community to discuss the issue at an ongoing conference so as to uphold the treaty's integrity and effectiveness.

Speaking at a regular news conference, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the trilateral cooperation has posed a serious proliferation risk, intensified the arms race and undermined regional peace and stability.

She urged the three countries to take real action to fulfill their obligations for the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, revoke their decision to conduct nuclear submarine cooperation and contribute to peace in the Asia-Pacific region.

Hua's remarks came following the 10th Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which opened in New York on Monday.

At a press briefing on Monday, the conference's President-designate Gustavo Zlauvinen said the AUKUS deal that outlines the trilateral nuclear submarine cooperation has raised serious concerns by many countries including China and Russia.

Also, it is up to state parties to the NPT to decide whether the AUKUS agreement is in violation of the treaty's spirit, Zlauvinen said.

China has expressed its opposition to the cooperation multiple times, and many other countries have voiced similar concerns.

"It's regrettable that the US, the UK and Australia have disregarded international concerns and insisted on promoting the cooperation, while sparing no effort to defend their behavior," Hua said. "But facts speak louder than words."

The trilateral cooperation involves nuclear states transferring nuclear materials from weapons grade to a nonnuclear one, which "violates clearly the purposes of the NPT, and impacts seriously the international nonproliferation system based on the treaty", Hua said.

An international conference is held every five years to review the operation of the treaty, which entered into force in 1970.

China would send a delegation led by the director-general of the Foreign Ministry's Department of Arms Control to the conference, which will last through Aug 26, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Friday.

https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202208/03/WS62e9cfcaa310fd2b29e6ff62.html

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Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying’s Regular Press Conference on August 2, 2022

Hubei Media Group: The Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons opened on August 1 in New York. It is reported that President-designate of the Review Conference Gustavo Zlauvinen said that the AUKUS trilateral security partnership between the US, the UK and Australia “has raised serious concerns by many, many countries, in particular from China, Russia and others”, and “it’s up to state parties” to decide whether the AUKUS nuclear submarine cooperation violates the spirit of the NPT. Do you have any comment?

Hua Chunying: The decision of the US, the UK and Australia to have nuclear submarine cooperation constitutes serious risks of nuclear proliferation. It has also intensified arms race and jeopardized regional peace and stability. China has expressed its opposition to that on many occasions. And as the President of the Conference has said, many other countries have repeatedly expressed similar concerns. 

Regrettably, however, despite international concerns, the US, the UK and Australia have insisted on pushing forward nuclear submarine cooperation and have been trying to explain away their course of action. But facts speak louder than words. Their cooperation involves the transfer of weapon-grade nuclear material from nuclear weapon states to a non-nuclear weapon state, which is clearly against the purpose and object of the NPT and seriously thrashes upon the international non-proliferation system with the NPT as its cornerstone. 

We call on parties to the NPT to make full use of the opportunity provided by the conference to actively participate in discussions to address the three countries’ nuclear submarine cooperation and together uphold the integrity and effectiveness of the NPT. We also urge the three countries to honor their obligations on nuclear non-proliferation, cancel their decision on nuclear submarine cooperation and contribute their share to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific.

https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2511_665403/202208/t20220802_10732302.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16954731 (031107ZAUG22) Notable: Chinese firm denies Australian media reports of acquisition deal in Solomon Islands - GT staff reporters - globaltimes.cn

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>>41613

>>41621

Chinese firm denies Australian media reports of acquisition deal in Solomon Islands

GT staff reporters - Aug 01, 2022

A Chinese forestry firm on Monday denied Australian media reports about an acquisition deal in the Solomon Islands, while observers dismissed the media hype over the rumored deal as another attempt by Australia to smear Chinese cooperation with South Pacific countries.

In a fresh gesture of hostility, the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) said in an article on its website that state-owned China Forestry Group Corp (CFGC) is in negotiations to buy a hardwood forestry plantation on the Kolombangara island. The island in the Solomon Islands archipelago "features a protected harbor, deep-water port and an airstrip," according to the ABC report.

An executive of CFGC's strategic investment division told the Global Times on Monday that "we don't have relevant acquisition activities in the island [as reported by Australian media]."

CFGC, the only centrally administered firm in China's forestry industry, operates 224 enterprises globally and is the main force in the country's ecological civilization construction and forestry modernization, according to the firm's website.

Rumors about the plantation deal are a continuation of scaremongering about China's interests in the South Pacific, said Chen Hong, president of the Chinese Association of Australian Studies and director of the Australian Studies Centre at East China Normal University.

As an independent sovereign nation, the Solomon Islands is entitled to making business decisions based on its own economic development needs; hence, the Pacific nation's business deals with other countries shouldn't be politicized, Chen told the Global Times on Monday.

The latest Australian coverage epitomizes conventional Western practice that accuses China of leveraging its financial heft to influence investment destinations' politics and society, the observer said, lambasting such claims as groundless.

It is the US and Australia, among other Western nations, that have been shown to be adept at playing to their economic strengths; however, they have tried to frame China with such dirty tricks, he remarked, speaking of sinister motives behind such attempts that are intended to demonize and exclude China's presence in the South Pacific.

The Monday report, which hyped China's strategic ambitions in the Pacific, intentionally turned a deaf ear to official statements from both China and the Solomon Islands against disinformation about military base plans, experts said.

During a press conference in June, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that some media outlets were hyping up a regional security agreement China intends to sign with Pacific island countries and that was simply fake news, and China has come to the South Pacific region to build roads and bridges and improve people's lives, not to deploy troops or establish military bases.

In an interview with China Media Group in May, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare also said that what the Western media continues to highlight is China's plans to establish a military base in the Solomon Islands, but a lot of what's been said is based on misinformation. China is not talking about any military base, Sogavare reportedly said.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202208/1271949.shtml

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16954750 (031120ZAUG22) Notable: (Google translation) - Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Solomon Islands Answers Questions

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>>>/qresearch/16954732

(Google translation)

Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Solomon Islands Answers Questions

2022-08-02

Q: On August 1, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that a Chinese company tried to buy a piece of forest land and a wharf in the western province of Solomon Islands for the construction of a military base. China also "bribed" the government. what opinions do the Chinese have on this issue?

A: Some Australian media have repeatedly fabricated false news out of nothing, deliberately fabricating "military bases" and "bribery of the government" and other false news in an attempt to smear and smear China-Sololand relations, which will not succeed. Relevant Chinese companies have publicly denied the Australian reports.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Solomon Islands three years ago, the two sides have always adhered to the principles of mutual respect, equal treatment and non-interference in each other's internal affairs. The bilateral relations have developed steadily, political mutual trust has been continuously enhanced, and exchanges and cooperation in infrastructure, anti-epidemic, health, economy, trade, people-to-people and cultural engagement, local and other fields have been carried out. The rich achievements have brought tangible benefits to the two peoples. Both are developing countries. China has a huge market, has advanced development concepts, capital and technological advantages, and the Solomon Islands are rich in agricultural, forestry, fishery and tourism resources. The two sides are highly complementary and have broad prospects for cooperation.

A lie repeated a thousand times will not become the truth. We urge individual Australian media to abide by professional ethics and stop their despicable words and deeds that spread rumors and slander.

http://sb.china-embassy.gov.cn/chn/sgxw/202208/t20220802_10732132.htm

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16954766 (031127ZAUG22) Notable: Chinese police to give ‘management and leadership’ training to Solomon Islands officers - Senior police boss also did not rule out having Chinese police officers embedded within the force, after signing of controversial security deal

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>>41595

Chinese police to give ‘management and leadership’ training to Solomon Islands officers

Senior police boss also did not rule out having Chinese police officers embedded within the force, after signing of controversial security deal

Lice Movono - 2 Aug 2022

Chinese police will be invited to Solomon Islands to provide training in management and leadership to senior officers, under the new security deal signed between the two countries.

Michael Aluvolomo, the transnational crime unit inspector for the Royal Solomon Islands police force, also did not rule out having Chinese police officers embedded within the force, saying it was up to the government to determine whether that was appropriate.

“China is new to us. There are plans with our commissioner on how we can strengthen our police activity. Now, they are very much focused on our capacity building in terms of our management and leadership,” said Aluvolomo, who was speaking to the Guardian on the sidelines of the Pacific regional law enforcement conference in Fiji.

When asked whether there would be Chinese law enforcement officers embedded in the Royal Solomon Islands police, Aluvolomo said this was yet to be confirmed but insisted Solomon Islanders had nothing to fear.

“It is for the government of the day to accept Chinese police working within our local police. For the time, there [are] no Chinese police working with us but they are coming with a programme on capacity development,” he said.

Last month, in his first interview since signing the controversial security deal with China, Solomon Islands prime minister Manasseh Sogavare told the Guardian that there would be no Chinese military base in his country as it would make Solomon Islands an “enemy” and “put our country and our people as targets for potential military strikes”.

Sogavare said that while Australia remains the “security partner of choice” for Solomon Islands, he would call on China to send security personnel to the country if there was a “gap” that Australia could not meet.

Aluvolomo said that Solomon Islanders with concerns about China’s presence in the country should communicate that with the government.

“The public should work along with us and provide us with much information so that we can build on that and come in to create inclusive intelligence information.”

The Pacific regional law enforcement conference, currently under way in Nadi, is organised by the Australian National University’s Australia Pacific Security College and is an attempt to create networks to help Pacific law enforcement deal with drug trafficking and other transnational crimes, which present an increasing problem for Pacific countries.

While there is existing regional security architecture to combat transnational crime, including through the Pacific Island Chiefs of Police, which is made up of 21 members including Australia and New Zealand, there are concerns that China’s increased focus on the Pacific could disrupt or undermine these security arrangements.

In May, China presented a sweeping economic and security deal to 10 Pacific countries that would have seen increased ties between them, including in the area of policing.

The China-Pacific Island Countries Common Development Vision draft document, which was rejected by Pacific countries, proposed to “expand law enforcement cooperation, jointly combat transnational crime and establish a dialogue mechanism on law enforcement capacity and police cooperation”.

China proposed to hold “intermediate and high-level police training” for Pacific island countries and as a matter of urgency to “hold the first China-Pacific islands countries ministerial dialogue on law enforcement capacity and police cooperation”, as well as helping to construct laboratories for fingerprint testing, forensic autopsy, drugs, electronic and digital forensics.

Ewen McDonald, the head of the Pacific Office in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, told the security conference on Monday that increased geopolitical tensions in the region represented a “strategic challenge” for law enforcement.

“Increasing external interest in the Pacific will bring benefits but also challenges to our hard-earned interoperability, our shared doctrine and our Pacific way of conducting law enforcement operations,” he said.

“At no time has a strong, unified [Pacific Islands] Forum been more important in addressing the threats and challenges we face together.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/02/chinese-police-to-give-management-and-leadership-training-to-solomon-islands-officers

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16954803 (031152ZAUG22) Notable: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to address Australia - The Australian National University (ANU) community and Australians will have the rare opportunity to hear from His Excellency Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, in a sold-out address, Wednesday 3 August

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Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to address Australia

Australian National University - 28 JULY 2022

The Australian National University (ANU) community and Australians will have the rare opportunity to hear from His Excellency Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, in a sold-out address next Wednesday 3 August.

President Zelenskyy will speak live via video link from Ukraine. His address will be broadcast at an in-person event at Llewellyn Hall. People across Australia will also be able to hear his speech via livestream.

The event, to be officially opened by ANU Chancellor and former Australian foreign minister the Hon Julie Bishop, will also feature a Q&A session between the President and students. Head of the National Security College at ANU, Professor Rory Medcalf, will close the event.

Nearly six months since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, President Zelenskyy will share his experiences as a world leader navigating the realities of war.

"Russia's invasion of Ukraine threatens the peace, liberty and democracy on which freedom of inquiry and academic collaboration is based," ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt said.

"That's why ANU released a statement in March strongly condemning this act of war and its fundamental breaches of international law and the UN Charter.

"ANU stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian people in their defence of sovereignty and freedom.

"President Zelenskyy continues to inspire the world through his leadership and service to his country.

"We are incredibly grateful to have President Zelenskyy share his time and thoughts with our community."

The event is presented by the ANU Centre for European Studies, the ANU National Security College and the Embassy of Ukraine in Australia.

Watch the livestream of President Zelenskyy's address on ANU TV.

https://www.youtube.com/user/ANUchannel

https://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/ukraine-president-volodymyr-zelenskyy-to-address-australia

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16954805 (031153ZAUG22) Notable: Zelensky hails Australia's support for Ukraine - “I am very thankful to Anthony Albanese government who made significant systematic support to our country, which includes full-scale military and humanitarian assistance, sanctions against Russia…..and even the coal for Ukrainian energy”

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>>41633

Zelensky hails Australia's support for Ukraine

NOAH YIM - 3 August 2022

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on Australia to “continue to help Ukraine” in an address to the Australian National University.

“I am very thankful to Anthony Albanese government who made significant systematic support to our country, which includes full-scale military and humanitarian assistance, sanctions against Russia and Belarusian legal and physical entities, the cancelling of Ukrainian goods taxes, and even the coal for Ukrainian energy,” Mr Zelensky said.

Mr Zelensky was introduced by ANU chancellor and former foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop.

“Currently your country gives the biggest military support among the countries that are non-NATO countries,” Mr Zelensky said.

“I call on you to continue to help us, to continue to help Ukraine, including in your classrooms by standing for the truth and debunking the myth that were .. so skillfully fabricated by the Russian propaganda machine.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/politicsnow-climate-bill-gets-clear-air-to-pass-as-greens-reach-consensus/live-coverage/b2bcb1cf058c0f297c1d7c3582887826#66523

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16954809 (031154ZAUG22) Notable: ‘You can’t just sympathise’: Zelensky calls on more support to fight tyranny - “A lot of Australians are helping us a lot and render humanitarian assistance – please don’t forget about it, please continue.”

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>>41633

‘You can’t just sympathise’: Zelensky calls on more support to fight tyranny

David Crowe - August 3, 2022

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on China to join other nations in condemning Russia for waging war against his country amid signs that China is buying Russian oil in record volumes.

Zelensky told an Australian audience on Wednesday that he was doing everything he could to ensure Russia was isolated from other countries but he could see China was “balancing” its position.

Telling thousands of students in an online address organised by the Australian National University that he was grateful for Australian support so far, Zelensky also emphasised the need for more practical support in a sign he wants more defence and humanitarian supplies on top of pledges worth $388 million in the 161 days since the February 24 invasion.

“[Russia] are powerful – they have more people, they have more weapons, they have nuclear weapons. It’s a struggle of tyranny against democracy, so you can’t stand aside if you support common principles with Ukraine,” he said.

“You can’t just sympathise, I will be frank. We thank you for your moral support but you also need to support us with deeds in order for us to have the opportunity to win. We need support with concrete actions.

“A lot of Australians are helping us a lot and render humanitarian assistance – please don’t forget about it, please continue.”

With China engaging in military exercises against Taiwan, an Australian student asked Zelensky if he believed it was possible to enlist support from China against Russia.

“We see that Russia is losing its economic allies – it is not very full-scale, but still, it loses it,” he replied.

“And I would like China to join the unified world position on the tyranny of Russia against Ukraine.

“As for now, China is balancing and indeed and has neutrality. I will be honest: this neutrality is better than if China would join Russia.

“I believe the people of China will do the prudent choice. It’s important for us that China will not help Russia. Some nations help the Russian Federation a little and they do not feel for themselves the influence this war has made on the whole world.”

The address drew an audience of 1300 in a Canberra theatre as well as 3500 viewers online.

Former foreign minister Julie Bishop, now ANU Chancellor, hosted 10 questions from students including one who asked whether Russia and Ukraine might ever mend their relations.

Zelensky said this was the “hardest question” because nobody in Ukraine wanted to have anything in common with a people who inflicted war crimes upon Ukraine, which meant repairing relations was up to the people of Russia.

With Labor foreign affairs assistant minister Tim Watts and Liberal foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham in the audience, the Ukrainian leader rubbished the idea that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be interested in a settlement that could “save face” and end the war.

“The one who wants to save face doesn’t commit the hundreds and thousands of military crimes and crimes against humanity, doesn’t commit the massive executions of a peaceful population, doesn’t put them on their knees and kill them with a shot in their back,” he said.

Zelensky listed crimes including rape and torture and dismissed the idea of saving face for people who had committed those crimes.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/you-can-t-just-sympathise-zelensky-calls-on-more-support-to-fight-tyranny-20220803-p5b71r.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16954868 (031226ZAUG22) Notable: Video: 'He's not well': Julian Assange's family 'living in fear' he won't survive extradition process

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>>41409

'He's not well': Julian Assange's family 'living in fear' he won't survive extradition process

The Wikileaks founder is in his final avenue of appeal over a decision to extradite him to the US, where he is wanted on 18 charges, amid fears for his health.

Claudia Farhart, David Aidone - 3 August 2022

This story contains reference to suicide.

Julian Assange's family say he is "not well" as he remains in a UK maximum security prison while fighting an extradition ruling, with fears he may not survive the process.

The Wikileaks founder has been held in London's Belmarsh Prison since 2019 after the United States took legal action to extradite him over the leaking of classified military documents more than a decade ago.

He is appealing United Kingdom Home Secretary Priti Patel's June decision to approve the extradition, but his brother Gabriel Shipton said his family is "living in fear" that he "won't survive the whole process."

Mr Assange suffered a mini-stroke in October last year.

That same month, his lawyer Edward Fitzgerald told a UK court that he could commit suicide based on his chronic depression and Asperger's syndrome if he was sent to the United States where he could face a jail term of 170 years — although lawyers there say he would more likely face four to six years in prison.

More recently, Australian Doctors for Assange said the 51-year-old was "suffering from severe life-threatening cardiovascular and stress-related medical conditions" and could die in the coming months.

"Belmarsh is a maximum security prison. If you have a stroke in your cell and you're on your own, there's no one to call emergency services for you," Gabriel said.

"So it's very concerning that Doctors for Assange is saying that he will likely have another stroke. So he needs to get out of the prison before it's too late."

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in December 2021 when he was Opposition leader said he did not see the purpose of the "ongoing pursuit" of Mr Assange and that "enough is enough".

Since his federal election victory, he has not been forthcoming on the issue, saying he would not be pressured into publicly intervening in the case and would deal with the matter through diplomatic channels.

But Mr Assange's father, John Shipton, said he is not confident the government is lobbying in the background.

"They haven't reached out to us," John said.

"Nobody's contacted me. In fact, they seem to make a lot of effort not to contact me."

He wants Mr Albanese to "pick up the phone and… solve the matter" as he fears for his son, who he said is "not well".

Mr Assange's brother said while they haven't heard from the federal government yet, Mr Albanese's comments were "very encouraging".

"We are confident that there is more support, and from the prime minister's statements, 'enough is enough', and that he 'doesn't see what purpose is served' by Julian being kept in prison are very encouraging," Gabriel said.

Mr Assange's submission to the UK High Court is his final avenue of appeal after a three-year legal battle over attempts to extradite him to the US, where he is wanted on 18 charges, including espionage and hacking.

Australian and world politicians have been calling for his release, including Tasmanian independent MP Andrew Wilkie, who has been a vocal supporter of the Wikileaks founder.

He recently said the matter could be solved with a phone call from Mr Albanese to the US or UK.

"This has gone on long enough, it's time to put it to an end," Mr Wilkie said in July.

Also that month, Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador wrote in a letter to US President Joe Biden that imprisoning Mr Assange would amount to an "affront to freedom of expression", and renewed a previous offer of asylum to him.

SBS News has contacted Mr Albanese's office for comment.

Readers seeking crisis support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25). More information and support with mental health is available at beyondblue.org.au and on 1300 224 636.

https://www.lifeline.org.au/

https://www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au/

https://kidshelpline.com.au/

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/

Embrace Multicultural Mental Health supports people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

https://www.embracementalhealth.org.au/

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/hes-not-well-julian-assanges-family-living-in-fear-he-wont-survive-extradition-process/7hb40fdgg

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16954891 (031240ZAUG22) Notable: U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Tweet: #USINDOPACOM Commander Adm. John C. Aquilino visits @AusAirForce in Amberly, (Australia). #FreeAndOpenIndoPacific #FriendsPartnersAllies

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>>41428

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Tweet

#USINDOPACOM Commander Adm. John C. Aquilino visits @AusAirForce in Amberly, (Australia).

#FreeAndOpenIndoPacific #FriendsPartnersAllies

Read more: https://go.usa.gov/xSVmJ

https://twitter.com/INDOPACOM/status/1554587851102322696

https://www.pacom.mil/Media/News/News-Article-View/Article/3112466/us-indo-pacific-commander-visits-royal-australian-air-force-base-amberley/

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/16954894 (031242ZAUG22) Notable: U.S. Indo-Pacific Commander, Admiral John C. Aquilino, Visits Royal Australian Air Force Base Amberley

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>>41639

U.S. Indo-Pacific Commander Visits Royal Australian Air Force Base Amberley

Australian Government Defence - Aug. 1, 2022

Commander of United States military forces in the Indo-Pacific, Admiral John C. Aquilino, visited RAAF Base Amberley today while in Australia for the 24th annual Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defense (CHODs) conference.

Admiral Aquilino engaged with senior Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) leadership and visited US personnel from the 509th Bomb Wing, deployed to Australia as part of the Enhanced Air Cooperation (EAC) program.

Greeting Commander of the Indo-Pacific US forces from RAAF was Air Commodore David Paddison CSC, Commander of Combat Support Group.

Air Commodore Paddison said the visit presented a great opportunity to discuss with Admiral Aquilino the integrated training that is occurring between the US Air Force and RAAF under the EAC program.

“RAAF Base Amberley has been hosting US personnel and B-2 aircraft throughout the month of July, where integration between aircraft along with ground forces has been occurring,” Air Commodore Paddison said.

“It’s not a regular occurrence for our refuelling, security and fire fighters to gain experience on aircraft such as the B-2.”

“It is a privilege having Admiral Aquilino visit our largest Air Force base in Australia and meeting our aviators, who have been working with their peers from the 509th Bomb Wing.

“This partnership has been instrumental in enhancing the capabilities and interoperability of both our forces through joint exercises and activities.

“The Indo-Pacific is our home and we stand committed to an open, inclusive and resilient Indo-Pacific.”

The EAC initiative commenced in February 2017 to build on a broad range of long-standing air exercises and training activities undertaken between Australia and the US.

EAC aims to deepen advanced air-to-air integration between the Australian Defence Force and US air elements to enable the two countries to operate together seamlessly. It also provides opportunities for Australia and the US to enhance engagement with regional partner air forces through exercises and training activities.

The EAC initiative has been operating successfully for several years as one of the United States Force Posture Initiatives.

Media note - Media can access imagery of this visit at:

https://images.defence.gov.au/S20222416

https://www.pacom.mil/Media/News/News-Article-View/Article/3112466/us-indo-pacific-commander-visits-royal-australian-air-force-base-amberley/

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17068744 (060716ZAUG22) Notable: Calls to end Assange 'slow-motion' murder - Julian Assange's family is pleading for the government's help to end the "slow-motion murder" of the imprisoned WikiLeaks founder

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>>41409

Calls to end Assange 'slow-motion' murder

Alex Mitchell - August 4 2022

Julian Assange's family is pleading for the government's help to end the "slow-motion murder" of the imprisoned WikiLeaks founder.

Mr Assange remains in London's Belmarsh prison pending a High Court appeal to block his extradition to America to face charges after exposing war crimes.

His brother Gabriel Shipton and father John Shipton were at Parliament House in Canberra on Thursday, where more than two dozen MPs, senators and representatives were briefed on Mr Assange's ongoing legal situation.

While Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has previously stated "enough is enough" regarding Mr Assange's ongoing detention, Gabriel Shipton questioned why efforts to secure his release could not be publicly disclosed.

He again outlined his brother's precarious health position after having a mini-stroke late last year.

"He's not getting any better … you have one stroke, and then it's very likely you'll have another," Mr Shipton told reporters.

"There's over 300 doctors who have written a letter advising his physical health is in decline … mentally he's suffering psychological torture … he is being crushed essentially.

"(It's) slow-motion murder before our eyes. If you compare what happened to journalist Jamal Khashoggi, that is what's going on to Julian in slow motion."

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie, a former intelligence analyst, questioned if Mr Albanese was backing up his words with actions.

"We can't be confident they are doing enough,'' Mr Wilkie told reporters.

"Using quiet diplomacy has its place, but only so far as it achieves an outcome, and it has not achieved an outcome.

"Our prime minister is able to pick up the phone to the UK prime minister, he is able to pick up the phone to the US president, he is able to make the case for an Australian citizen."

Noting the attendance at the parliamentary briefing brought representation from millions of Australians, Mr Wilkie said the government could not pretend Mr Assange's fight was a "niche issue" and said every day he was inside was "another day of gross injustice".

But while Labor senator Don Farrell reiterated the government's belief that the case had dragged on too long, he said it did not wish to interfere with the US and UK legal processes.

"As the PM has pointed out, not all foreign affairs is best conducted with a loudhailer or a megaphone," he said.

"Australia, of course, is not a party to Mr Assange's case … our government, I'm advised, cannot intervene in the legal matters of another country, just like we wouldn't want those countries to intervene in our legal process."

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7848058/calls-to-end-assange-slow-motion-murder/

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17068759 (060730ZAUG22) Notable: Anthony Albanese’s reaction to Nancy Pelosi's Taiwan trip was dead pan — but what he didn’t say spoke volumes

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Anthony Albanese’s reaction to Nancy Pelosi's Taiwan trip was dead pan — but what he didn’t say spoke volumes

David Speers - 4 August 2022

1/2

The Australian government wasn't exactly cheering on Nancy Pelosi yesterday in her visit to Taiwan. There was no applause from Canberra for this mission by the US Speaker of the House to champion democracy.

Indeed, the Prime Minister gave a dead-pan reaction when asked for his views. "The level of US engagement with our Taiwanese counterparts is a matter for them" was all he would offer.

The Foreign Minister used the same set of deliberately unenthusiastic words: "It's a matter for them".

Penny Wong did, however, add a pointed message. "All parties should consider how they best contribute to de-escalating the current tensions and we all want peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait."

De-escalating. It was a word Wong repeated four times in as many minutes, while speaking to the ABC's Sabra Lane.

Pelosi has a long and admirable record in speaking out about China's human rights record. As a much younger member of Congress, she stood in Tiananmen Square just two years after the massacre there, unfurling a banner to show her support for pro-democracy dissidents.

More recently, Pelosi showed courage in refusing to be cowed by threats to her own safety from the January 6 Capitol Hill rioters. The Speaker's credentials as a defender of democracy are strong.

Pelosi has now become the most high-ranking US official to visit Taiwan in decades. She ignored China's warnings and met President Tsai Ing-wen, praised the island's "flourishing democracy", said "America's solidarity with Taiwan is crucial" and made it "unequivocally clear we will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan".

Precisely what that commitment involves, however, isn't exactly clear.

In May, Joe Biden was asked if the US was "willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if it comes to that?" "Yes," the US President responded, "that's the commitment we made." White House officials later walked back the comments.

The US, they insisted, still supports a "One China" policy. On the question of defending Taiwan militarily, the official position is one of "strategic ambiguity".

It was the third time in nine months the US President appeared to abandon that long-standing position of "ambiguity", requiring clarification from his administration officials on each occasion.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17068768 (060735ZAUG22) Notable: ‘Risk of miscalculation’: Wong calls for calm as China begins live-fire drills near Taiwan

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>>41642

‘Risk of miscalculation’: Wong calls for calm as China begins live-fire drills near Taiwan

Chris Barrett and Eryk Bagshaw - August 4, 2022

Singapore: Penny Wong has warned of the risk of miscalculation after China began its biggest ever live-fire drills near Taiwan in retaliation for the visit to the island by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Beijing’s armed forces launched long-range artillery live-fire shooting drills in the Taiwan Strait and sent dozens of warplanes over the median line on Thursday.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Defence confirmed that China had fired several ballistic missiles into water surrounding north-eastern and south-western Taiwan just before 2pm.

“We would encourage all parties to consider how they can contribute to de-escalating the current situation,” Wong said in Phnom Penh. “One of the risks that I think the region is concerned about is the risk of miscalculation.”

As world leaders joined the Australian foreign minister’s calls for calm, Taiwanese officials told reporters that a handful of Chinese navy ships had also crossed the line separating the island from the mainland but had been repelled by Taiwanese ships. The US Navy’s Seventh Fleet announced it had moved the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier to the Philippine Sea, south-east of Taiwan as part of “scheduled operations” in the Indo-Pacific.

The rapid escalation is the most significant military operation in the area since the Taiwan missile crisis in 1996. China’s army added a seventh zone to its military drills, encircling Taiwan’s main island, and creating havoc for global shipping routes.

The exercises were sparked by Pelosi’s controversial stopover on the self-ruled island on Wednesday where she infuriated Beijing by extending the US’ “iron clad” commitment to Taiwan’s democracy, a move seen as a de facto endorsement of the Taiwanese government.

China’s furious response to her visit has raised concerns about the possibility of open conflict and prompted regional neighbours to urge “maximum restraint”.

Wong arrived in Cambodia on Thursday for a series of meetings with regional counterparts including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Wang accused the US of violating China’s sovereignty and did not back down from threats to unify with Taiwan. China claims the democratic island of 23 million people as its own.

“The irreversible historical trend of Taiwan’s return to the motherland cannot be changed,” he said outside a meeting of foreign ministers from the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN). “Those who offend China will surely be punished.”

Other ASEAN leaders expressed alarm over the developments after meeting in Cambodia.

In a joint statement, members of the regional bloc, including Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, said they were “concerned with the international and regional volatility”, especially close to South-east Asia, fearing it “eventually could lead to miscalculation, serious confrontation, open conflicts and unpredictable consequences among major powers”.

The flare-up has overshadowed discussion between foreign ministers in Phnom Penh about the ongoing crisis in Myanmar.

The junta’s execution of four pro-government demonstrators late last month has angered the likes of Indonesia and Malaysia and Wong said she was “dismayed” at the military regime’s disregard for ASEAN’s five-point peace plan.

While the United States, United Kingdom, European Union and Canada have imposed sanctions against the junta since it removed Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government in a February 2021 coup, Australia has refrained from following suit as Sydney economist and Suu Kyi advisor Sean Turnell continues to be detained in Myanmar.

Wong has said repeatedly that the Australian government is considering sanctions but reiterated on Thursday that Turnell was the priority.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is also in Cambodia for the ASEAN regional forum and East Asia Summit meeting, having flown from Naypyidaw, where he met on Wednesday with Myanmar junta chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. Lavrov was welcomed to Phnom Penh by Cambodia leader Hun Sen.

Myanmar has been excluded from the ASEAN-related meetings, to which even North Korea is invited.

https://www.theage.com.au/world/asia/risk-of-miscalculation-wong-calls-for-calm-as-china-begins-live-fire-drills-near-taiwan-20220804-p5b7b4.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17068770 (060737ZAUG22) Notable: Top U.S. diplomat to arrive in Pacific amid battle for influence with China - Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will travel to Samoa on Thursday on a multi-leg trip to Pacific Island countries intended to demonstrate re-engagement by the United States with a region in which China has been extending its influence

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>>41543

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

Kirsty Needham - August 4, 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sherman will also visit Australia and New Zealand.

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

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17068773 (060739ZAUG22) Notable: ADF to up the ante in Indonesia - Australia’s new army chief, Lieutenant General Simon Stuart says he will increase military exchanges and expand bilateral defence exercises with Indonesia as the Asia-Pacific region confronts a heightened risk of conflict

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>>41626

ADF to up the ante in Indonesia

AMANDA HODGE - AUGUST 3, 2022

Australia’s new army chief says he will increase military exchanges and expand bilateral defence exercises with Indonesia to include ­regional partners and allies in more sophisticated war games, as the Asia-Pacific region confronts a heightened risk of conflict.

Three weeks into the job, Lieutenant General Simon Stuart would not comment on broiling tensions over Taiwan as he oversees Australian Defence Force participation in the largest Garuda Shield military exercises in Indonesia that, for the first time, sees Australia, Japan and Singapore join Indonesian and US forces in complex military drills and simulated fighting.

As the Albanese government undertakes the most comprehensive reassessment of the ADF in 35 years, the army commander said closer and more sophisticated defence co-operation with regional partners and allies would also be key to Australia’s preparedness for any future war in the Indo-Pacific.

“If you look at our history, we have what we have on the day, and our challenge is to make sure we have optimised that,” General Stuart told The Australian from South Sumatra, where 100 Australian soldiers from Darwin’s First Brigade are embedded with an Indonesian battalion for a fortnight’s exercise.

“What’s really important is we are not going to be able to do it alone, and neither is any of our partners. So that’s the focus of activities like Garuda Shield: to make sure that together we are capable of (meeting those) challenges.

“We have had a longstanding relationship with Indonesia at an army-to-army level, but the strategic circumstances apparent today mean we need to work more closely and in a more focused way.”

Australia has at least 20 bilateral military activities annually with Indonesia and many of those – in particular Talisman Sabre 2023 – could be expanded to include other multilateral partners in more sophisticated exercises “because that’s what our operating environment demands”.

The army chief said changed strategic circumstances, including the rise of China and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, had “focused all of our minds” on the need to train and strategise with partners and ­allies committed to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific.

“That’s in everybody’s interests, and from Australia’s perspective we rely on a free and open Indo-Pacific for maritime trade, as do many of our regional partners, so the stakes are high … in this environment, we can’t have too many friends.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was being closely monitored and discussed for lessons that could be applied in our region, though what was already clear was the importance of logistics and supply chains, and that new and emerging military technology did not guarantee victory in the face of a resolute population, he said.

Washington and Jakarta have said this year’s “Super” Garuda Shield was not aimed at any one ­nation, though US defence media spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Travis Dettmer told The Australian it had expanded to include more partners “because if we were to go to war, that’s how we fight – as a combined and joint force”.

Nine observer nations – Britain, New Zealand, South Korea, India, France, Canada, Malaysia, PNG, and East Timor – have also joined the war games, which this year include combined paratrooper drops, amphibious landings on an island on the southern edge of the South China Sea, and jungle fighting.

Some defence analysts say Australia has failed to prepare for war in the Indo-Pacific, but General Stuart said the ADF was “seized with the requirement” to prepare for all contingencies with its partners.

“That’s what we’re doing every single day in Australia and in the region with our partners. It’s the focus of the government’s modernisation plan and there’s more work being done to continue the reform of our national posture through a force posture review.”

The government’s defence ­review is likely to consider the need to scale back investments with less relevance to Australia’s maritime security challenges but the army chief insisted Australia’s land-based force would remain critical to any future conflict.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/adf-to-up-the-ante-in-indonesia/news-story/f01f643ccac13e3870571135ea995c09

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17068777 (060741ZAUG22) Notable: Catholic Church to rely on 'Ellis defence' in civil damages claim involving Cardinal George Pell

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>>41450

Catholic Church to rely on 'Ellis defence' in civil damages claim involving Cardinal George Pell

Danny Morgan - 4 August 2022

The Catholic Church is using a controversial legal tactic in a bid to be excused from a civil damages claim lodged in the Victorian Supreme Court involving Cardinal George Pell.

A man is suing the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne and Cardinal Pell for damages, claiming he suffered nervous shock after learning of allegations Cardinal Pell sexually assaulted his son when he was a choirboy at St Patrick's Cathedral in East Melbourne in 1996.

In 2018, Cardinal Pell was found guilty of the assault, but the High Court unanimously quashed the conviction in 2020.

The Cardinal has always maintained his innocence.

Church calls upon 'Ellis defence'

In a preliminary hearing in the Victorian Supreme Court today, the Archdiocese indicated it wanted to rely on what is known as the 'Ellis defence' to be excused from the case.

The Ellis defence emerged out of a 2007 NSW Court of Appeal judgment that prevented an abuse survivor suing the Church because it was not a legal entity.

Survivors have long complained about the Church using the Ellis defence, and in 2018 the Victorian Parliament passed legislation that required unincorporated associations like the Church to nominate an entity that is capable of being sued.

But lawyers for the Archdiocese argued that legislation did not apply in this case because the father of the choirboy was not the primary victim of the alleged abuse.

The father's barrister, Julian Burnside QC, disagreed, arguing the 2018 legislation applied to both primary victims and their families.

"What our learned friends' submission amounts to is this: if the victim of child abuse dies then the family has no remedy, they have no-one they can sue," Mr Burnside said.

"Now that's plainly wrong in our submission."

Justice Michael McDonald has reserved his decision on whether to excuse the Archdiocese.

Archdiocese pledges to pay any potential damages

If the Archdiocese is excused, Cardinal Pell would remain a defendant.

In a letter to the court, solicitors for the Archdiocese indicated that even if the Church avoided liability it would still pay any damages, should the judge find against Cardinal Pell.

"If the plaintiff is awarded damages against the second defendant [George Pell] the Archdiocese will ensure that the award is paid by indemnifying the second defendant in respect of the award," the letter said.

The father of the choirboy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, launched his case last month.

His son died of a drug overdose in 2014 and the father only learnt of the allegations against Cardinal Pell the following year.

The father is claiming general damages, special damages and seeking compensation for past loss of earning capacity and past and future medical expenses.

His solicitor Lisa Flynn said the High Court's decision to quash Cardinal Pell's conviction would not affect the civil proceedings.

"The High Court made some decisions in relation to the criminal prosecution against [George] Pell, our case is a civil case against George Pell and the Catholic Archdiocese," she said.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-04/cardinal-george-pell-civil-case-catholic-archdiocese/101301514

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17068780 (060742ZAUG22) Notable: Catholic Church says family members not included in victim laws - Lawyers acting for the Catholic Church have argued that legislation passed to close a legal loophole that helped the church avoid liability for sex abuse victims does not apply to the father of a former choirboy whom prosecutors had alleged was sexually abused by George Pell

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>>41450

Catholic Church says family members not included in victim laws

David Estcourt - August 4, 2022

Lawyers acting for the Catholic Church have argued that legislation passed to close a legal loophole that helped the church avoid liability for sex abuse victims does not apply to the father of a former choirboy whom prosecutors had alleged was sexually abused by George Pell.

But Julian Burnside, QC, acting for the father, told Supreme Court Justice Michael McDonald on Thursday that if the court found the legislation did not apply to family members, it would undermine the purpose of the law.

Pell was found guilty in 2018 by a County Court jury of abusing two teenage choirboys in Melbourne’s St Patrick’s Cathedral after a Sunday Mass in December 1996. Those convictions were quashed by the High Court in 2020 and Pell was released from prison after more than a year in custody.

One of the choirboys died in his 30s in 2014 from an accidental heroin overdose, having never made a complaint against Pell. The deceased man’s father, referred to in court under the pseudonym RWQ, lodged a civil case in the Supreme Court last month.

Chris Caleo, QC, acting for the Archdiocese of Melbourne, said the Legal Identity of Defendants Act passed in 2018 made the church liable for financial compensation for damage inflicted only on victims because it was designed to apply to survivors of abuse and not their families.

“We say that that context, as a whole, means that we are only talking about claims by the victim himself or herself,” Caleo said.

But Burnside argued against that assertion, saying the church’s submission was “plainly wrong” and not what parliament had intended when the legislation was passed. He said that such an interpretation could extinguish legal entitlements of families if a victim of child abuse died, as in this case.

“The purpose of this statute was to make it possible to sue [non-governmental organisations],” he told Justice McDonald.

“What [the church’s] submission amounts to is … if the victim of child abuse dies, their family has no remedy, they have no one they can sue. That’s plainly wrong, in our submission.”

The so-called Ellis defence – a legal loophole Pell backed as Australia’s most senior Catholic to avoid paying large compensation sums to victims of clerical abuse – may prevail if the court finds the legislation doesn’t apply.

Legal sources say the defence could still be applied in some circumstances, including where the claimant is not the victim, but a family member.

The deceased choirboy’s father told The Age in 2019 that his son became withdrawn as a teenager, had problems at school and began using drugs. As an adult, he did stints in jail.

RWQ now claims he suffered psychological harm, including anxiety, a depressed mood and a bereavement disorder since his son’s death. He claims he has endured injury, loss and damage, which include past and future medical costs.

The Ellis defence was named after John Ellis, a former altar boy abused by a priest. His case for compensation failed when the church successfully argued in a NSW court that it could not be sued as it did not exist in a legal sense because property assets were held in a trust immune to lawsuits.

In a letter read out in court, the Catholic Church made an undertaking to pay on behalf of Pell if damages were awarded against him.

While serving as archbishop of Sydney, Pell backed the use of the legal strategy when the church defended civil claims made by abuse victims. It is estimated the strategy saved the church from paying out many millions of dollars to abuse survivors.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/catholic-church-says-family-members-not-included-in-victim-laws-20220804-p5b768.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17068782 (060743ZAUG22) Notable: Church says choirboy's father cannot sue - The Catholic Church has argued a deceased choirboy's father should not be permitted to sue the clergy because he is not the direct victim of Cardinal George Pell's alleged sexual abuse

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>>41450

Church says choirboy's father cannot sue

Emily Woods - August 4 2022

The Catholic Church has argued a deceased choirboy's father should not be permitted to sue the clergy because he is not the direct victim of Cardinal George Pell's alleged sexual abuse.

The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is seeking damages against the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne and Cardinal Pell in Victoria's Supreme Court.

He claims to have suffered psychological injury including nervous shock upon finding out about his son's alleged abuse in the mid-1990s.

Cardinal Pell was in 2018 convicted of molesting two teenage choirboys in the sacristy at St Patrick's Cathedral while he was Archbishop of Melbourne in 1996.

Pell has always maintained his innocence and his conviction was quashed in a unanimous decision by the High Court in 2020. He walked free in April 2020 after serving 13 months in prison.

One of the two choirboys died of a drug overdose in April 2014 and his father was informed about the boy's alleged abuse the following year by police.

The father claims to have lost money to medical expenses and earning capacity, due to suffering from several psychological conditions after finding out about his son's alleged abuse.

However, Catholic Church barrister Chris Caleo QC on Thursday argued that, under the legislation, the father cannot sue the church because he is a secondary victim.

"Child abuse plaintiffs, in its ordinary and natural meaning, means persons subjected to child abuse who then sue for the injury caused to them," he told the court.

Prior to 2018, the Catholic Church could deny liability to sexual abuse victims using the Ellis defence.

Unincorporated associations, such as churches, now have to nominate an entity able to pay damages.

The father's case is the first to test whether amended legislation, which aimed to abolish the Ellis defence, can extend to secondary victims including family members.

His barrister Julian Burnside QC rejected the church's argument and said the law allowed for claims to be brought against the clergy "founded on or arising from child abuse".

"A claim by a secondary victim is also a claim for child abuse. Or, strictly speaking, a claim founded on or arising from child abuse," he said.

He said the church was arguing that if the victim of child abuse died then the victim's family had "no remedy, they have no one they can sue".

"That's plainly wrong in our submission, it cannot be what parliament intended," Mr Burnside said.

Justice Michael McDonald will deliver his decision at a later date.

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7848286/church-says-choirboys-father-cannot-sue/

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17068805 (060758ZAUG22) Notable: Assange family barred from taking book about WikiLeaks founder into Australia’s parliament - Family planned to distribute book, deemed ‘protest material’ by security, to MPs and media as they urged government to intervene in proposed extradition

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>>41409

Assange family barred from taking book about WikiLeaks founder into Australia’s parliament

Family planned to distribute book, deemed ‘protest material’ by security, to MPs and media as they urged government to intervene in proposed extradition

Christopher Knaus - 5 Aug 2022

Security staff at Parliament House in Canberra seized copies of a book about Julian Assange from his family members as they entered the building to meet MPs on Thursday, deeming it “protest material”.

Assange’s family and supporters visited parliament on Thursday to urge the Albanese government to intervene in the proposed extradition of the WikiLeaks founder from the UK to the United States.

They were carrying copies of a book on Assange’s case by Nils Melzer, the former United Nations special rapporteur on torture, which they intended to give to MPs and media.

But Assange’s brother, Gabriel Shipton, said parliament security refused to let the family take the book into the building, because they deemed it to be “protest material”.

“I was saying ‘this is ridiculous. They’re books’,” Gabriel Shipton said. “I offered to call Andrew Wilkie, who was the MP who co-chaired the Parliamentary Friends of the Bring Julian Assange Home Group. He said ‘yes, go ahead, call him, but you can’t take the books in’.”

The family was able to distribute books to MPs and media from a box already stored in Wilkie’s office, and a staffer from Wilkie’s office was able to later retrieve the seized books.

But Louise Bennet, a campaigner with the Bring Assange Home Campaign, said the actions of security were “ridiculous”.

“They were incredibly adamant that it was protest material and that it was not allowed into the building,” Bennet said.

“It just blows my mind. This is the sort of thing that we see in Trump’s America, that we criticise in China. What is our parliament afraid of that we can’t bring a book in?”

The Department of Parliamentary Services said it could not comment on “specific operational security matters”.

Gabriel Shipton attended parliament with Assange’s father, John Shipton, and other campaigners.

During their visit, they raised concerns about the lack of progress since the May election. The family urged Anthony Albanese to make the issue “non-negotiable” with the US.

Gabriel Shipton said on Friday that he was disappointed in the rhetoric from the new government, which he said had undergone a “significant change” since it won office.

He said Labor had been much more forthright in its criticism of the treatment of Assange before the election.

“They were elected on that platform, [it was] one of their promises essentially, and it’s one of the first ones that they’ve gone back on,” he said.

Albanese has said that he intends to pursue the matter diplomatically and that “not all foreign affairs is best done with the loudhailer”.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/aug/05/assange-family-barred-from-taking-book-about-wikileaks-founder-into-australias-parliament

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17068815 (060804ZAUG22) Notable: An0m: lawyers challenge encrypted messaging app used by AFP in global crime sting - A year after app’s unveiling questions have been raised about legal grounds on which messages intercepted and warrants used

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>>41591

An0m: lawyers challenge encrypted messaging app used by AFP in global crime sting

A year after app’s unveiling questions have been raised about legal grounds on which messages intercepted and warrants used

Josh Taylor - 5 Aug 2022

The legality of the encrypted app An0m, which Australian federal police used to run a global crime sting, is being challenged in the courts a year after its highly publicised unveiling.

In the 12 months since the AFP and FBI let the world know they were behind an encrypted phone known as An0m, it has led to 340 alleged offenders being charged in Australia with 1,011 offences. The number of arrests globally is over 1,000.

An An0m device wasn’t a phone you could walk into a store and buy. You had to know someone who would sell it to you, and it cost $1,700 for the handset, with a $1,250 annual subscription. That money, unbeknown to the buyers, went to law enforcement agencies operating the app, and capturing every message.

The phone couldn’t make calls or browse the internet, but users could open the phone’s calculator, and enter a specific sum to be launched into a secret messaging app.

It was in this app that law enforcement agencies were able to intercept 19.7m messages between 2018 and 2021 that led to the hundreds of arrests globally, as part of what the AFP dubbed Operation Ironside.

Since the initial fanfare from the AFP and FBI, questions have been raised about the legal grounds on which the messages were intercepted and the warrants used.

This has led to the legality being challenged directly in Australian courts, as the cases of those arrested as part of Operation Ironside begin to get under way.

A lawyer acting for one of those arrested told a court in Sydney in June that up to 30 people who were charged based on messages in the app were set to question experts about how the messages were stored and then provided to the AFP. Those matters will be heard in a Sydney local court in September.

“There is a growing opinion among a number of very senior defence barristers in this state, and in other states, that the authorisation obtained was not sufficient and the evidence may not be legally obtained,” lawyer Elie Rahme reportedly told the supreme court.

In South Australia, Michael Abbott QC, acting for one of two men before the SA supreme court, reportedly alleged the operation was illegal.

“There is serious illegality to what the AFP was doing on their own and with the help of the FBI,” he said.

“Under what law of Australia were the AFP allowed to act?”

Justice Sandi McDonald said last week specialists working for three men charged as part of the sting will be able to access the source code for the app in “controlled and secure conditions”.

According to Vice, which has reportedly obtained the source code for the app, law enforcement were able to intercept every single message over the app via a blind carbon copy function that passed on every message sent over the app to another account.

Guardian Australia understands it is expected lawyers will question whether the right warrants were obtained for the operation. Warrants were obtained under the Surveillance Devices Act, but lawyers believe the warrants potentially should have been obtained under the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act.

“This is stuff that simply was never contemplated by law enforcement when they were setting up this legislation in parliament, because it’s something other than tapping onto a telephone,” Rick Sarre, professor of law and criminal justice at the University of South Australia, said. “And it’s quite something different from simply looking at metadata.”

The Law Council of Australia president, Tass Liveris, said while the council supports disrupting organised crime and recognises the need to modernise investigatory functions, it is important there are appropriate oversight mechanisms and legislative checks on how electronic surveillance is undertaken by law enforcement.

“In our view, a fundamental redesign of electronic surveillance laws are needed, rather than incremental amendments in the nature of patching specific issues identified through operational activities,” he said.

An AFP spokesperson said it would not be appropriate to comment while the matter is before the courts.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/aug/05/an0m-lawyers-challenge-encrypted-messaging-app-used-by-afp-in-global-sting

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17068852 (060821ZAUG22) Notable: Russian billionaire Alexander Abramov sues Foreign Minister Penny Wong over ‘reputation harm’

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Russian billionaire Alexander Abramov sues Foreign Minister Penny Wong over ‘reputation harm’

Emily Woods - 5 August 2022

A Russian billionaire suing Australia’s foreign minister claims sanctions imposed over the invasion of Ukraine have caused him severe reputational damage.

Steel mogul Alexander Abramov launched legal action against Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong after the former government’s April sanctioning of 67 Russian elites and oligarchs over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The sanctions caused severe reputational harm and the legal consequences have led to continuing financial losses, his lawyer Ron Merkel QC told the Federal Court on Friday.

He wants the sanctions to be removed, arguing they’re unique to Australia as no other country has placed similar bans on Mr Abramov, who co-founded Russia’s largest steel producer, Evraz.

“Our real point here is the approach the minister has taken is misconceived,” he said.

Australia’s sanctions have also impacted Mr Abramov’s dealings in New Zealand, Mr Merkel said.

He said the case was unusual as public announcements by former foreign minister Marise Payne, explaining her decision, would form part of the suit.

On April 7, Ms Payne announced the government had decided to impose “targeted financial sanctions and travel bans” on 67 individuals “for their role in Russia’s unprovoked, unjust and illegal invasion of Ukraine”.

Those sanctioned included Russian military, business and government officials.

Ms Wong is represented by barrister Brendan Lim.

The federal government is considering an application to prevent public release of some information in the court documents, he said.

The matter will return before Justice Susan Kenny on August 26.

https://thewest.com.au/news/crime/russian-billionaire-sues-over-reputation-c-7767666

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17068857 (060823ZAUG22) Notable: Penny Wong walks out on Russia’s Sergey Lavrov - Penny Wong has walked out of the East Asia Summit during Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s address to the regional foreign ministers meeting in Phnom Penh, in protest at Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine

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>>41651

Penny Wong walks out on Russia’s Sergey Lavrov

AMANDA HODGE - AUGUST 5, 2022

Penny Wong has walked out of the East Asia Summit during Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s address to the regional foreign ministers meeting in Phnom Penh, in protest at Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

A spokeswoman confirmed Australia’s Foreign Minister walked out on Moscow’s diplomat, saying: “Minister Wong could not sit through Mr Lavrov’s attempt to justify the murder of innocent Ukrainians.”

The Australian understands it was not a co-ordinated protest, and Australia was represented during Mr Lavrov’s address by an official. Senator Wong’s protest comes a day after she arrived in the Cambodian capital for a series of ASEAN-led meetings and called for all parties to de-escalate tensions in the Taiwan Straits.

But she was not the only one to walk out of the 18 member nation foreign ministers’ summit on Friday.

Amid escalating tensions over China’s live fire drills around the Taiwan Strait in retaliation for US house speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi joined Mr Lavrov in their own walkout as their Japanese counterpart began speaking.

The two ministers left their seats in protest at Tokyo’s criticism of Beijing’s military exercises, while Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi was speaking – a day earlier Mr Wang cancelled bilateral talks with Mr Hayashi.

The Japanese government has described China’s firing of ballistic missiles – five of which landed in its exclusive economic zone southwest of Okinawa’s Hateruma Island on Thursday – as an “extremely coercive” move. “This is a grave issue that concerns our country’s national security and the safety of the people,” Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi said.

Senator Wong’s symbolic protest comes a day after Russian steel billionaire Alexander Abramov launched legal action against the Australian Foreign Minister over sanctions imposed as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that he claims has caused him severe reputational damage. He is understood to be among 67 Russian elites targeted by the Australian government for sanctions.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/penny-wong-walks-out-on-russias-sergey-lavrov/news-story/4e353ff74758fbbe65c979577d5920ac

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17068866 (060828ZAUG22) Notable: Anthony Albanese and Penny Wong tight-lipped in response to China's missile exercise near Taiwan - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong have refused to wade into a war of words after China responded to Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei by carrying out a missile exercise in Taiwanese waters

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>>41642

Anthony Albanese and Penny Wong tight-lipped in response to China's missile exercise near Taiwan

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong have refused to wade into a war of words after China responded to Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei by carrying out a missile exercise in Taiwanese waters.

Jack Mahony - August 5, 2022

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong have refused to be drawn on US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei and the subsequent Chinese missile exercise in Taiwanese waters.

Ms Pelosi became the highest-ranking US official to visit Taiwan in 25 years when she touched down on Tuesday, saying she was there to cement “America's unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan's vibrant democracy".

Following her visit China launched “precision missile strikes” in waters off Taiwan as part of military exercises which have contributed to rising tensions in the region.

Mr Albanese on Friday said Australia and China needed to ensure peaceful relationships continued in the Asia-Pacific region.

“We need to stay the course that we're on, which is to seek cooperation and positive relations with China where we can stand up for Australian values and Australian national interests where we must,” he told ABC Melbourne radio.

“That includes the Law of the Sea, allowing for safe navigation and passage including through the South China Sea.”

Ms Wong stopped short of condemning the Chinese missile exercises, but asked whether it was in the region's best interests at a time of growing geo-political tensions.

“We would encourage all parties to consider how they can contribute to de-escalating the current situation,” she said.

“I would again publicly indicate that one of the risks I think the region is concerned about is the risk of miscalculation.

“We would encourage all parties to consider how they can contribute to de-escalating. Australia’s view is de-escalating is in the interests of the region.”

Ms Pelosi's visit has enraged Beijing, which labelled the trip a "political stunt".

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters on Wednesday the visit was "not about democracy, but about China's sovereignty and territorial integrity".

"Many people have hit the nail in their comments about the visit. They pointed out that Pelosi's dangerous provocation is purely aimed at reaping political capital for herself," Ms Hua said.

"It is an ugly political stunt through and through. In this ugly stunt, democracy has been reduced to a cheap tool and a pretext that the US habitually uses.

"The kind of democracy referred to by Pelosi is like nothing but a robe with lice crawling all over it. It may look opulent from a distance, but couldn't stand close scrutiny."

Mr Albanese stayed tight-lipped on his opinion of Ms Pelosi’s visit but said Australia remained steady with its aim of “peace and security in the region”, while supporting Taiwan’s independence.

“I make no comment about the US Speaker’s decision to visit there. That really is a matter for them,” he said.

Foreign Minister Wong also said Australia’s position of supporting the “status quo in the Taiwan Strait” remained “very clear”.

“We say that all parties should consider how they contribute to de-escalating current tensions. I note that the recent statement from the ASEAN Foreign Ministers meeting reflects a similar view,” she told reporters in Cambodia.

“Australia will continue to work with partners to promote peace and stability across the straits. And I again underline that Australia’s One China policy and support for the status quo remains unchanged.”

The US responded angrily to China’s missile exercises, saying it was using the Speaker’s visit to escalate “provocative” military action in the region.

"Beijing's provocative actions are a significant escalation and its long-standing attempt to change the status quo," national security spokesman John Kirby told a media briefing.

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/anthony-albanese-and-penny-wong-tightlipped-in-response-to-chinas-missile-exercise-near-taiwan/news-story/3129b916488b49ee484fbd2f85c30116

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17068880 (060834ZAUG22) Notable: Penny Wong fumes as Beijing missiles rattle region - Foreign Minister Penny Wong has condemned Beijing after it launched an unprecedented volley of ballistic missiles over Taiwan and into Japanese waters, in a brazen display of China’s rising military might that has rattled the Indo-Pacific region

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>>41642

Penny Wong fumes as Beijing missiles rattle region

WILL GLASGOW and AMANDA HODGE - AUGUST 6, 2022

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Foreign Minister Penny Wong has condemned Beijing after it launched an unprecedented volley of ballistic missiles over Taiwan and into Japanese waters, in a brazen display of China’s rising military might that has rattled the Indo-Pacific region.

Senator Wong told her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in person on Friday that Australia shared the region’s concerns about ­Beijing’s unprecedented military intimidation.

“These exercises are disproportionate and destabilising,” Senator Wong said in a statement released after speaking with Mr Wang at the East Asia Summit in Cambodia.

“This is a serious matter for the region, including for our close strategic partner, Japan.

“Australia shares the region’s concerns about this escalating military activity, especially the risks of miscalculation. We urge restraint and de-escalation.”

In a troubling escalation, ­Beijing announced late on Friday that it had cancelled a hotline ­between Chinese and US commanders in the region, further raising the risks of the PLA’s ongoing military activity.

China’s foreign ministry also said it had suspended talks with the US on climate change as well as frozen co-operation on drug control, transnational crime and the repatriation of illegal immigrants.

Beijing said the new “countermeasures” were to punish the US for not stopping US House of ­Representatives Speaker Nancy ­Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan despite China’s “strong opposition and solemn representations”.

The Chinese military on Thursday began an intimidating display of military might, shooting 11 “Dongfeng” ballistic missiles, with some travelling over Taiwan ­island and others landing in Japanese waters, both unprecedented actions, which came after Ms Pelosi met Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday, in the most senior visit to Taipei by an American politician in 25 years.

More than 10 destroyers and frigates, along with nuclear submarines, have circled Taiwan as Beijing conducts the biggest display of naval and air might in the more than 70-year history of the People’s Republic of China.

China’s military aggression has already surpassed the previous Taiwan Straits crisis of 1995-96 and the Xi administration has declared its live-fire war games will continue until at least Sunday.

Senator Wong’s comments came hours after she walked out of the East Asia Summit during Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s address to the regional foreign ministers’ meeting in Phnom Penh in protest at Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Minister Wong could not sit through Mr Lavrov’s attempt to justify the murder of innocent Ukrainians,” her spokeswoman said.

But it was the Taiwan Strait ­crisis that dominated the summit on Friday.

In Taipei, Ms Tsai appealed to the international community for help to stop the “one-sided and ­irrational military actions”.

“We are committed to maintaining the status quo of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” she said. “We are calm and not aggressive, we are rational and not provocative, but we will also be firm and not back down.”

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met Ms Pelosi in Tokyo on Friday, the last stop on her congressional tour of the Indo-Pacific.

Mr Kishida expressed concern about “the safety of our people” after Beijing launched five ballistic missiles into Japanese waters, saying the PLA had created a regional crisis.

“China’s actions … have a serious effect on the peace and security of the region and the international community, and we urged an immediate halt to the military exercises,” the Japanese leader said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said China’s behaviour represented a “significant escalation.”

“China has chosen to overreact and use Speaker Pelosi’s visit as a pretext to increase provocative military activity in and around the Taiwan Strait,” Mr Blinken said at the summit.

He said the US stood in “strong solidarity” with Japan after the “dangerous actions China has taken”.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17068935 (060904ZAUG22) Notable: Video: Marles accuses China of breaching UN rules with Taiwan exercises - Defence Minister Richard Marles has urged an end to Chinese live-fire military operations that have encircled Taiwan in a strong statement that accuses Beijing of breaching United Nations rules requiring countries to ensure peace and security in international waters

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>>41642

Marles accuses China of breaching UN rules with Taiwan exercises

David Crowe and Peter Hartcher - August 6, 2022

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Defence Minister Richard Marles has urged an end to Chinese live-fire military operations that have encircled Taiwan in a strong statement that accuses Beijing of breaching United Nations rules requiring countries to ensure peace and security in international waters.

Marles made it clear China was flouting the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea by launching ballistic missiles in an escalating response to a visit to Taiwan by United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

He also declared Australia had a vital interest in asserting freedom of navigation and would continue its regular surveillance in the region despite a dangerous Chinese interception of a Royal Australian Air Force plane in May.

“The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea is a completely understood treaty and an accepted part of the architecture of the global rules-based order,” said Marles, who becomes acting prime minister on Saturday while Anthony Albanese takes a week’s leave.

“How it applies to the Taiwan Strait is also clear. And it does apply to the Taiwan Strait.”

The remarks counter recent Chinese claims that the strait is not international waters and represent a toughening in Australia’s language about the attempts to intimidate Taiwan in the worst crisis in the area since 1996.

Chinese warships and aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line on Friday in what Taiwan’s defence ministry described as a “highly provocative” incursion after similar moves on Thursday, when China also fired missiles over Taiwan and into Japanese waters.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong criticised China on Friday for launching ballistic missiles, saying the military exercises were “disproportionate and destabilising” and carried the risk of miscalculation.

In a sign of global tensions over Taiwan and Ukraine at a meeting of the East Asia Summit in Cambodia, Wong walked out of an address by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The Russian and Chinese foreign ministers walked out of remarks by their Japanese counterpart.

The Australian government has not endorsed or criticised Pelosi’s controversial visit to Taipei on Wednesday – during which she infuriated Beijing by confirming the US’s “iron clad” commitment to Taiwan’s democracy – but Marles’ latest comments reject the central claim in the Chinese show of force.

Marles drew a parallel between the Taiwan Strait and the Torres Strait, where the People’s Liberation Army sent a guided-missile destroyer and an amphibious assault ship in February.

While Australia complained that one of the Chinese ships used a laser against an RAAF surveillance plane, potentially blinding the crew, it accepted the vessels’ right to pass through the Torres Strait.

“We have seen a Chinese military vessel traverse the Torres Strait this year in accordance with international law and we make no complaint about that,” Marles said.

“But the rules of the road apply everywhere and they apply in the Taiwan Strait as well.”

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17068962 (060919ZAUG22) Notable: Defence expert Paul Dibb says Australia faces 'probability of high-intensity conflict' in the region - "China is an aggressive, autocratic communist power. According to Xi Jinping, the time is now on the side of the People's Republic of China to revenge the century of humiliation in the 19th century, and to take over as the leading power in our region from the United States."''''

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>>41628

Defence expert Paul Dibb says Australia faces 'probability of high-intensity conflict' in the region

Michael Vincent - 5 August 2022

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The circle of people who know the ability of Australia to defend itself is small.

You can count on two hands the number of people the Australian government has trusted in recent times to tell them where the holes in that defence lie.

Paul Dibb is one of those people.

Now an emeritus professor of strategic studies at the Australian National University, Paul Dibb is a former director of the Defence Intelligence Organisation and the former deputy secretary for strategy and intelligence in the Department of Defence.

When the Defence Minister launched a landmark defence review to determine what gaps remain in the nation's defences this week, he invoked Professor Dibb's work for the Hawke government 30 years ago.

"It was the strategic basis for the 1987 Defence White Paper and every white paper since," Defence Minister Richard Marles said.

"It established a strategic setting for this country for 35 years."

The 1987 Defence White Paper

"The holes in our [defence] force structure were gigantic," Professor Dibb told 7.30, referring to his historic defence force review three decades ago.

"Basically, nothing had changed since the Vietnam War and before that, the confrontation with Indonesia.

"It was still a force that successive governments had structured on the basis, not of the defence of Australia, but as expeditionary forces, in far distant military conflicts, primarily to contain communism."

Back then, he says he butted heads with various elements of the Navy, Air Force and especially the Army, which he said didn't want to move "away from their nice comfortable barracks in the south and east" to the north of the country where any invasion would take place.

"Because the most likely threat to Australia would come from, or through, the archipelago to our north, not from the penguins in Antarctica or the Kiwis in New Zealand," he said.

30 years later, the 'warning time' is over

This week's announcement of another landmark defence review comes just two years after a strategic update in 2020 by the previous Coalition government, which also had a defence white paper in 2016.

So what's changed?

"In four years flat, they went from being confident in 10 years or more [of] warning time of a major threat … [to] recognition that warning time was over and finished," Professor Dibb said.

"We now face the probability of high-intensity conflict in our own immediate strategic environment.

"Let's be very frank, it's code-name for a certain country to our distant north."

The government was prepared to name China as it began its sabre-rattling over Taiwan.

The question remains how committed is Australia to Taiwan's defence.

"I've been there four times in the last eight years – it's a vibrant democracy with 24 million people on an island — that should strike a bell — 24 million on a small island half the size of Tasmania," he said.

"If we should refuse to join the United States, that would frankly mean the end of the ANZUS Alliance.

"China is an aggressive, autocratic communist power. According to Xi Jinping, the time is now on the side of the People's Republic of China to revenge the century of humiliation in the 19th century, and to take over as the leading power in our region from the United States."

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17069001 (060939ZAUG22) Notable: ‘Nuclear war at home’: Protesters say SA subs deal is putting us in the firing line - The No Nuclear Subs Alliance has protested against South Australia’s nuclear-powered submarine program

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>>41426

‘Nuclear war at home’: Protesters say SA subs deal is putting us in the firing line

The No Nuclear Subs Alliance has protested against South Australia’s nuclear-powered submarine program at a rally in Adelaide on Friday.

Todd Lewis - August 5, 2022

Protesters opposed to South Australia’s nuclear-powered submarine program have marked the anniversary of the infamous atomic bombings of Hiroshima with a rally in the heart of Adelaide.

Several members of the No Nuclear Subs Alliance and passers-by stopped at Beehive Corner on Rundle Mall on Friday to protest against the AUKUS submarine deal.

“No more Hiroshimas” was the message of the rally, as Saturday marks the 77th anniversary since an atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima by the US, killing an estimated 140,000 civilians and leading to the end of World War II.

Campaigner Anne McMenamin said the AUKUS partnership was setting Australia on the path to a similar event.

“Nuclear submarines are weapons of offence, not defence,” she said.

“They put us in the firing line for nuclear war at home, and deepen Australia’s complicity in US threats of nuclear destruction in our region and around the world.”

Greens Senator Barbara Pocock spoke at the rally and urged the government to lead the way in the de-escalation of tension in the region.

“We’re in dangerous times; we have a lot of highly armed people who have all kinds of intentions in our region,” she said.

“We do not want to walk blindly into any conflict.”

She said Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham had urged her not to attend the rally on Friday.

“I particularly say to Senator Birmingham and to the government, which used to be there and is no longer, you spent $5bn on a submarine contract without any outcome,” she said.

“Isn’t that an argument for a sensible conversation about the future of our spending in our defence forces, and about the economics of what’s appropriate?

“We must not increase the risks of nuclear war on our planet. It is alongside the climate crisis, as a major threat to the security of our people and our citizens”.

The federal government has been contacted for comment.

https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/nuclear-war-at-home-protesters-say-sa-subs-deal-is-putting-us-in-the-firing-line/news-story/b3a2ed47f7e4fedcaa78cc891d4bf0f5

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17069077 (061026ZAUG22) Notable: Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post: Video: KOOLENDONG 22. #MRFD #usmc #armystrong #usaf #ADF #Lethality #JointForce #FreeandOpenIndoPacific U.S. Marine Corps video by Corporal Emeline Molla.

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>>41427

Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post

August 5, 2022

KOOLENDONG 22.

#MRFD

#usmc

#armystrong

#usaf

#ADF

#Lethality

#JointForce

#FreeandOpenIndoPacific

U.S. Marine Corps video by Corporal Emeline Molla.

https://www.facebook.com/MRFDarwin/posts/1323809431358671

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17069131 (061050ZAUG22) Notable: US, Australian militaries join forces to retaliate China’s Pacific rise - Australia will join the “kill chain” of United States’ air and missile defence capabilities in a move that could cut our militaries’ reaction times from 30 minutes to less than four

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US, Australian militaries join forces to retaliate China’s Pacific rise

Australia’s reaction time to a threat could be cut from 30 minutes to less than four under a new military alliance with the US.

Charles Miranda - August 5, 2022

Exclusive: Australia will join the “kill chain” of United States’ air and missile defence capabilities in a move that could cut our militaries’ reaction times from 30 minutes to less than four.

An interoperable American-Australian force in the Pacific has long been a dream for commanders where ships, planes and radars of both operate as one for a real time joint interception.

Now a series of “sensor to shooter” integration trials using surveillance and fighters from both countries have proved successful, paving the way for an unprecedented future forces alignment.

The shift to integrate warfare systems will significantly advance Australia’s strategic strike power in the region and particularly the Australian Defence Force’s ability to respond to a long-range threat.

It is also likely to see more US ships, troops and aircraft including the B-21 stealth in Australia which could act as a logistics base.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has reportedly expressed enthusiasm over the urgency of the Albanese government to further the AUKUS pact beyond just shared nuclear-powered submarine tech to broader war-fighting integration.

Defence Minister Richard Marles was coy on the detail but said as China sought to “reshape” the world, the alliance and forces’ interoperability was of critical importance.

“What that looks like is doing more exercises at a higher level, meaning more complex exercises, the military jargon would be ‘high end war fighting’, where greater interoperability is practised,” Mr Marles told News Corp Australia.

“I think we seek to build interoperability, I have used the word interchangeability as well as I guess an expression of the highest level of interoperability, we do want to see us develop that with the United States forces. There is considerable scope for greater complexity of exercises.”

Mr Marles said disputes were better mediated and resolved through the rule of law rather than “might and power”, particularly in the South China Sea and Australia’s trade sea routes, but Russia’s invasion and war with Ukraine was a warning to all.

“Given the global rules based order is under more stress or as much stress as it has been since any point since the end of Second World War our interest lies in maintaining an American presence in the East Asian time zone. I mean it very clearly does so I think it is very much in our interest for us to be doing more with America and us making sure that we keep America engaged in this part of the world.”

The so-called “kill chain” term refers to the process of identifying a target threat through surveillance and reconnaissance, choosing the best option to confront it and deploying a strike.

Trials have been conducted by both forces during Talisman Sabre exercise last year off the coast of Brisbane, the “Black Flag” exercise in Nevada in the US two months ago where RAAF strike fighters were used in the kill chain trial and the ADF as official observer to the American Scarlet Dragon program where AI decision making is being trialled.

Trials showed automated bilateral data transfer removed human error in transposing intelligence and cut response times from 25-30 minutes to up to four minutes.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/us-australian-militaries-join-forces-to-retaliate-chinas-pacific-rise/news-story/e45ea2c12f2778388d7a7cdd977c6297

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381195 (120756ZAUG22) Notable: Statement: Senator Penny Wong, Minister for Foreign Affairs - Cross-Strait tensions - "Australia is deeply concerned about the launch of ballistic missiles by China into waters around Taiwan's coastline."

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>>>/qresearch/17380855

Much appreciated, thank you.

>>41642

Statement: Senator Penny Wong, Minister for Foreign Affairs

Cross-Strait tensions

05 August 2022

Australia is deeply concerned about the launch of ballistic missiles by China into waters around Taiwan's coastline.

These exercises are disproportionate and destabilising.

This is a serious matter for the region, including for our close strategic partner, Japan.

Australia shares the region's concerns about this escalating military activity, especially the risks of miscalculation.

We urge restraint and de-escalation.

It is in all our interests to have a region at peace and not in conflict. Australia does not want to see any unilateral change to the status quo across the Taiwan Strait. There is no change to Australia's bipartisan one-China policy.

We are continuing to monitor the situation very closely, and we are talking to allies and partners.

Today I have expressed Australia's concerns to my Chinese counterpart along with other regional foreign ministers in the East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh, and officials from my department have reiterated our concerns with the Chinese Government.

https://www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/penny-wong/media-release/cross-strait-tensions

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381198 (120758ZAUG22) Notable: Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Commonwealth of Australia - Chinese Embassy Spokesperson’s Remarks on the Statement by Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs on Situation across the Taiwan Strait

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>>41642

>>41660

Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Commonwealth of Australia

Chinese Embassy Spokesperson’s Remarks on the Statement by Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs on Situation across the Taiwan Strait

2022-08-05

Q: On 5 August, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong issued a statement, which expressed concern about the launch of ballistic missiles by China into waters around Taiwan's coastline and urged restraint and de-escalation.The statement pointed out that Australia does not want to see any unilateral change to the status quo across the Taiwan Strait. What is the comment of the Chinese Embassy in Australia?

A: The tensions in the Taiwan Strait is fundamentally caused by the US connivance at Pelosi’s visit to China’s Taiwan region. This is a major incident that seeks to upgrade the substantive exchanges between the United States and Taiwan. It causes serious harm to the one-China principle and to China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. China has made clear its stern opposition to the incident. If the US continues down the wrong path, then all consequences arising therefrom shall be borne by the US.

This incident proves it is the US to be the biggest saboteur of peace in the Taiwan Strait and the biggest troublemaker to regional stability. It is the US that has been distorting, obscuring and hollowing out the one-China principle, using any pretext or excuse to gradually change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. If China does not firmly resist the US’s irresponsibility and extreme irrationality, the separatists and extremists will only become more reckless and the hard-won peace and stability in this region will be seriously undermined. The US made a malicious provocation first, and China has been compelled to act in self-defense.

Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. The Chinese military drills in the waters off the Taiwan Island are a necessary and legitimate measure to uphold its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a necessary and legitimate countermeasure against the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces and foreign interference. They are consistent with international law and domestic laws. They are a warning to the provocateurs and also aimed at protecting regional stability and peace in the Taiwan Strait. The cause, consequences and merits of the tensions are crystal clear. Over 100 countries have spoken up to stress the importance of upholding the one-China principle and expressing support for China’s efforts to uphold sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The one-China principle is the important precondition and political foundation for the establishment and development of diplomatic relations between China and Australia. Some of the wording and expression from the Joint Communiqué of the Australian Government and the Government of the People’s Republic of China Concerning the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations Between China and Australia signed in 1972 are as follows, I quote ‘the Australian Government recognizes the Government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal Government of China, acknowledges the position of the Chinese Government that Taiwan is a province of the People's Republic of China’. Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan is a serious violation of the one-China principle.The facts are clear, the truth is plain. Australia’s commitment to one China principle is clear in both concept and content. We hope the Australian side could get a clear understanding of the cause and nature of the current crisis, show its respect to the facts and abide by its solemn commitment to the one China principle in both word and deed.

http://au.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/sghdxwfb_1/202208/t20220805_10735943.htm

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381216 (120814ZAUG22) Notable: U.S. Department of State Media Note - U.S.-Australia-Japan Trilateral Strategic Dialogue - Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa met in Phnom Penh on the margins of the 55th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

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>>41654

U.S. Department of State

U.S.-Australia-Japan Trilateral Strategic Dialogue

AUGUST 5, 2022

The text of the following statement was released by the Secretary and Foreign Ministers of the United States of America, Australia, and Japan.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa met in Phnom Penh on the margins of the 55th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

The Secretary and the Foreign Ministers expressed their commitment to deepening the trilateral partnership among Australia, Japan, and the United States to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific region. They highlighted this partnership rests on the unshakable foundation of shared interests and values, including a commitment to freedom, rule of law, human rights, sovereignty and territorial integrity, peaceful settlement of disputes without resorting to threat or use of force, and freedom of navigation and overflight. The Secretary and the Foreign Ministers reaffirmed their resolve in supporting ASEAN centrality, and the importance of the Pacific Islands Countries as partners in the region.

The Secretary and the Foreign Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. They appreciated ASEAN’s statement about the importance of deescalating tension in the Taiwan Strait. The three sides share the region’s desire for diplomacy to avoid the risks of miscalculation. The Secretary and the Foreign Ministers expressed their concern about the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) recent actions that gravely affect international peace and stability, including the use of large-scale military exercises. They condemned the PRC’s launch of ballistic missiles, five of which the Japanese government reported landed in its exclusive economic zones, raising tension and destabilizing the region. The Secretary and the Foreign Ministers urged the PRC to immediately cease the military exercises. There is no change in the respective one China policies, where applicable, and basic positions on Taiwan of Australia, Japan, or the United States.

https://www.state.gov/u-s-australia-japan-trilateral-strategic-dialogue/

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381217 (120816ZAUG22) Notable: Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Commonwealth of Australia - Chinese Embassy Spokesperson’s Remarks on the Joint Statement Made by the US, Australia and Japan Related to the Situation in the Taiwan Strait

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>>41654

>>41662

Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Commonwealth of Australia

Chinese Embassy Spokesperson’s Remarks on the Joint Statement Made by the US, Australia and Japan Related to the Situation in the Taiwan Strait

2022-08-06

Q: On 5 August, a joint statement was made by the Secretary of State of the US and the Foreign Ministers of Australia and Japan, which expressed concern over the China’s large-scale military exercises in the water of the Taiwan Strait and condemned the China’s ballistic missiles landing in Japan’s exclusive economic zones. What is the Embassy’s comment?

A: We are seriously concerned and strongly discontent with the remarks on the situation across the Taiwan Strait by the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Japan and the Secretary of State of the US. It is absolutely unacceptable for the finger-pointing on China’s justified actions to safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity. We firmly oppose and sternly condemn this.

The incidents proves it is the US to be the biggest saboteur and destabilizer of peace in the Taiwan Strait and the biggest troublemaker to regional stability. It is the US that should be condemned. China is the victim of political provocation from the US. The actions taken by Chinese Government to safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity and curb the separatist activities are legitimate and justified. Instead of expressing sympathy and support to the victim, the Australian side has condemned the victim along with the perpetrators. This is completely putting the cart before the horse and reversing the right from the wrong.

Japan has a long history of colonization and invasion of the Taiwan region, and bears indelible historical responsibility for the Chinese people, including our compatriots in Taiwan. Japan should be the first to engage in self-reflection and discretion, and the last to make unwarranted accusations. Australia was also the victim of Japan's Fascists in World War II. Japan is the only country that launched a military attack on the Australian mainland, in which nearly 50,000 Australian soldiers and civilians were killed, wounded or captured and a large number of Australian soldiers were brutally abused and massacred by the Japanese army, left with misery and trauma. With this in mind, the Australian side should have expressed empathy, thus fully understand and support China’s reasonable and legitimate actions to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity. As for the ‘Japan’s EEZ’ you mentioned, China and Japan have not carried out maritime delimitation in relevant waters, so there is no legal basis for Japanese claims that Chinese missiles fell into Japanese EEZ. On the maritime disputes between China and Japan, Australia should not take sides and blindly make unfair judgments that run counter to the facts.

The one-China principle is a solemn commitment by successive Australian governments. It should be strictly abided by and fully honoured. It should not be misinterpreted or compromised in practice. We hope the Australian side should view China-Australia relations with serious attitude, respect facts, uphold justice and abandon wrong standing. We also hope that the Australian side could treat the Taiwan question with caution, does not follow certain countries’ strategy of containing China with Taiwan, and does not create new troubles and disturbances in China-Australia relations.

http://au.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/sghdxwfb_1/202208/t20220806_10736414.htm

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381234 (120832ZAUG22) Notable: U.S. Embassy Australia Tweet: Video:Ambassador Kennedy and @DeputySecState Sherman are traveling to Solomon Islands to honor all those who fought and died for freedom 80 years ago, and to recommit to working with Allies and partners to chart a peaceful and secure future together.

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>>41543

U.S. Embassy Australia Tweet

Ambassador Kennedy and @DeputySecState Sherman are traveling to Solomon Islands to honor all those who fought and died for freedom 80 years ago, and to recommit to working with Allies and partners to chart a peaceful and secure future together.

https://twitter.com/USEmbAustralia/status/1555732000262131713

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381238 (120833ZAUG22) Notable: The Untold story of how Morrison took on China - On April 20, 2020, then prime minister Scott Morrison told the national security committee of cabinet that Australia’s democratic system was being “infiltrated” by Beijing and that the government must become more strident in its language about China to signal its resistance.

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Untold story of how Morrison took on China

PAUL KELLY - August 6, 2022

1/4

On April 20, 2020, then prime minister Scott Morrison told the national security committee of cabinet that Australia’s democratic system was being “infiltrated” by Beijing and that the government must become more strident in its language about China to signal its resistance.

“We need multiple points of pushback on this increasing aggression,” Morrison told his most senior ministers during the NSC meeting. The cabinet committee was meeting virtually but was provided with an oral update on the latest Chinese-sponsored cyber activity that was alarming the prime minister.

Morrison was supported by then treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who told the NSC that while China was a great source of economic prosperity for Australia, it was beginning to behave like an adversary power. The PM and treasurer had a common view – Australia must be consistent in its stance against China and deny Beijing the tactic of shifting the goalposts in every bilateral dispute – otherwise the game would be lost.

As early as February 2020, the Morrison cabinet had been briefed on the strategic implications of a global pandemic – the ­assessment being that China would be empowered, even if only temporarily, and that Australia should expect more cyber attacks and growing militarisation in the region.

The April 20 NSC meeting revealed Morrison’s view that Australia had placated China too much in the past. His message was that Australia must hold its ground, stand up to China, push back when necessary and urged his senior ministers to resort to more assertive language in response to Beijing’s tactics.

The timing of this meeting was significant. It came the day after then foreign minister Marise Payne had given her explosive ­interview on the ABC Insiders program when she called for an international inquiry into the origins of Covid-19 that had arisen in the central Chinese province of Wuhan.

Payne targeted Beijing, saying the key issue was “transparency from China” – prompting a serious backlash against Australia.

The NSC meeting the next day was seen as a decisive moment; it began to map out a plan to address the calls for an inquiry into the virus along with an inter­national diplomatic campaign that would see Morrison engaging a range of heads of government.

Fresh details and insights into Morrison’s management of China’s coercion against Australia are contained in a new book, Plagued, by The Australian’s political editor Simon Benson and the paper’s chief political correspondent Geoff Chambers.

Drawing upon previously unreleased material involving the NSC, the national cabinet and Morrison’s international diplomacy, Benson and Chambers ­provide an inside account of Morrison’s policy and political struggle against the pandemic and China’s coercion during what they call “Australia’s two years of hell”.

The portrait painted in the Benson/Chambers book reveals Morrison driving his cabinet and government into a tougher line against Beijing, convinced the world was entering a dangerous geostrategic shift that most Western nations did not fully grasp. Morrison and his senior advisers are revealed to be even more alarmed about China than previously known, and focused at an early stage on the strategic ­implications of the pandemic.

The book reveals that at an ­earlier April 6 NSC meeting, the national security implications of Covid were laid out for the first time. The assessment from the nation’s intelligence community was that the pandemic would accelerate tensions in the region and that China could be expected to exploit the situation for its interests.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381245 (120841ZAUG22) Notable: China erupts over Wong’s ‘finger-pointing’ over blasts at Taiwan

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>>41654

>>41663

China erupts over Wong’s ‘finger-pointing’ over blasts at Taiwan

WILL GLASGOW - AUGUST 8, 2022

1/2

China has declared itself the “victim” after it launched unprecedented military aggression towards Taiwan, accusing Foreign Minister Penny Wong of “finger-pointing”.

After shooting 11 ballistic missiles over Taiwan and near Japan, China launched a “wolf warrior”-style attack on Canberra after Senator Wong joined her counterparts from the US and Japan to condemn Beijing’s actions in one of the most febrile regions in the world.

Chinese diplomats said China was “the victim”, told Australians to remember the war history of “Japan’s Fascists” and said it was the “US that should be condemned” in comments that have jolted the Albanese government’s already strained attempt to stabilise relations with Beijing.

The fiery comments were released as the Chinese People’s Liberation Army conducted the third day of its parade of missile, navy and air fighting capability in six locations surrounding Taiwan.

By Sunday, Taiwanese authorities indicated those war games were winding down, with flight and shipping patterns returning to pre-crisis patterns. But Chinese and Taiwanese warships were still shadowing each other late on Sunday night, according to reports.

A spokesman at the Chinese embassy in Canberra said its actions, blasted by Senator Wong on Friday, were justified.

“It is absolutely unacceptable for the finger-pointing on China’s justified actions to safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity. We firmly oppose and sternly condemn this,” said a spokesman at China’s embassy in Canberra.

The display of China’s formidable military build-up was launched after US house Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 82, visited Taiwan on a historic overnight trip. Beijing had tried to stop the trip, which it said was a breach of the US’s “One China” policy.

Taiwan said China’s military drills over the weekend appeared to simulate an attack on its main island, with the PLA flying more than 20 warplanes and sailing more than a dozen warships in the vicinity of the island.

“This morning, we continued to detect multiple waves of Chinese military aircraft, naval ships and drones operating in the Taiwan Strait area and conducting joint sea and air drills, simulating an attack on Taiwan proper and strikes on our naval vessels,” Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said on Sunday.

The live-fire drills included the firing of 11 ballistic missiles on Thursday, with some flying directly over Taiwan’s main island and other landing in waters near Japan, both unprecedented acts.

China’s People’s Liberation Army also flew drones around Japanese and Taiwanese islands, part of a sweeping display of military power that rattled the Indo-Pacific.

“We are in a new period,” said John Culver, a former CIA analyst who has studied the PLA for decades. Mr Culver said Beijing appeared to be following a playbook it used in 2012 in its East China Sea dispute with Japan and after its 2020 deadly border clash with India, using a crisis to permanently extend its military operations in contested territory. “I think this is the new normal,” he said.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381248 (120845ZAUG22) Notable: Opposition Defence Spokesman Andrew Hastie warns of ‘bleak outlook’ as China claims it’s the victim of provocation

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>>41663

Hastie warns of ‘bleak outlook’ as China claims it’s the victim of provocation

David Crowe - August 7, 2022

1/2

Australia will be “in the gun” in any conflict over the future of Taiwan and must accelerate its work on missiles, nuclear submarines, fuel stocks and ammunition stocks to prepare for greater pressure on national security, opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie has declared.

Warning of a “very bleak” strategic outlook for Australia, Hastie backed the government in its condemnation of Chinese military operations around Taiwan but called for faster action to deter threats.

“The point is that if there was a conflict around Taiwan, whether we’re involved directly or indirectly on the periphery we would certainly be in the gun,” Hastie told the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday morning.

“And that’s why we need to build our deterrent strength, that’s why we need to exercise exceptional political leadership, diplomatic leadership.”

China has fired missiles across Taiwanese airspace into the island’s territorial waters as well as into Japan’s exclusive economic zone in recent days, triggering sharp criticism from Foreign Minister Penny Wong and her counterparts from Japan and the United States on Saturday.

The United States called the moves “a significant escalation in China’s efforts to change the status quo”.

“They are provocative, irresponsible and raise the risk of miscalculation,” a White House spokesperson said. “They are also at odds with our long-standing goal of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, which is what the world expects.”

The Chinese embassy in Canberra responded late on Saturday by criticising the “finger-pointing” from the three countries and claiming it was the victim in the visit to Taiwan in recent days by United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“The incidents proves it is the US to be the biggest saboteur and destabiliser of peace in the Taiwan Strait and the biggest troublemaker to regional stability,” the embassy said in a statement posted on Saturday night.

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

“Instead of expressing sympathy and support to the victim, the Australian side has condemned the victim along with the perpetrators. This is completely putting the cart before the horse and reversing the right from the wrong.”

Hastie said it was important for Australia to talk to all sides including China and Taiwan but he emphasised the need for a stronger military to prepare for what he called a very bleak outlook.

In an important statement on bipartisan foreign policy, Hastie endorsed the One China policy that underpins the Australian stance on Taiwan’s future, but added that there were ways for Australia to support the island, including on trade.

Asked about the “strategic ambiguity” that Australia and its allies express when asked how they would respond to an attack on Taiwan, he said the stance allowed some flexibility in the response when there was a high risk of miscalculation.

“Allowing a little bit of space for both parties, or all parties involved, to give each other the benefit of the doubt is really, really important,” he said.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381255 (120853ZAUG22) Notable: Pacific Islands solidarity is a Biden priority, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman tells Solomon Islands

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>>41543

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

Byron Kaye - August 7, 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381258 (120856ZAUG22) Notable: U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman Tweet: Pleased to meet with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and cabinet members about U.S.-Solomon Islands cooperation to mitigate COVID-19, reduce poverty, enhance resilience, promote economic growth, and open the embassy in Honiara.

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>>41668

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

Pleased to meet with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and cabinet members about U.S.-Solomon Islands cooperation to mitigate COVID-19, reduce poverty, enhance resilience, promote economic growth, and open the embassy in Honiara.

https://twitter.com/DeputySecState/status/1556171801532792834

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381263 (120900ZAUG22) Notable: Deputy Secretary Sherman’s Remarks on the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal - Honiara, Solomon Islands, August 7 2022

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>>41668

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

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

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

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

HONIARA, SOLOMON ISLANDS

AUGUST 7, 2022

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

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381267 (120906ZAUG22) Notable: TRANSCRIPT: Ambassador Caroline Kennedy’s Remarks at the Solomon Scouts and Coastwatchers Memorial - Honiara, Solomon Islands, August 7 2022

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>>41543

U.S. Embassy Australia Tweets

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

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

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

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

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

Full remarks: t.co/QkgluCW5OI

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

—

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

August 7, 2022 – Honiara, Solomon Islands

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

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381274 (120911ZAUG22) Notable: Penny Wong urges calm after China criticises her response to aggression in Taiwan Strait

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>>41654

>>41663

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

BEN PACKHAM - AUGUST 8, 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Senator Wong said Australia’s and the region’s concerns were “around, particularly, the risks of escalating military activity”.

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

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

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

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

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381276 (120913ZAUG22) Notable: Peter Dutton urges Albanese Government to acquire military 'deterrent' as he warns of conflict amid China-Taiwan tensions

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>>41654

Peter Dutton urges Albanese Government to acquire military 'deterrent' as he warns of conflict amid China-Taiwan tensions

Peter Dutton has urged the Albanese Government to acquire a military “deterrent” as he warned of a potential conflict in the region amid aggressive Chinese military drills.

Tyrone Clarke - August 8, 2022

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has lashed China for its “completely over the top” reaction to Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan trip and has urged the Australian government to “provide a deterrent” for potential regional conflict.

China has ramped up military exercises in the Taiwan Strait and East China Sea following the US Speaker of the House’s visit to Taipei.

The People’s Liberation Army launched five high-powered missiles across the strait with one entering Japan’s exclusive economic zone over the weekend.

In the wake of the military build-up, Mr Dutton also welcomed the Albanese Government’s openness to purchasing nuclear-powered submarines to fill a potentially decades long capability gap.

“It’s absolutely essential that we acquire the capability to provide a deterrent,” Mr Dutton said.

“We’re an island nation in the middle of the pacific and we have a particular responsible not just to our own country but to keep peace within our region as well.”

Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said the government would prioritise “strategic need” over local manufacturing after Labor launched a major defence capability review last week.

Mr Marles told the Nine newspapers that acquiring the nuclear submarines early was an option, but the extent of the capability gap needed to be determined first.

“To the extent a capability gap exists when we determine how quickly we can get the nuclear-powered submarines, we need to be looking at every option about how we plug that gap,” he said.

“The point is that we must have an evolving and improving submarine capability in this country from this day forth. And that necessitates plugging the gap. And there are lots of ways one can do that.”

China launched its military drills on Thursday following Ms Pelosi’s visit to Taipei earlier in the week.

Beijing also sanctioned the US Speaker in response to what the government described as a “egregious provocation”.

Mr Dutton praised Ms Pelosi’s visit and said it exposed China’s “disproportionate” reaction.

“Yes, she should have (gone) and I’m pleased that she did because the reaction from China is completely over the top,” Mr Dutton said at a press conference in Brisbane on Monday.

“And it’s disproportionate to the visit by a Speaker of the House of Representatives in the world’s biggest democracy to visit an independent country.”

While supporting the speaker’s decision, Mr Dutton said he would not partake in a similar “political stunt” but warned that China’s military build-up was reminiscent of 1930s Europe.

“Nobody’s arguing for there to be a breaking of the current arrangement, but at the same time the Chinese government’s reaction under President Xi has been wildly disproportionate," he said.

“This has been entirely predictable, China is amassing nuclear weapons and when we say that we’re in a period similar to the 1930s that is not made up, it’s not exaggerated.”

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/defence-and-foreign-affairs/peter-dutton-urges-albanese-government-to-acquire-military-deterrent-as-he-warns-of-conflict-amid-chinataiwan-tensions/news-story/69f4364b4e6ec5819e5eb3947ce8abc1

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381277 (120916ZAUG22) Notable: ‘Calm down’: WA Premier Mark McGowan has weighed in on Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan and issued a stern warning to China

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>>41654

‘Calm down’: WA Premier Mark McGowan issues stern warning to China

Outspoken West Australian Premier Mark McGowan has weighed in on Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan and issued a stern warning to China.

Angie Raphael - August 8, 2022

China’s aggression after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan was “a bit over the top”, according to West Australian Premier Mark McGowan, who urged Beijing to “calm down”.

Ms Pelosi recently became the most senior US official to visit Taipei in decades and met with President Tsai Ing-wen, but it sparked outrage from China that does not recognise Taiwan as a nation.

Mr McGowan repeatedly clashed with the Morrison government – and especially former Defence Minister Peter Dutton – over their rhetoric towards China, which is WA’s biggest trading partner.

While he refused to say whether Ms Pelosi’s visit was appropriate, Mr McGowan said he was “obviously” concerned about tensions in the region.

“The reaction has been a bit over the top and I think there needs to be a calm down on the part of China,” Mr McGowan told reporters on Monday.

“I don’t know the circumstances as to why she went there … but I don’t think the reaction should have been as strong as it was.”

Since Ms Pelosi’s visit last week, the Chinese military has conducted sea and air exercises to show its ability to launch an attack on Taiwan.

Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong has condemned China’s actions.

Meanwhile, Mr McGowan has backed WA Defence Industries Minister Paul Papalia in pushing for a greater military presence in the state.

It comes after retired Air Chief Marshal Sir Angus Houston and former defence minister Stephen Smith were chosen to review the Australian Defence Force’s capabilities.

Mr McGowan said having more army and air force teams in WA was appropriate “just in case in the long-term future something happened”.

“There’s huge amounts of army infrastructure and army units based in Victoria,” the Premier said.

“I would have thought that a more sensible deployment of those resources would be to WA.

“It’s not as though we’re going to be attacked by New Zealand.”

He then joked: “Well, maybe the All Blacks, but that’s about it … and they’re pretty fierce.”

Mr McGowan said he preferred most bases to be in Perth and the state’s south, but they should have “the capacity to deploy quickly” to the state’s north if required.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/breaking-news/calm-down-wa-premier-mark-mcgowan-issues-stern-warning-to-china/news-story/1a5c207498e0bec73d6c047bea135397

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381293 (120935ZAUG22) Notable: Myanmar envoy becomes 4th ambassador to die in China in less than a year - Myanmar's ambassador to China died suddenly in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming, according to an obituary in Myanmar state media and diplomatic sources in Beijing. The obituary for Ambassador U Myo Thant Pe by Myanmar's foreign ministry in a state newspaper did not specify his cause of death.

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Myanmar envoy becomes 4th ambassador to die in China in less than a year

Reuters / scmp.com - August 8, 2022

Myanmar's ambassador to China died suddenly on Sunday in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming, according to an obituary in Myanmar state media and diplomatic sources in Beijing.

The obituary for Ambassador U Myo Thant Pe by Myanmar's foreign ministry in a state newspaper on Monday did not specify his cause of death.

Diplomats in Beijing and a Chinese language Myanmar media report said the cause was likely to be a heart attack.

U Myo Thant Pe was last seen on Saturday meeting a local official in the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan which borders Myanmar, according to a local news report.

The Myanmar embassy in China did not immediately respond to a query for comment.

U Myo Thant Pe was appointed ambassador to China in 2019 and stayed in his post after Myanmar's military took power in a coup in February 2021.

He was the fourth ambassador to die in China in the past year.

German ambassador Jan Hecker, 54, died in September, less than two weeks into his Beijing posting. Ukraine ambassador Serhiy Kamyshev, 65, died in February during or shortly after a visit to a Beijing Winter Olympics venue.

Philippines ambassador Jose Santiago "Chito" Sta. Romana, 74, died in quarantine in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui in April.

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3188124/myanmar-envoy-becomes-4th-ambassador-die-china-less-year

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/myanmar-ambassador-china-died-sunday-sources-2022-08-08/

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381298 (120939ZAUG22) Notable: Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare did not attend a weekend dawn service for a key World War Two battle organised by the United States, with local media reporting it as a "snub"

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>>41671

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

Kirsty Needham - August 8, 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381300 (120940ZAUG22) Notable: Solomons leader in US memorial 'snub' - Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare was due to give a speech at a memorial service for the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal that was attended by US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and ministers and officials from Japan, Australia and New Zealand on Sunday, but he did not appear

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>>41676

Solomons leader in US memorial 'snub'

Staff Writers / Reuters - 8 August 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381326 (121008ZAUG22) Notable: PM SNUBS US - PRIME MINISTER Manasseh Sogavare appears to have snubbed the delegations of the United States of America and other allies by being absent from the dawn service commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the Landing of the Marines on Guadalcanal

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>>41676

PM SNUBS US

Alfred Sasako - August 8, 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

She denied this was the case.

“Some of these things take time,” Hon. Sherman said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381331 (121010ZAUG22) Notable: Man in custody after Bloody Ridge stabbing - A young man is in police custody after stabbing a Japanese military personnel attending a commemoration service of the Battle of Guadalcanal at Bloody Ridge

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>>41676

Man in custody after Bloody Ridge stabbing

solomonstarnews.com - August 8, 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Unfortunately, the community and our task-force’s effort is just a waste,” Mr Ramo said.

Bystanders claimed that the young man is cognitively impaired.

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

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

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

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

“I am really sorry for what happen.

“We are here to promote peace.

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

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

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

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381336 (121013ZAUG22) Notable: POLICE INVESTIGATE BLOODY RIDGE INCIDENT - The Royal Solomon Island Police Force (RSIPF) has launched an investigation into an incident, which occurred at the commemoration ceremony of the 80th Anniversary of the Battle on Guadalcanal at Bloody Ridge on Monday 8 August

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>>41676

>>41679

POLICE INVESTIGATE BLOODY RIDGE INCIDENT

Royal Solomon Islands Police Force - Aug 08 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381341 (121020ZAUG22) Notable: The Battle of Guadalcanal - EIGHTY years ago today (August 7th 2022), thousands of U.S. Marines landed on Guadalcanal and on the islands of Tulagi and Gavutu-Tanambogo. According to visiting US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, it was the first major Allied land offensive in the Pacific theatre, and a proving ground for the United States Marine Corps’ new methods of amphibious warfare.

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>>41487

>>41670

The Battle of Guadalcanal

Sol Star News - August 7, 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381344 (121024ZAUG22) Notable: Caroline Kennedy meets children of Solomon Islanders who saved JFK’s life - New US ambassador to Australia was in Honiara to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal

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>>41671

Caroline Kennedy meets children of Solomon Islanders who saved JFK’s life

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

Michael Field - 8 Aug 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gasa died in 2005. Kumana died in 2014.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381350 (121030ZAUG22) Notable: Guadalcanal troops remembered, New Zealand Defence Minister in talks with US and Solomons

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>>41671

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

Torika Tokalau, Aug 08 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381353 (121032ZAUG22) Notable: Ambassador Kennedy thanked Solomon Scouts who saved her father - The selfless service and sacrifice of the Solomon Scouts and Coastwatchers were acknowledged during the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal

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>>41671

Ambassador Kennedy thanked Solomon Scouts who saved her father

Solomon Star News - August 8, 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381363 (121041ZAUG22) Notable: Sherman visits South Pacific to 'sabotage' region's growing ties with China - GT staff reporters - globaltimes.cn

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>>41543

Sherman visits South Pacific to 'sabotage' region's growing ties with China

GT staff reporters - Aug 07, 2022

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US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman continued her visit to South Pacific countries and met with Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare in Honiara on Sunday, in what Chinese experts call a sinister attempt to sabotage China's growing ties with Pacific island countries as part of Washington's broad containment strategy against China.

The US' attempt to stir up tension in the Asia-Pacific region, including the South Pacific, in an attempt to contain China's rise will not be endorsed by the South Pacific countries, as the countries will try to avoid being reduced to chess pieces in the game between the great powers, Chinese experts noted.

During the meeting on Sunday, the two sides discussed bilateral cooperation including provision of COVID-19 vaccines and poverty reduction. They also discussed "developments affecting regional and global security," according to US official statement.

Earlier on Sunday, at a WWII memorial event in Honiara, Sherman rebuked certain governments that she said sought to "dismantle the rule-based international order," according to Reuters, which suggested that China was the target of her remarks.

Although Sherman did not further elaborate on the "developments affecting regional security" or "governments dismantling international rules," the statement was clearly directed at China and is another part of the US containment strategy against China in the Pacific, Yu Lei, chief research fellow at the research center for Pacific Island countries at Liaocheng University in East China's Shandong Province, told the Global Times on Sunday.

However, the US should pay attention to the fact that the rules that should be followed are those of the United Nations and not those of former colonial rulers, Yu said.

This high-level delegation of the US government is using the commemoration of a historical event and the friendship in their fight together against Japanese aggression in an attempt to re-establish emotional ties with the South Pacific island countries, Chen Hong, president of the Chinese Association of Australian Studies and director of the Australian Studies Centre at East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Sherman's visit reflects the panic in the White House over the security pact signed recently between China and the Solomon Islands, observers noted.

The visit exposed the US' sinister motive of comparing today's China to imperial Japan in the past in order to pit Pacific island nations against China, Chen said.

"The US has long had a plan - to mess up China's neighboring regions and the Asia-Pacific region, including the South Pacific, with the real intention of containing China's rise. However, this strategy of the US is difficult to achieve, especially in the long run," Yu said.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381367 (121044ZAUG22) Notable: ‘I will continue killing foreigners’: soldier who shot dead unarmed Australians treated as ‘returning hero’ by Taliban - Hekmatullah, who killed three Australian soldiers, is living in a heavily protected luxury Kabul home after being freed from prison

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‘I will continue killing foreigners’: soldier who shot dead unarmed Australians treated as ‘returning hero’ by Taliban

Exclusive: Hekmatullah, who killed three Australian soldiers, is living in a heavily protected luxury Kabul home after being freed from prison

Ben Doherty - 8 Aug 2022

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Hekmatullah, the rogue Afghan soldier who killed three unarmed Australian diggers in Afghanistan a decade ago, is living in a luxury home in the capital Kabul, treated as a “returning hero” by the Taliban who released him from prison.

He has said he does not regret killing Australian soldiers, and has vowed he would again kill Australians, or anyone who opposes the Taliban.

“If I am released I will continue killing foreigners,” Hekmatullah told an official of the former Afghan government when his release was being negotiated.

“I will continue killing Australians and I will kill you as well because you are a puppet of foreigners,” he said.

“I am among my brothers, we will be free, Afghanistan will be free. We will kill you.”

Since returning to Afghanistan, Hekmatullah has reportedly been housed in the former diplomatic quarter of Wazir Akbar Khan. He lives in a heavily secured property in a district adjacent to the clandestine former home of Ayman al-Zawahiri, the former al-Qaida leader assassinated eight days ago by a US drone strike as he stood on the balcony of his villa.

Hekmatullah’s release from prison in 2020 was fiercely resisted by Australia, with the government previously conceding it did not know where he had been since being freed.

Of 5,000 prisoners the Taliban wanted released as part of peace deal negotiations with the US, Hekmatullah was one of six terrorists that western governments fiercely resisted being pardoned, because they had either killed unarmed foreign nationals, were unrepentant about their crimes, or had vowed to commit further acts of violent terrorism.

A former senior official in the democratically elected government of Afghanistan – overthrown in August 2021 – has confirmed to the Guardian Hekmatullah’s return to Afghanistan.

“He was welcomed back to Kabul as a hero … with a house, car, guards, an amnesty for his crimes, his expenses are being paid for. He is being treated as a hero.”

The Guardian has independently confirmed Hekmatullah’s repatriation to Afghanistan. Family members of the Australian soldiers killed have said they have not been updated on his whereabouts.

On 29 August 2012, at Wahab, a patrol base in Afghanistan’s Uruzgan province, Hekmatullah, then an Afghan National Army sergeant, drew his M16 and fired more than 30 rounds from close range at Australian troops. He killed three: L/Cpl Stjepan Milosevic, 40, Spr James Martin, 21, and Pte Robert Poate, 23.

Hekmatullah fled the base into the Baluchi valley and was designated a “high-value” target for the Australian SAS in Afghanistan within 24 hours. He was the sole target of a controversial SAS mission to the village of Darwan in Uruzgan province on 11 September 2012, based on – ultimately flawed – intelligence he was hiding in the village.

The mission was the subject of extensive evidence presented during the long-running defamation trial brought by the former SAS corporal Ben Roberts-Smith, who denies all wrongdoing in relation to an allegation he participated in the murder of an Afghan national during that mission.

Two other Australian SAS soldiers have also been accused of unlawfully killing Afghan nationals during the raid – allegations they deny.

It was not until February 2013 that Hekmatullah was arrested after being found hiding in Pakistan’s lawless border region. Charged, tried and convicted of three counts of murder, Hekmatullah was sentenced to death, but served only seven years in Bagram prison before being moved to Qatar in 2020, where he lived under house arrest.

After the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, he returned to Afghanistan, where he now lives in Kabul.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381386 (121056ZAUG22) Notable: ‘Do you want your children dead?’: widow stands up to Cambodia evil - Bou Rachana can still hear the threat against the life of her children hanging in the air – a threat made openly on Australian soil by ­visiting Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen

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>>41565

‘Do you want your children dead?’: widow stands up to Cambodia evil

Bou Rachana can still hear the threat against the life of her children hanging in the air – a threat made openly on Australian soil by ­visiting Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

STEPHEN RICE - August 9, 2022

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Bou Rachana can still hear the threat against the life of her children hanging in the air – a threat made openly, on Australian soil, in a rambling, bile-spitting rant by ­visiting Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

The woman who has now become a symbol of resistance to the corrupt Hun Sen regime had, in March 2018, been in Australia for only two weeks, seeking sanctuary after the assassination of her husband, political activist Kem Ley.

The revered government critic was gunned down in broad daylight in a Phnom Penh cafe – a killing his widow laid squarely, and publicly, at the feet of Hun Sen himself.

The former Khmer Rouge commander, who was visiting Australia for a meeting of ASEAN, was giving a speech at the Shangri-La Hotel in Sydney when he was told that Rachana was among a group of protesters gathered in nearby Hyde Park.

“Kem Ley’s wife is here,” Hun Sen announced. “Now, madam, please think a little – in your role as a mother, do you want your children dead?”

The naked threat did not surprise Rachana; but the fact the dictator would utter it while a guest of the Australian government – without recrimination – was ­chilling.

“I wondered – I’m in Australia now; how is he still making such statements in Australia?” Rach­ana says. “Of course, I was upset.”

Rachana, now granted asylum, lives in Melbourne with her five sons. The youngest, six-year-old Virakboth, was not yet born when his father was killed. Rachana was then five months pregnant and thinks her son’s autism was caused by the ordeal she went through.

“He received trauma through me during that time, so yes, I strongly believe there is a connection,” she says.

In the days before his killing, Kem Ley had given interviews about a report by human rights ­organisation Global Witness that detailed the vast wealth – estimated at well over $200m – amassed by Hun Sen and his family.

Among those were Hun Sen’s playboy nephew, Hun To, a frequent visitor to Melbourne alleged in federal parliament to have been implicated in a heroin and money-laundering syndicate targeting Australia.

On the morning of his death, Kem Ley and Rachana had been out for breakfast. Kem Ley went on to meet some contacts at a ­petrol station cafe.

“It was only about five minutes after he left, one of my customers – because at the time I had a small business selling clothes – he drove past my house and told me there was a shooting and it was my husband who was shot.

“I didn’t know what to do so I walked to the place. I could see him lying in a pool of blood. I tried to push open the door, but they wouldn’t let me in. So I had to just stand outside, helplessly, looking through the window like everyone else.”

“I lost my senses – my mind was just focused on his body.”

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381391 (121100ZAUG22) Notable: Israeli Ex-minister Gets Probation for Assisting Malka Leifer in Australia Sex Abuse Case - Former Health Minister Litzman pled guilty to pressuring ministry employees to alter psychiatric evaluations, in a bid to help Leifer avoid extradition to Australia. He resigned from parliament to avoid a harsher sentence

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>>41603

Israeli Ex-minister Gets Probation for Assisting Malka Leifer in Australia Sex Abuse Case

Former Health Minister Litzman pled guilty to pressuring ministry employees to alter psychiatric evaluations, in a bid to help Leifer avoid extradition to Australia. He resigned from parliament to avoid a harsher sentence

Chen Maanit, Yael Freidson and The Associated Press - Aug 8, 2022

An Israeli court sentenced a former health minister to probation and a fine on Monday for obstructing justice in connection with the protracted extradition case against a former teacher accused of sexually abusing her students in Australia.

Yaakov Litzman, a former health minister and longtime ally of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, resigned from parliament earlier this year after striking a plea deal with prosecutors. He was accused of pressuring ministry employees to alter psychiatric evaluations to make it appear that Malka Leifer was unfit to stand trial.

Leifer was extradited to Australia in January 2021 after a six-year legal battle that strained relations between the two countries and angered Australia’s Jewish community. Leifer has pleaded not guilty to the charges and her trial is expected to start later this month.

Litzman was health minister during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic but resigned in April 2020 in the face of a public uproar over his handling of the crisis. He was charged with fraud and breach of trust earlier this year, but pleaded guilty to the breach of trust charge in the Leifer case.

In Monday’s hearing, the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court upheld the plea deal and sentenced Litzman to eight months of probation and a 3,000-shekel ($900) fine.

He and Leifer are members of the country’s insular ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. Last year, then-Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit said Litzman had used his position “to advance the interests of private individuals.”

Litzman's lawyers, Jacques Chen and Noa Firer, said that the former minister “takes responsibility before an Israeli court,” and argued that it was a “very borderline case,” highlighting the more serious charges that were dropped.

As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped charges that Litzman used his influence to prevent a friend’s deli from being shut down over health concerns.

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel said the court’s acceptance of the “lenient and shameful” plea deal erodes public trust and law enforcement’s ability to perform its duty.

Litzman resigned from the Knesset so that the court would not have to determine whether moral turpitude attaches to his actions, and a hearing on the matter will be held only should he return to the Knesset. The same approach was taken by Shas Chairman Arye Dery, who resigned from the Knesset before a plea deal in his case was reached, and he was convicted of tax offenses without turpitude being attached.

Under the plea agreement, another case was closed in which he was suspected of trying to influence professionals in the Health Ministry not to close a delicatessen belonging to a confidant of his.

The Health Ministry sought to revoke the delicatessen’s production license, among other reasons due to listeria bacteria found in the deli’s salads. The indictment draft claimed that Litzman, a regular patron of the delicatessen, who was also friendly with the owner, demanded that the district food department allow the establishment to remain open. This despite the professionals making it clear to him that removing the restrictions would constitute a “true hazard to the public.”

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2022-08-08/ty-article/.premium/israeli-ex-minister-gets-probation-for-assisting-malka-leifer-in-australia-sex-abuse-case/00000182-7e0c-da33-ab8a-7fdda1b50000

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381397 (121103ZAUG22) Notable: Litzman gets minor fine, no jail for shielding alleged pedophile Leifer from justice - Lenient sentence comes as part of plea deal; ex-health minister has admitted to unsuccessfully working to undermine extradition of accused sexual predator Malka Leifer to Australia

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>>41603

Litzman gets minor fine, no jail for shielding alleged pedophile Leifer from justice

Lenient sentence comes as part of plea deal; ex-health minister has admitted to unsuccessfully working to undermine extradition of accused sexual predator Malka Leifer to Australia

TOI STAFF - 8 August 2022

A Jerusalem court handed down an extremely light sentence to former minister Yaakov Litzman on Monday, as part of a plea deal that allowed him to avoid jail time. In exchange, Litzman admitted to abusing his powers in a failed bid to thwart the extradition of a suspected pedophile wanted in Australia.

Under the deal, the former United Torah Judaism party leader pleaded guilty to breach of trust, but prosecutors dropped an obstruction of justice charge, allowing him to avoid a moral turpitude enhancement that would have banned him from politics for several years.

The ex-health minister was accused of using his position to protect Malka Leifer, a former principal of an Orthodox girls’ school in Melbourne, who fled to Israel when accused of sexually assaulting minors.

Instead of jail time, Litzman was given a fine of NIS 3,000 ($907) and an eight-month suspended sentence, which will only go into effect if he commits the same crime again within the next three years.

Last week, Litzman resigned from the Knesset as part of the deal, after holding his seat for 23 years. He promised to remain involved in politics.

According to the court ruling, Jerusalem District Attorney Danny Vitman argued at the sentencing hearing that the severity of Litzman’s actions was clear, but added that “there were no financial or personal interests” that motivated Litzman, and that “his actions did not cause damage.”

Litzman’s attorney Jack Chen said that the former lawmaker “took responsibility for his actions,” and defended him: “Out of 600,000 inquiries that he handled, on this occasion, there was a failure of judgment.”

The Movement for Quality Government decried the deal when it was signed in January, calling it “shameful” and noting that it came on the heels of Shas party leader Aryeh Deri’s tax offenses plea deal earlier that month.

“We will all pay a price for this conduct,” they warned.

Charges were dropped relating to a second case in which Litzman was accused of preventing the closure of a deli cited for health violations. The deli was close to Litzman’s home and he was acquainted with its owners.

In the Leifer case, the former minister was accused of pressuring employees in the Health Ministry to alter the conclusions of psychiatric evaluations that had deemed the accused sex offender fit for extradition.

Leifer was eventually extradited to Australia last year, nearly 13 years after she fled Melbourne, as allegations against her were coming to light and after a six-year legal process, during which a court determined that she had feigned mental illness in order to avoid facing justice. She is now facing trial in Australia for sexually abusing girls at a Jewish school.

Elected to the Knesset in 1999, Litzman was the de facto head of the Health Ministry for more than a decade, serving as either deputy or full health minister from 2009 until mid-2020.

Last year, Litzman stepped down as chair of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party after 18 years at the helm, with Moshe Gafni taking the lead.

Yaakov Tessler, a member of the Vizhnitz Hasidic stream, replaced Litzman in the Knesset.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/litzman-gets-minor-fine-no-jail-for-shielding-alleged-pedophile-leifer-from-justice/

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381398 (121105ZAUG22) Notable: Malka Leifer case: Court endorses suspended sentence for Litzman - Former minister and United Torah Judaism MK Ya’acov Litzman's sentence will be eight-months in prison and an NIS 3,000 fine

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>>41603

Malka Leifer case: Court endorses suspended sentence for Litzman

Former minister and United Torah Judaism MK Ya’acov Litzman's sentence will be eight-months in prison and an NIS 3,000 fine.

YONAH JEREMY BOB - AUGUST 8, 2022

Former minister and UTJ MK Ya’acov Litzman was sentenced to an eight-month suspended jail sentence as well as a NIS 3,000 fine for breach of public trust in the Malka Leifer case.

Litzman had been suspected of having used his influence when he was health minister to prioritize the interests of private individuals over the needs of the general public. He served in that capacity from 2015-17 and from 2019-20.

He allegedly prolonged the delay in the extradition to Australia of accused pedophile Malka Leifer, and was said to have tried to prevent the closure of a food establishment that he visited.

The convicted legislator is suspected of pressuring the Jerusalem District psychiatrist at the time into falsely stating that Leifer was mentally unfit to be extradited to Australia to stand trial. She was eventually deported in January 2021 to Melbourne, where she faces 74 charges of child sexual abuse.

In the second case, which was closed by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Monday as part of the plea deal, Litzman had been suspected of helping the food establishment Beit Israel remain in operation despite a Health Ministry order that it be closed.

A bribery charge originally included in the indictment was dropped in May 2021.

“In these two cases, Litzman took advantage of his political and ministerial power to advance the interests of private individuals,” Mandelblit said in the May 2021 statement.

Litzman’s office responded in January that it “believed fully that he is innocent, and welcomed the decision to drop the bribery charge. Litzman’s door is always open, and he will continue to serve as a trusted servant to Israeli citizens.”

What was the Malka Leifer case?

Litzman eventually quit the last Knesset before his court hearing, which avoided a situation where the prosecution would seek a finding of moral turpitude against him.

The Justice Ministry declined repeated requests to explain its basis for closing the restaurant affair.

Multiple pro-women and anti-corruption groups attacked the plea deal as being too lenient.

Labor MK Gilad Kariv said in January that the deal, which will apply for three years, should have included a finding of moral turpitude to discourage future offenders, even if Litzman quits the Knesset.

Other charges against him were dropped in January.

In parallel to the deal and the negotiations, Litzman announced in December that he would not run for the Knesset again due to his age, 73.

In May 2021, former attorney-general Avichai Mandelblit announced that he would likely indict Litzman.

Mandelblit was due to retire only days before the Litzman plea deal was announced, and had been reaching a number of deals to “clear his desk” in the lead-up to that date.

https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-714194

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381401 (121106ZAUG22) Notable: Wong calls for restraint as China extends military drills around Taiwan by sending fighter aircraft to simulate air-to-ship strikes

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>>41654

Wong calls for restraint as China extends military drills around Taiwan

David Crowe - August 8, 2022

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China will extend its military drills around Taiwan by sending fighter aircraft to simulate air-to-ship strikes after it denounced the “finger-pointing” from regional democracies urging it to halt the exercises to prevent the danger of a miscalculation.

The Chinese military command said the operations would focus on “anti-submarine and air-to-ship strikes” after the scheduled end to its live-fire exercises, stepping up its show of force in the worst crisis in the Taiwan Strait in decades.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong called again on Monday for “restraint and de-escalation” from China after four days of sea and air operations around Taiwan, as she held talks in Canberra with visiting United States deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman.

Addressing Sherman in a meeting in Parliament House, the foreign minister said Australia viewed the US as “indispensable” to ensuring stability in the region.

“We’re very focused on a region that’s stable, prosperous and respectful of sovereignty, and you’re indispensable to that, the United States is indispensable to that,” she said.

Sherman criticised the extension of the Chinese operations as another sign of the “completely disproportionate response” to the visit to Taiwan last week by the US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“Nobody else is escalating it. The Taiwanese are not escalating, the United States is not escalating, Australia is not, Japan is not – the only country that’s escalating this situation is China,” she said on ABC’s 7:30 on Monday night.

Asked if Chinese president Xi Jinping meant to blockade Taiwan, Sherman said: “I think there’s no doubt that Xi Jinping means to, by whatever means, take Taiwan. He has said as much because he says Taiwan is part of China. And of course the United States stands by our One China policy – we do not support Taiwan independence but we do believe neither side should take unilateral steps to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, and that’s exactly what the PRC is doing.”

China has sent warships, fighter jets and drones into six areas around Taiwan and fired 11 ballistic missiles across the area, with some landing in waters in Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

While China claimed its Nanjing destroyer had sailed into Taiwanese territorial waters, the Taiwan Ministry of National Defence rejected that claim as an example of “misinformation” from the Peoples’ Liberation Army.

“No [PLA] vessel has entered our territorial waters since August 4 when the PLA drill started,” the ministry said. It said it had detected 14 PLA vessels and 66 PLA aircraft in the region around Taiwan on Sunday alone.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381658 (121248ZAUG22) Notable: United States, Australia will 'watch very carefully' as China-Solomons pact takes shape, says US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman

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>>41543

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

James Elton and James Glenday - 8 August 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

US to keep eagle eye on Solomons pact

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

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

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

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

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

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

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381728 (121308ZAUG22) Notable: Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare's absence at commemoration of the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal a ‘disgrace’: Opposition Leader Matthew Wale

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>>41676

PMs absence at G80 event a ‘disgrace’: Wale

Sol Star News - August 8, 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He said this is a diplomatic embarrassment.

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

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

– Opposition Press

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

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381741 (121311ZAUG22) Notable: Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare's government wants to delay election due to 2023 Pacific Games

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Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare's government wants to delay election due to Pacific Games

Stephen Dziedzic - 9 August 2022

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A leading Solomon Islands opposition MP has called on Australia to offer funding to try and ensure the country can hold elections next year.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare's government has said it wants to extend parliament until after it hosts the Pacific Games in November 2023, for which China has donated a stadium and other sporting venues that are being built by Chinese companies.

Australia will be the second largest contributor to the games, after Pacific Minister Pat Conroy announced in Solomon Islands that Australia would contribute almost $17 million towards the landmark event.

The United States and other Pacific nations have expressed concern over Solomon Islands' security ties with China, which they say have regional implications.

China has also sought to strike a sweeping regional trade and security deal with Pacific islands, including governance exchanges.

The Prime Minister's office said in July that Solomon Islands did not have the resources to host the Pacific Games and hold an election in 2023.

National elections are held every four years, and parliament is due to be dissolved in May 2023.

Vote on delay likely next month

A bill submitted to parliament and endorsed by the speaker on Monday seeks to alter the constitution and suspend the dissolution of parliament until December 31, 2023, officials said.

An election would need to be held within four months.

A change to the constitution requires two-thirds of parliament to support it.

It is likely to be voted on next month.

Solomon Islands MP Peter Kenilorea Jr told the ABC Australia should offer to fund elections in 2023, to help deal with Mr Sogavare's concerns about having enough resources to have an election and host the Pacific Games.

"I would like to see similar investments in our democracy and elections, including signals to the government in terms of quelling the argument being made there is no money for elections," he said.

"This is something that I would also like to see our partners – particularly democracy loving countries – to step up and send those messages.

"Australia has been supportive of Solomon Islands elections historically, but I think those messages and signals need to be made louder and be made known to us in the public as well … while sports are important, so are our democratic processes."

Mr Kenilorea warned that deferring elections could provoke more civil unrest.

"This is very much in the hearts and minds of Solomon Islanders and the opposition to it is overwhelming — it's perhaps universal — in terms of opposition to an extension," he said.

"People just see it as an extension of a corrupt government, so this is something people can't swallow really … definitely there is a high risk of a flare up again of violence, based on these kinds of moves."

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381778 (121321ZAUG22) Notable: Video: Pacific Marines Tweet: #Guadalcanal #Commemoration #G80 - @USMC Lt. Gen. Steven R. Rudder, commander, @PacificMarines, provides remarks at the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal commemoration ceremony at the Guadalcanal American Memorial in the #SolomonIslands.

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>>41671

Pacific Marines Tweet

#Guadalcanal #Commemoration #G80

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

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

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381794 (121326ZAUG22) Notable: U.S. Marine Corps Facebook Post: Yesterday, Aug. 7, marked the 80th anniversary of the beginning of America’s first amphibious invasion of WWII – the Battle of Guadalcanal. #Marines landed on Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Florida in the southern Solomon Islands, with the objective of capturing a key Japanese chokepoint. Major battles by land, air, and sea, led to Japanese retreat and Allied control over crucial airfields. Victory during Guadalcanal allowed the Allied Forces to seize the strategic initiative in the Pacific theater. #USMCHistory #SemperFi

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>>41487

>>41671

Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post

August 9, 2022

“The bended knee is not a tradition of our Corps.”

-General Alexander Vandegrift

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

—

U.S. Marine Corps

August 9, 2022

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

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

#USMCHistory #SemperFi

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

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381805 (121328ZAUG22) Notable: China escalates attack on Penny Wong, as Beijing tries to rewrite Australia’s ‘One China’ policy

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>>41654

China escalates attack on Penny Wong, as Beijing tries to rewrite Australia’s ‘One China’ policy

WILL GLASGOW - AUGUST 9, 2022

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Beijing has accused Penny Wong of violating the United Nations Charter and undermining regional peace and stability, after the Australian Foreign Minister joined her US and Japanese counterparts to condemn China’s firing of 11 ballistic missiles at Taiwan.

In an emphatic dismissal of Senator Wong’s call to lower the temperature of the debate, Beijing said the new Australian government was creating further “obstacles” in its already strained relationship with China.

Repeating words used in its rhetorical attacks on the Morrison government, China’s Foreign Ministry said Australia was entirely to blame for the breakdown — further jolting Canberra’s post-election attempts to stabilise the relationship.

“In the past few years, China-Australia relations have experienced serious difficulties for reasons caused by the Australian side,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.

The Xi administration spokesman said the Albanese government was now worsening the situation by condemning China’s military activity.

“The Australian side, in disregard of facts, have wantonly criticised China’s legitimate, justified and lawful measures to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Mr Wang said in Beijing late on Monday.

The comments follow a “Wolf Warrior”-style eruption from China’s Canberra based diplomats, who accused Senator Wong of “finger-pointing” and instructed Australians to remember the war history of “Japan’s Fascists”.

Speaking from his Beijing podium, the Foreign Ministry spokesman’s comments were less incendiary but demonstrated China’s ongoing attempt to rewrite Australia’s “One China” policy.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said Australia, the United States and Japan had misrepresented and distorted the “one-China principle”, Beijing’s formulation for relations with Taiwan.

“What some individual countries have done is essentially an attempt to misrepresent and distort the one-China principle. This is in effect challenging the basic principles of international law and basic norms governing international relations,” said the Foreign Ministry spokesman.

“This is also a challenge to the post-WWII world order,” he added.

Since switching its formal recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1972, Australia has had a “One China” policy, distinct from Beijing’s “one-China principle”.

Canberra’s 50 year old policy acknowledges that China has a claim over Taiwan, but allows for Australia to have substantial unofficial relations with Taipei.

Australia has always insisted that any change to the “status quo” must be peaceful. That policy — shared by Japan, the United States and most wealthy countries — has allowed Taiwan’s 23 million people to create a vibrant self-ruled democracy with a dynamic economy.

But — in a major concession to Beijing — Australia’s policy also says that Taiwan is not allowed to formally declare its independence.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381816 (121332ZAUG22) Notable: Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin’s Regular Press Conference on August 8, 2022

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>>41654

>>41699

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin’s Regular Press Conference on August 8, 2022

Phoenix TV: On August 5, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa released a joint statement after holding a trilateral strategic dialogue. “There is no change in the respective one China policies, where applicable, and basic positions on Taiwan of Australia, Japan, or the United States”, they said in the statement. Similar wording was found in the statement released earlier by the G7 foreign ministers and the EU High Representative last week. What’s China’s comment?

Wang Wenbin: The one-China principle is an established international consensus and widely accepted basic norm in international relations. It constitutes part of the post-WWII world order and is affirmed in UNGA Resolution 2758. It is the political foundation for the establishment and development of diplomatic relations between China and countries in the world. The UN Secretariat stressed in legal opinions that “the United Nations considers ‘Taiwan’ as a province of China with no separate status”. Certain countries have unilaterally added preconditions and provisos to the one-China policy in an attempt to distort, fudge and hollow out their one-China commitment. This is illegal, null and void. China is firmly against this.

The definition of the one-China principle is crystal clear, i.e., there is only one China in the world, Taiwan is part of China, and the government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. The applicability of this principle is universal, unconditional and indisputable. All countries having diplomatic relations with China and all Member States of the UN should unconditionally adhere to the one-China principle and follow the guidance of UNGA Resolution 2758. What some individual countries have done is essentially an attempt to misrepresent and distort the one-China principle. This is in effect challenging the basic principles of international law and basic norms governing international relations. This is also a challenge to the post-WWII world order.

A person without credibility has no place in society; and a country that loses its credibility would falter. We urge certain countries to make sure that they read about the history, abide by the commitments they seriously made in black and white and recognize how dangerous and detrimental it is to act in bad faith and to justify the “Taiwan independence” separatist forces. Attempts to challenge the one-China principle, international rule of law and the international order are bound to be rejected by the international community and get nowhere.

…..

CCTV: About the joint statement on the situation across the Taiwan Strait and the Taiwan question released by the Australian Foreign Minister together with the US Secretary of State and the Japanese Foreign Minister after their trilateral strategic dialogue, how does China see this move by Australia against the background of the current atmosphere of China-Australia relations?

Wang Wenbin: I just stated China’s position on the statement by the US, Australia and Japan. The Australian side, in disregard of facts, has wantonly criticized China’s legitimate, justified and lawful measures to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Australia’s act violates the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, grossly interferes in China’s internal affairs, and undermines regional peace and stability. China firmly opposes it.

In the past few years, China-Australia relations have experienced serious difficulties for reasons caused by the Australian side. The merits of the issues involved are quite clear. China’s position on developing relations with Australia is consistent and clear. The sound and steady development of China-Australia relations serves the fundamental interests and shared aspirations of the two peoples. We urge the Australian side to develop a clear understanding of the situation, pursue the right course, respect China’s core interests and major concerns, abide by the one-China principle, observe basic norms governing international relations, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs, stop saying or doing the things that undermine regional peace and stability, refrain from echoing or assisting certain countries’ misguided strategy of using the Taiwan question to contain China, and avoid creating new obstacles for China-Australia ties.

https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2511_665403/202208/t20220808_10737507.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381831 (121335ZAUG22) Notable: Chinese Consulate General in Sydney Tweet: Video: Chinese FM Spokesperson: We urge the Australian side to abide by the one-China principle, refrain from echoing or assisting certain countries’ misguided strategy of using the Taiwan question to contain China, and avoid creating new obstacles for China-Australia ties.

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>>41699

>>41700

Chinese Consulate General in Sydney Tweet

Chinese FM Spokesperson: We urge the Australian side to abide by the one-China principle, refrain from echoing or assisting certain countries’ misguided strategy of using the Taiwan question to contain China, and avoid creating new obstacles for China-Australia ties.

https://twitter.com/ChinaConSydney/status/1556874665318031362

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381843 (121338ZAUG22) Notable: Richard Marles says Australian submarines will plug capability gap - Ageing fleet of Collins class submarines will undergo life-of-type extensions, capability gap will be filled with submarines built in Australia

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Richard Marles says Australian submarines will plug capability gap

'ELLEN RANSLEY - AUGUST 9, 2022

Australia is committed to plugging the impending capability gap with home-built submarines, as tensions with China exacerbate regional security concerns.

The ageing fleet of Collins class submarines will undergo life-of-type extensions, but with nuclear-powered submarines provided by either the US or the UK not expected to be in Australian waters until 2040, an interim is required.

The plug in the capability gap will be filled with submarines built in Australia, Richard Marles said.

The Acting Prime Minister and Defence Minister said “we must plug” the gap.

“Making sure we have the most potent defence force we can have is absolutely a top priority of the government,” Mr Marles told ABC Radio.

“It’s going to be essential for us in terms of that future submarine capability to build the submarines in Australia.”

Mr Marles said China’s unprecedented military action near Taiwan was of “significant” concern, and Australia was pleading for a return to “calm”.

In the wake of a historic visit from US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, China has launched military drills in the Taiwan Strait and fired 11 ballistic missiles.

Australia, the US and Japan on the weekend condemned the latest escalation in tensions, with Beijing pushing back, calling itself the “victim” and accusing Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong of “finger pointing”.

China says it is extending its threatening military exercises, including anti-submarine drills, in what will cause widespread disruption for shipping and air traffic.

China has also suspended a host of bilateral matters, including talks with the US on climate change and on criminal matters, in retaliation.

Mr Marles said Australia was calling for calm and wanted a return to “normality” around the Taiwan Strait.

“We would much prefer an end to these exercises and a return to calm, normal,” he said.

“This is obviously a demonstration of (China’s) capability and a demonstration of its force, and that is significant.

“What we need to see now though is a return to calm. I think that’s what everyone in the region wants to be honest. I think that’s what everyone in the world wants.”

Mr Marles said China’s military build-up was of particular concern, given it was the “single biggest factor shaping the strategic environment of our region, arguably the world”.

“It’s certainly one of the key factors in shaping Australia’s strategic circumstances, and it’s why we need to make sure that we are building a defence force which is as capable as possible, as potent as possible, to keep Australians safe,” he said.

It’s that desire that has driven Mr Marles and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to recruit ex-defence minister Stephen Smith and former Australian Defence Force chief Sir Angus Houston to conduct a review into Australia’s defence capabilities for the next decade.

Last week, Sir Angus said the security conditions were the worst he’d seen in his lifetime.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/richard-marles-says-china-needs-to-return-to-calm-as-retaliation-continues/news-story/a45b55cfcae9574f66eee26b790280a4

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381849 (121341ZAUG22) Notable: Sugarcoating can't legitimize AUKUS sub deal - Zhang Yunbi - chinadaily.com.cn

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>>41702

Sugarcoating can't legitimize AUKUS sub deal

Zhang Yunbi, China Daily - 2022-08-09

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The Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, being held from Aug 1 to 26, is a crucial opportunity for the international community to restore the fundamentals of the global nuclear order. Especially, because the NPT has the largest membership of any arms control agreement-191 state parties.

Although the once-in-five-year conference was delayed due to the lingering COVID-19 pandemic, it still serves as an alarm reminding the world of the need to prevent nuclear proliferation. That brings us to AUKUS(a security partnership among Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States), under which the UK and the US will help Australia acquire as many as eight nuclear-powered submarines.

The three countries issued a joint statement on Sept 15, 2021, announcing the establishment of AUKUS, catching the world by surprise not only because Australia had broken the contract with France to buy diesel-powered submarines for about $66 billion but also because two nuclear weapon states had pledged to help a non-nuclear weapon state to acquire nuclear-powered machinery, that is, submarines. That is a gross violation of the NPT as well as International Atomic Energy Agency rules.

According to researchers at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the nuclear materials to be used to build the eight submarines would be enough to make 64 to 80 nuclear weapons.

All three AUKUS allies are signatories to the NPT, and yet they are undermining the treaty's authority and frustrating global efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation. That's also why the international community-especially Australia's neighbors including Southeast Asian countries-are vehemently opposed to the tripartite deal.

The 10 ASEAN member states have been working to make Southeast Asia a nuclear weapons-free zone, just like the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty, signed in 1985 and enforced in 1986, has shielded the South Pacific region against nuclear proliferation.

But Australia's nuclear-weapon ambitions have considerably increased security pressure on smaller countries in the region, because they fear the AUKUS deal will intensify the arms race. As a matter of fact, shortly after the nuclear-powered submarine deal was announced, the ambassadors of several ASEAN states in Beijing visited the Chinese Foreign Ministry to express their common concern over AUKUS. As for China, it has been opposed to the sub deal ab initio.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381855 (121343ZAUG22) Notable: Li Song, China's ambassador for disarmament affairs reiterates opposition to AUKUS nuclear sub pact - Minlu Zhang - chinadaily.com.cn

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>>41703

Diplomat reiterates opposition to AUKUS nuclear sub pact

MINLU ZHANG, chinadaily.com.cn - 2022-08-09

A senior Chinese diplomat on Monday reiterated China's opposition to nuclear submarine cooperation between the US, Britain and Australia and warned Japan and related countries not to replicate "nuclear sharing" in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Australia-UK-US (AUKUS) trilateral nuclear submarine cooperation and the "nuclear sharing" model in the Asia-Pacific region are two major new issues facing the global nuclear non-proliferation regime, Li Song, China's ambassador for disarmament affairs, told a committee meeting of the Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

Li said that the US "adheres to the Cold War mentality, obsessed with 'strategic competition among major powers', engages in group politics and camp confrontation, and cobbles together exclusive 'small circles' and 'small groups' to threaten the security of the Asia-Pacific region, which constitutes new shocks and challenges for the global nuclear non-proliferation regime".

Li emphasized that the AUKUS nuclear submarine cooperation is an unprecedented act of nuclear proliferation. The US and the UK, as depositors of the NPT, decided to transfer nuclear submarine power reactors and tons of weapons-grade high-enriched uranium to non-nuclear-weapon states, posing a serious proliferation risk. AUKUS has fully exposed their "double standards", said Li.

The trilateral nuclear submarine cooperation provokes camp confrontation, stimulates the arms race and causes serious damage to the Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in the South Pacific and Southeast, said Li. "It is a blatant violation of the purpose and purpose of NPT," he said.

"The international community is concerned about those trends, and people from many countries have raised serious doubts. China urges the three countries to revoke the decision to carry out the nuclear submarine cooperation and do something to maintain peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region," he said.

Li said that the "nuclear sharing" model also counters the purposes and principles of NPT and is itself nuclear proliferation.

"China urges the US to abolish the 'nuclear sharing' policy and withdraw all nuclear weapons deployed abroad," Li said.

Li noticed that in Japan's report to the ongoing Review Conference, the "three non-nuclear principles" mentioned in previous reports have been deleted.

"Does this mean that Japan's nuclear non-proliferation policy has undergone a major adjustment?" said Li. He asked Japan to give a clear explanation of it.

Li also expressed his concerns over the issue of Japan's decision to discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the sea.

He pointed out that Japan's discharge of the water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident "has a potential impact on the marine ecological environment, food safety and human health that cannot be ignored".

"The Japanese government's unilateral decision to discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean is purely out of economic cost considerations," said Li. "It has not exhausted safe disposal methods, it has not fully consulted with neighboring countries and international agencies, and it is not responsible nor ethical to transfer risks to the international community out of selfishness," said Li.

"Not only the Japanese people are strongly dissatisfied, but China, South Korea, Russia and Pacific island countries also expressed concern," he said.

Li said that the international community is highly concerned about the legitimacy of Japan's discharge plan, the reliability of data, the effectiveness of purification devices and the uncertainty of environmental impact.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Task Force's assessment of Japan's plan has not yet come to a final conclusion, and the task force has put forward many suggestions for improvement, Li said.

"Regrettably, Japan turned a deaf ear to this, continued to preparations for the discharge plan, and hastily approved the plan. This attempt to create a fait accompli is not the act of a responsible country," Li said.

"The Japanese side should seriously respond to the concerns of the international community, return to the track of full consultation with stakeholders and relevant international institutions, and stop forcing the plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the sea," said Li.

Li said the Japanese side should ensure that the nuclear-contaminated water is disposed of in an open, transparent, scientific and safe manner, including considering alternatives to discharge the water, and subject to strict supervision by the IAEA. "This is the touchstone to test whether Japan can effectively fulfill its international responsibilities," he said.

http://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202208/09/WS62f1c641a310fd2b29e71226.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381875 (121349ZAUG22) Notable: Australia’s first spy mission over the Pacific under the AUKUS pact takes place - Australia has flown its first spy mission over the Pacific under the AUKUS pact with its US and UK allies as Russia demands more details

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Australia’s first spy mission over the Pacific under the AUKUS pact takes place

Australia has flown its first spy mission over the Pacific under the AUKUS pact with its US and UK allies as Russia has demanded more details.

Charles Miranda - August 9, 2022

Australia has flown its first spy mission over the Pacific under the AUKUS pact with its US and UK allies as Russia formally demands the full extent of the alliance be revealed.

An RAAF crew joined British and American counterparts in a RC-135 Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft on an unspecified test mission “over the Pacific region” from the US Air Forces’ PACAF base in Hawaii.

The US Air Force said the mission was “demonstrating our strong alliance and increasing our ability to maintain a free and open Indo Pacific.”

The AUKUS trilateral security pact announced in September last year was ostensibly created to allow Australia to acquire nuclear-powered submarines but will also see co-operation on undersea capabilities, hypersonic and counter hypersonic hardware and advanced cyber and quantum tech warfare.

The RC-135 is a multidiscipline aircraft used in strategic and tactical missions that can effectively hoover up electronic emissions from communications, radar and other systems. The mission was part of a raft of joint activities designed to test interoperability.

As reported last weekend, the US, UK and Australia have taken interoperability between its armed forces to new levels through military exercises, most recently RIMPAC, the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise.

AUKUS partners have said China’s coercive and expansionist ambitions in the region was destabilising.

Flight details came as Russia formally demanded to the United Nations that the three AUKUS nations reveal the extent of the security pact with “exhaustive and comprehensive” information particularly around the submarine program.

“The North Atlantic Alliance’s designated course makes us be more cautious in regard to the creation of the AUKUS partnership by the US, the UK and Australia,” Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Office and Other International Organizations Andrey Belousov has told Russian news outlets.

“Despite claims that Australia will not be handed over nuclear warheads it is in fact expected to host the military infrastructure of nuclear-armed states. Moreover, Australia’s planned purchases of nuclear submarines, which are actually weapons of unlimited range, compel other countries to take into consideration such a massive build-up of its military capabilities.”

The Russian diplomat said the true “goals” of the alliance needed to be clarified, its objectives he branded “are clearly broader than those that lie on the surface”.

The query has followed Russian protests over Australia black-listing more than 840 individuals including President Vladimir Putin over his ordered invasion of Ukraine and block on exports to the Russian regime and its puppet state Belarus.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/australias-first-spy-mission-over-the-pacific-under-the-aukus-pact-takes-place/news-story/7e3a110ebc79cb5a7a420bbc5cc7d430

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381886 (121351ZAUG22) Notable: 20 Percent Of The USAF’s B-2 Force Is Deployed ‘Down Under’ - The B-2 deployment to Australia comes as the USAF ramps up its presence in the Indo-Pacific region amid growing tensions with China.

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>>41428

20 Percent Of The USAF’s B-2 Force Is Deployed ‘Down Under’

The B-2 deployment to Australia comes as the USAF ramps up its presence in the Indo-Pacific region amid growing tensions with China.

OLIVER PARKEN, The War Zone - AUG 3, 2022

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Recent imagery obtained by The War Zone from Planet Labs shows four USAF B-2 Spirit stealth bombers lined up at the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Amberley airbase in Queensland. Considering the USAF currently only operates 20 B-2 bombers, the photo provides an unprecedented glimpse from space of one-fifth of the service's entire B-2 fleet deployed 'down under.' That being said, it will likely become a very normal sight as the U.S. and Australia work more closely to deter China.

The photo highlights the growing presence of USAF B-2s in Australia in recent months – signaling the U.S.' commitment to maintaining stability within the Indo-Pacific amid growing tensions with China. The four B-2s currently stationed at Amberley were sent from the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, to support a Pacific Air Forces Bomber Task Force. Two B-2s arrived at Amberley on July 10, while another two B-2s arrived on July 12. While B-2s have visited Australia before, this is the first deployment of B-2s to the country as part of the Bomber Task Force (BTF), according to Janes. USAF and RAAF flyers have focused on “training missions and strategic deterrence missions” since the four USAF B-2s arrived at Amberley as part of the Enhanced Cooperation Initiative under the Force Posture Agreement between the U.S. and Australia.

The first pair of B-2s to arrive at Amberley will remain there "throughout the months of July and August and are planning to be involved in various Australian Defence Force (ADF) exercises such as Exercise ‘Koolendong' and Exercise ‘Arnhem Thunder,'” an Australian Department of Defense spokesperson said. Exercise Koolendong 2022 wrapped up at the end of July.

Performing training missions with USAF B-2s and allied fighter jets has been an “absolute blast [so far,]” Lt. Col. Andrew Kousgaard, commander of the 393rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, said in a statement after USAF flyers began training with their RAAF counterparts. “Since our advance team hit the ground… U.S. airmen have integrated with their Australian counterparts in every specialty: fuels, logistics, maintenance, aviators, you name it.”

USAF and RAAF flyers also intend to experiment with refueling B-2s from RAAF KC-30 tankers, Kousgaard indicated, which would add another means of refueling USAF bombers in the Pacific during coalition operations.

“We have plans to conduct engines-running refueling with Australian equipment, [and] air refuel with Australian KC-30s … the list goes on, and the entire deployed squadron is really excited about it,” Kousgaard said. “It’s important for us to demonstrate that we can accomplish that mission from diverse locations in the largest combatant command in the world, and that’s exactly what we’re doing here."

“The only way to learn and improve is to actually deploy and practice,” he noted. “We simply cannot operate effectively by ourselves in this environment, and learning to effectively integrate with our partners is absolutely critical to success. We’re training against that ‘tyranny of distance,’ alongside our Australian partners on this deployment, and that experience is truly invaluable.”

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17381920 (121357ZAUG22) Notable: US SENDS FIFTH B-2 TO AMBERLEY AMID CHINA TENSION - A fifth US Air Force B-2 bomber has flown to Base Amberley to train with RAAF F-35s amid tension between China and Taiwan - It likely amounts to the biggest ever deployment of the US’s most important military jet to Australia, with the country’s active fleet only numbering 20

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>>41428

>>41706

EXCLUSIVE: US SENDS FIFTH B-2 TO AMBERLEY AMID CHINA TENSION

Adam Thorn - August 9, 2022

A fifth US Air Force B-2 bomber has flown to Base Amberley to train with RAAF F-35s amid tension between China and Taiwan.

The UFO-like Spirit can carry nuclear weapons and is thought to be the most expensive aircraft ever made, valued at around $2 billion each.

It comes at the same time China conducted military drills around Taiwan in retaliation to a visit to the island by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

On 28 July, a fifth B-2, ‘Spirit of Florida’, flew into the Queensland base to replace ‘Spirit of Alaska’, which departed on 24 July.

It likely amounts to the biggest ever deployment of the US’s most important military jet to Australia, with the country’s active fleet only numbering 20.

In total, six B-2s have visited Base Amberley this year, with one aircraft earlier touching down in March before the current deployment that began in July.

The fleet is visiting from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri as part of an initiative to improve interoperability between the US Air Force and the RAAF’s F-35s. They have been joined by “several” KC-135 Stratotanker refuelling aircraft.

The aircraft to arrive are:

• 82-1068 ‘Spirit of New York’ as RAVE11;

• 82-1070 ‘Spirit of Ohio’ at RAVE12;

• 82-1067 ‘Spirit of Arizona as RAVE21;

• 90-0040 ‘Spirit of Alaska as RAVE22;

• 92-0700 ‘Spirit of Florida’ as LATER 11;

• (82-1071 ‘Spirit of Mississippi’ arrived and departed on 23 March).

“This deployment of the B-2 to Australia demonstrates and enhances the readiness and lethality of our long-range penetrating strike force,” Lt. Col. Andrew Kousgaard, commander of the 393rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, said earlier.

“We look forward to training and enhancing our interoperability with our RAAF teammates, as well as partners and allies across the Indo-Pacific as we meet PACAF objectives.”

The B-2, better known as the stealth bomber, is a multi-role aircraft capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear munitions. It has a crew of two pilots: one in the left seat and a mission commander in the right.

It was first publicly displayed in 1988, when it was rolled out of its hangar at Air Force Plant 42 in California, before its maiden flight the next year.

Its new deployment in Australia comes at the same time as continuing tension in the region.

Last week, a visit to Taiwan by the US’ Pelosi led to China testing ballistic missiles over Taipei for the first time.

Then on Monday, China announced new military drills around Taiwan, including joint exercises focusing on anti-submarine and sea assault operations.

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry later claimed to have detected 39 Chinese air force planes and 13 navy ships around the Taiwan Strait.

https://australianaviation.com.au/2022/08/exclusive-us-sends-fifth-b-2-to-amberley-amid-china-tension/

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17385052 (130216ZAUG22) Notable: mhar4 Tweet: Video - Musician Roger Waters: "They're not encircling Taiwan, Taiwan is part of China, and that's been absolutely accepted by the whole of the international community since 1948, and if you don't know that, you're not reading enough. Go and read about it." This is where we are.

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>>41654

mhar4 述而不作 Tweet

Musician Roger Waters: "They're not encircling Taiwan, Taiwan is part of China, and that's been absolutely accepted by the whole of the international community since 1948, and if you don't know that, you're not reading enough. Go and read about it."

This is where we are.

https://twitter.com/mhar4/status/1556080111740682240

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17385370 (130335ZAUG22) Notable: NSW has officially banned public displays of Nazi swastika - Cultural and religious groups are celebrating as an Aussie state confirms groundbreaking laws surrounding displays of a deeply hateful symbol

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NSW has officially banned public displays of Nazi swastika

Cultural and religious groups are celebrating as an Aussie state confirms groundbreaking laws surrounding displays of a deeply hateful symbol.

Carly Douglas - August 11, 2022

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The NSW government has officially banned public displays of the Nazi swastika.

With support from the state’s Liberals, Labor MPs and members of the crossbench, the Perrottet government’s bill to criminalise the purposeful display of Nazi symbols in public successfully passed through the Upper House on Thursday night.

What will this mean for NSW?

When it comes to penalties for individuals, the new offence includes a maximum of 12 months’ imprisonment or a $11,000 fine or both.

While Victoria became the first Australian state to ban the hateful symbol in June this year, with penalties of up to almost $22,000, 12 months’ imprisonment or both for those who intentionally display the Nazi symbol, the NSW government has taken the prohibition one step further.

Corporations in NSW knowingly displaying the Nazi symbol will be slapped with a $55,000 fine.

The legislation will also outlaw all online displays of the Nazi symbol, including materials posted to social media.

Attorney-General Mark Speakman said the new laws will provide safeguards against hate speech and vilification in the state.

“NSW is a place where everyone can expect protection and safety from serious vilification and hate crimes,” Mr Speakman said.

“The display of a Nazi symbol undermines our shared values and causes harm and distress to others in the community, including those from the Jewish faith.”

Mr Speakman said the legislation will also protect people with disabilities and members of the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as veterans, who are also groups targeted by the hateful symbol.

“This bill recognises that the public display of Nazi symbols is abhorrent, except in very limited circumstances such as for educational purposes, and causes profound offence and distress,” he said.

NSW Minister for Multiculturalism Mark Coure confirmed the legislation, however, will not inhibit artistic, academic or educational freedoms, and will not prevent the use of the symbol for religious or spiritual reasons.

“This bill also serves another important purpose – to protect those that use a Swastika for religious and spiritual reasons including Buddhists, Hindus and Jains,” Mr Coure said.

“It clearly states that the displaying of a swastika in connection with these spiritualties will not be deemed a Nazi symbol.”

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17386569 (131309ZAUG22) Notable: Video: Julian Assange: WikiLeaks founder's case endangers press freedom, his wife tells DW - Stella Assange, wife of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, has accused the US of targeting a foreign journalist for exposing war crimes. She told DW that Assange's life depends on his extradition order being dropped.

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>>41409

Julian Assange: WikiLeaks founder's case endangers press freedom, his wife tells DW

Stella Assange, wife of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, has accused the US of targeting a foreign journalist for exposing war crimes. She told DW that Assange's life depends on his extradition order being dropped.

Zac Crellin - 11.08.2022

Human rights lawyer Stella Assange — the wife of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange — says her husband's ongoing extradition battle has set a dangerous precedent for press freedom worldwide.

Assange is wanted in the United States on 18 criminal charges, including espionage, for publishing classified documents that detailed war crimes. If he is extradited, he could be sentenced to up to 175 years in prison.

The South African-born lawyer called on other Western governments to push back against the extradition of her husband, who is an Australian citizen detained in the United Kingdom.

"It will define the scope of press freedom in Europe. Is it permissible for a foreign power to reach into the European space and limit what the press can publish?" she added.

"Think about if China were to do exactly the same thing and prosecute a journalist in Germany on the same principle because that journalist exposed Chinese crimes against humanity. The premise is complete insanity and it cannot stand."

What's next for Julian Assange?

"But ultimately, once the domestic remedies have been exhausted in the UK, he can then appeal to the European Court of Human Rights," Assange's wife said.

However, the current Conservative government is looking to pass reforms that would override the jurisdiction of the ECHR in the UK.

A matter of life or death?

Assange's life depends on him winning his extradition battle, his wife said.

The two met while Assange sought refuge inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London for seven years. They now have two sons together and married this year during prison visiting hours.

She said that since being detained in the UK's Belmarsh prison, Assange has become clinically depressed and could be driven to suicide if he is extradited to the US and placed in isolation.

His physical health has also deteriorated, having reportedly suffered a ministroke in October.

"So just even if the press freedom reasons were not taken into consideration, even if you didn't take into consideration that the US government had plotted to assassinate him… Purely on humanitarian grounds, the way Julian is being treated and what awaits him is so barbaric that the extradition should be blocked."

https://www.dw.com/en/julian-assange-wikileaks-founders-case-endangers-press-freedom-his-wife-tells-dw/a-62773335

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17396729 (150729ZAUG22) Notable: Australian academic Sean Turnell detained in Myanmar pleads not guilty in closed court

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Australian academic Sean Turnell detained in Myanmar pleads not guilty in closed court

abc.net.au - 12 Aug 2022

An Australian academic who is being tried with ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on charges of violating the country's official secrets law has testified in court for the first time, a legal official says.

Sean Turnell, an economist at Sydney's Macquarie University, had served as an adviser to Ms Suu Kyi, who was arrested when her elected government was ousted by the army on February 1 last year.

He was arrested five days later and faces up to five years' imprisonment.

Professor Turnell is now being held in the main prison in Naypyitaw, the capital, as is Ms Suu Kyi.

Three of Ms Suu Kyi's former cabinet members are being tried with them in a special court at the prison.

A legal official familiar with Thursday's proceedings told the Associated Press that Professor Turnell denied the allegations against him and pleaded not guilty in his first court appearance, but details of his testimony are limited.

Professor Turnell's lawyers have been barred from talking about the case, while all trials involving Ms Suu Kyi have been closed to the media and public.

The legal official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to release information, said Professor Turnell and his co-defendants appeared to be in good health.

The exact details of the alleged offence in the case have not been made public, though Myanmar state television, citing government statements, said last year that Professor Turnell had access to "secret state financial information" and had tried to flee the country.

'Trumped-up charges'

Friend and fellow economist Tim Harcourt told the ABC the opaque legal process was concerning.

"Let's face it, it's trumped-up charges by an authoritarian regime that wants to use Sean to discredit Aung San Suu Kyi. That's what it's all about," he said.

"He's pleaded not guilty because he's not guilty.

"All he did was advise the Myanmar government on things they should do with their economy … providing good advice to improve the living standards of ordinary citizens."

He said the advice from the previous Australian government was to take a "softly, softly" approach.

"But quite clearly, it hasn't worked. It's been 18 months now," he said.

"The fact you can have such authoritarian, murderous regime doing what it's doing, and Australia hasn't considered sanctions, is pretty surprising.

"Particularly given how quickly people acted with respect to Vladimir Putin with Ukraine, which was correct, they've sort of let Myanmar drift off."

He said Foreign Minister Penny Wong had been more vocal about Professor Turnell's case.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said he could not comment on the details of Australia's consular access to Professor Turnell, but said the government was concerned about his situation.

"We are concerned about the level of access available to those providing consular services to Professor Turnell," he said.

"Our most important engagement with Myanmar right now is around seeing a safe return of Professor Turnell to this country.

"And we will not rest until we have a situation where Professor Turnell is returned safely to Australia and safely to his country."

Senator Wong has previously said sanctions are under active consideration and Professor Turnell is Australia's top priority in Myanmar.

"Another question is, would sanctions make it worse for him or better for him? Does applying pressure put pressure on Myanmar or does it just anger them? So that's a question for the judgement of the government," Professor Harcourt said.

Professor Turnell is also being prosecuted under immigration law, which carries a punishment of six months to five years' imprisonment. Prosecutions under immigration law are common for foreigners being held for other offences.

The judge adjourned Thursday's proceedings until next week, when Ms Suu Kyi is to testify.

The case is one of many faced by Ms Suu Kyi and is widely seen as an effort to discredit her to prevent her return to politics.

The charges against her include corruption and election fraud. She has already been convicted of several minor offences.

Last year's military takeover sparked peaceful nationwide street protests that security forces quashed with lethal force, triggering armed resistance that some UN experts have characterised as civil war.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-12/australian-academic-detained-in-myanmar-testifies-at-trial/101326502

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17396744 (150737ZAUG22) Notable: AUKUS is not the threat to the Asia-Pacific region: US Indo-Pacific Commander John Aquilino

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>>41639

>>41640

AUKUS is not the threat to the Asia-Pacific region: US admiral

AMANDA HODGE and DIAN SEPTIARI - AUGUST 12, 2022

America’s most senior military commander in the Indo-Pacific has defended the AUKUS security pact while in Indonesia for multilateral military exercises, saying the only nation in the region generating nuclear proliferation concerns is China.

US Indo-Pacific Commander John Aquilino said criticism of the trilateral security agreement between the US, UK and Australia – under which Canberra hopes to secure nuclear-propelled submarines – was misplaced and the AUKUS relationship “was three nations who have been deep allies for years”.

“We’re watching the largest military build-up in history since WWII by the PRC (People’s Republic of China),” Admiral Aquilino said on Friday at the conclusion of Garuda Shield, an annual defence exercise between Indonesia and the US, which this year has been expanded to include Australia, Singapore and Japan as well as nine observer nations.

Admiral Aquilino said he had read comments referring to concerns that the AUKUS pact, and Australia’s pursuit of nuclear-propelled submarine technology, would lead to nuclear weapons proliferation.

China is highly critical of AUKUS, which it claims involves the “illegal transfer of weapons-grade nuclear materials”, and has been lobbying against it at an international review of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty this month.

Indonesian diplomats, too, have been urging fellow non-aligned nations at the NPT review in New York to help close what Jakarta says is a legal loophole in the treaty allowing non-nuclear states – such as Australia and Brazil – to violate the spirit of the pact by acquiring nuclear-propulsion technology.

But Admiral Aquilino said on Friday: “This program has nothing to do with nuclear weapons. If you’d like to talk about nuclear weapons and the concern for a nuclear arms race, all you have to do is look into the PRC.

“Three hundred nuclear silos going in as we sit here today and the only nation increasing the nuclear arsenal right now is the PRC. So let’s look at actions and let’s not talk about words.”

Indonesia’s foreign ministry has insisted it is not singling Australia out for criticism and it – along with Malaysia – is simply concerned the AUKUS pact could set a dangerous precedent, and potentially also trigger a regional arms race. But whether those concerns are universally shared across the Indonesian administration is unclear.

Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto has said he “fully” understands and respects Australia’s right to pursue its national security interests through AUKUS. On Friday, Indonesian military chief Andika Perkasa also said AUKUS posed no impediment to heightened defence co-operation between Australia and Indonesia, and membership of any one security pact was far less important than shared common goals. “The US is part of NATO (while) others like Singapore are not part of NATO, Australia is not part of NATO,” General Andika said. “So to me, working with anyone should not be prohibited. We should have the freedom to work with everyone. That’s my take. As long as we share common goals and common hope on what we can do as a team, let’s do it.”

This month’s Garuda Shield exercises were of an unprecedented scale with some 5000 troops from Indonesia, US, Australia, Japan and Singapore participating in drills including parachute and amphibious landings and live-fire exercises.

While Indonesian and US military officials have denied the expanded Garuda Shield was designed to prepare for a combined military response against any particular nation, Admiral Aquilino said “our forces, operating together, delivers a deterrent effect against any destabilising effort in the region”.

“The destabilising actions by the PRC as it applied to the threatening activities and actions against Taiwan is exactly what we are trying to avoid,” he said. “I can tell you from my seat I spend every waking minute doing everything to ensure we are preventing conflict in the region. Every day we try to prevent war.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/aukus-is-not-the-threat-to-the-asiapacufic-region-us-admiral/news-story/e6aaf982f5dc74b4b28e612fab2ab514

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17396764 (150748ZAUG22) Notable: Whistleblower lawsuit alleges financial misconduct and dubious expenditures inside Hillsong Church

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Whistleblower lawsuit alleges financial misconduct and dubious expenditures inside Hillsong Church

Hagar Cohen and Kevin Nguyen - 12 Aug 2022

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A whistleblower suing Hillsong in the Federal Court has alleged the megachurch moved millions of dollars in payments through overseas entities to avoid scrutiny by the Australian charities regulator.

ABC Investigations can reveal the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC) launched an investigation into Hillsong in March, which is examining its compliance obligations as a registered charity.

The existence of the ACNC probe was revealed in Federal Court documents lodged by former Hillsong employee Natalie Moses on Wednesday as part of a Fair Work case against the church.

The documents allege dubious financial record-keeping, the misappropriation of church finances, and claim Hillsong leaders used tax-free money for "large cash gifts" to Hillsong founder Brian Houston and his family.

The 25-page statement of claim filed by Ms Moses's lawyers at Maurice Blackburn includes accusations Hillsong illegally hid its international transfers by making payments through its US-based entities.

Hillsong Church is yet to file a response in the Federal Court and Ms Moses is the sole source of the allegations in her statement of claim.

The church's lawyers told the ABC it will defend the matter.

"We are further instructed that Hillsong is continuing to work with the enquiries made by the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission," they said.

"As the matter is now before the Federal Court of Australia, it is inappropriate to make any further comment."

Ms Moses, who worked within the church's financial department, claimed the Australian leadership team suspended her employment after she refused a directive to deceive regulators about its overseas activities.

Her lawyers argue Hillsong contravened the Fair Work Act, claiming it breached its own whistleblower policy by preventing her from raising serious complaints about the church's financial operations.

"There are very serious allegations that our client makes about Hillsong effectively misleading an investigation [by] the ACNC," Josh Bornstein, who is representing Ms Moses in her employment law case, said.

"There are concerns that Australian taxpayers are being ripped off by Hillsong.

"On top of that, [the allegations] also raise moral and ethical issues about the conduct of a religious institution and what appears to be a cowboy culture operating within that empire."

Court documents allege internal audits conducted by Ms Moses uncovered dubious bookkeeping unlikely to be compliant with legislation and which would bring the church into disrepute if those details were ever made public.

She claims this included leaders making "significant" gifts to church directors and their family and friends, as well as using credit cards to pay for international travel and designer products.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17398813 (151849ZAUG22) Notable: Assange lawyers sue CIA for allegedly spying on Wikileaks founder and his visitors in London

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>>41409

Assange lawyers sue CIA for allegedly spying on Wikileaks founder and his visitors in London

Latika Bourke - August 16, 2022

London: US-based lawyers for Julian Assange are suing the CIA and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for allegedly covertly monitoring the WikiLeaks founder and his visitors when he was holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Assange spent seven years in the Knightsbridge embassy in an attempt to evade extradition to Sweden where he faced charges of sexual assault.

During those years he entertained guests - many of them celebrities - and also met with his lawyers and journalists. He fathered two sons with his now wife Stella, which he managed to keep secret from the rest of the world.

The extradition hearing underway in British courts has heard sensational evidence that a Spanish firm Undercover Global was hired by the CIA - which was headed by Mike Pompeo at the time - to covertly monitor Assange inside the embassy.

Legal proceedings in Spanish courts against the head of that firm, David Morales, heard testimony in 2020 that Assange’s visitors unknowingly had the data on their phones copied when they were required to hand over their belongings to Morales’ staff.

At a press conference in New York on Monday, Assange’s US lawyers said the suit alleges that unbeknown to even the Ecuadorians, who granted Assange aslyum, the data on their phones and other electronic devices were copied and handed over to the CIA.

“Think of what we store in our phones and in our computers: birthdays, bank information, dates of birth. All of this was recorded then given over to the Central Intelligence Agency,” attorney Robert Boyle claimed to journalists.

“The violations … were particularly egregious,” he alleged.

Assange’s lawyers argue that more than 100 US citizens, including journalists who visited Assange during his years in the embassy, had their constitutional rights violated.

“It’s very outrageous conduct,” Richard Roth, whose firm Roth Law Firm is representing the group that brought the lawsuit which was filed in the United States southern district of New York’s District Court.

The plaintiffs are US attorneys Margaret Ratner Kunstler, Deborah Hrbek, German-based US journalist John Goetz and the UK-based American journalist Charles Glass.

Roth said the suit was being brought against the CIA, Pompeo, Undercover Global and its boss David Morales under the fourth amendment which he said applied to US citizens regardless of which country they were in at that time.

The fourth amendment protects citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures carried out by the government.

Roth said they were suing potential presidential contender Pompeo as a personal citizen, citing a precedent that allows for lawsuits to be brought against former directors of the CIA in their personal capacity.

He predicted the case would take about 12 months.

Assange is being held in HMG Belmarsh Prison where he is appealing his extradition to the United States to face charges under the Espionage Act relating to the theft and publication of hundreds of thousands of secret cables.

Critics of Assange’s incarceration, including Labor MPs in the Australian government, say that an Australian citizen should not be extradited from a third country to another third country.

There has been separate and subsequent reporting by YahooNews! claiming that the Trump Administration floated the idea of killing and kidnapping Assange.

However, the suit focuses only on the spying carried out against US citizens who visited Assange in the embassy.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/assange-lawyers-sue-mike-pompeo-for-spying-on-the-wikileaks-founder-in-london-20220816-p5ba3i.html

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17405885 (170701ZAUG22) Notable: Bill Shorten slams Scott Morrison’s 'sick government' as he compares former PM to Donald Trump amid Cabinet scandal

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Bill Shorten slams Scott Morrison’s 'sick government' as he compares former PM to Donald Trump amid Cabinet scandal

Bill Shorten has extraordinarily compared Scott Morrison to Donald Trump accusing the former prime minister of trying to ensure “all power resided in him”.

Tyrone Clarke - August 15, 2022

NDIS and Government Services Minister Bill Shorten has unleashed on Scott Morrison and said the embattled former prime minister attempted to centralise all government power to his office.

The list of parliamentarians coming out against Mr Morrison continues to grow following revelations he swore himself in as the minister for three major departments.

The former prime minister seized control of the health and finance ministries along with the massive industry, science, energy and resources portfolio during the last term of government.

He also made an astonishing comparison with former US president Donald Trump and accused Mr Morrison of attempting to take control of the entire government process.

“Scott Morrison was taking us down a very Trumpian path where all power resided in him,” Mr Shorten told Sky News Australia’s Kieran Gilbert.

“Clearly the fact that he didn’t even trust his Cabinet ministers just shows you how dysfunctional and broken the 2019 and 2022 Coalition government was.”

Sky News Australia revealed on Monday that then-finance minister Mathias Cormann was kept in the dark about Mr Morrison’s move to swear himself into the role.

Mr Cormann was joined by ex-resources minister Keith Pitt who was only notified of the extraordinary measure when the former prime minister intervened in the controversial PEP-11 gas project in 2021.

Former energy minister and now shadow treasurer Angus Taylor also revealed to Sky News Australia that he only learnt that Mr Morrison had taken control of his portfolio when the story was broken on Sunday.

Mr Shorten said the most “amazing” factor of the scandal was that Mr Morrison failed to alert his Cabinet ministers.

He went on to say Mr Morrison’s unprecedented decision had destroyed Parliamentary conventions dating back to the Westminster system.

“This is a trashing of Parliamentary norms,” the NDIS Minister said.

“When you have a prime minister not telling his Cabinet ministers that he’s secretly sworn himself in to do their job that’s amazing, it’s sneaky.

“This was a sign of a sick government with a pathology of no accountability.”

Sky News Australia Chief Anchor Kieran Gilbert contacted the former prime minister to offer him a right of reply to Mr Albanese’s scathing rebuke.

“No, I haven’t seen what he has said. Since leaving the job, I haven’t engaged in any day-to-day politics,” Mr Morrison said.

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/bill-shorten-slams-scott-morrisons-sick-government-as-he-compares-former-pm-to-donald-trump-amid-cabinet-scandal/news-story/72c422353a20450be9b2f3ead0d93166

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17405928 (170722ZAUG22) Notable: Former PM Scott Morrison was ‘sedated’ at night for his insomnia throughout pandemic - A new revelation about Scott Morrison has emerged amid the raging controversy about his secret moves as prime minister

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>>41718

Former PM Scott Morrison was ‘sedated’ at night for his insomnia throughout pandemic

A new revelation about Scott Morrison has emerged amid the raging controversy about his secret moves as prime minister.

Samantha Maiden - August 16, 2022

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Scott Morrison was so worried during the Covid-19 pandemic that he suffered from insomnia and relied on drugs to sedate him into sleep.

As controversy erupts over the former prime minister’s decision to secretly appoint himself to key portfolios during the pandemic, the revelations are contained in a new book Plagued that is based on extensive interviews with Mr Morrison.

The drug regimen to tackle his insomnia, as outlined in the book, was said to include a “mild sedative” that is not referenced by brand name.

“He’d often wake at 3am, wrestling with the scale of what was facing the country and his responsibilities in dealing with it,” the book says.

“He’d rouse in a fitful state and look at the ceiling for hours on end, saying to himself, ‘I have to sleep or I won’t get through this week.’

“More than once, so he could function the following day, he would take a mild sedative.

“He took half a sleeping pill to make sure he was fresh for the next day.”

‘What on earth is going on?’

However, it is the former prime minister’s secret arrangements regarding cabinet jobs that could now spark a full-blown inquiry.

The revelations that Mr Morrison swore himself in as health minister and finance minister are outlined in the new book.

It states this was the idea of former attorney-general Christian Porter.

However, Mr Porter has told colleagues he remembers the arrangements relating to then-health minister Greg Hunt but does not recall any discussions involving then-finance minister Mathias Cormann.

Constitutional law expert Anne Twomey said the secret arrangements were “bizarre” and “utterly inappropriate”.

“What on earth was going on, I don‘t know, but the secrecy involved in this is just simply bizarre,” she told the ABC.

“I mean, you know, you just wonder what is wrong with these people that they have to do everything in secret and they can‘t ’fess up to what they’re doing.

“Because if they had done it and made it public, [it] probably would have been seen [as] pretty reasonable. But hiding it? That’s the weird thing.”

If Mr Morrison did swear himself into the finance minister position, he also never told Mr Cormann.

Former resources minister Keith Pitt and industry minister Angus Taylor were also unaware the then-prime minister had control of their portfolios.

While Mr Taylor stayed in the dark, at some point in 2021, Mr Pitt discovered the arrangement.

“There is no doubt it was unusual,’’ Mr Pitt told Sky News. “I am not going to throw him under a bus, I am just not. It’s clearly something I was concerned about.”

Peter Dutton did learn at some point about the health portfolio arrangements, apparently put in place in case Mr Hunt got sick and couldn’t exercise the extraordinary pandemic powers he held to make decisions without parliamentary approval.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17406093 (170831ZAUG22) Notable: Blue Diamond 6 Honors 1st Marine Division Roots with a Trip to Guadalcanal and Australia - Major General Benjamin Watson, Commanding General of the First Marine Division, visited the Marine Rotational Force-Darwin (MRF-D) following a trip to Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, on August 10.

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>>41487

>>41671

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

Capt. Joseph DiPietro - 08.11.2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17410307 (180848ZAUG22) Notable: PDF: Julian Assange's lawyers, journalists sue the CIA for allegedly spying on them - A group of journalists and lawyers are suing the CIA and its former director Mike Pompeo, claiming the intelligence agency spied on them when they visited WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at Ecuador's embassy in London

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>>41409

>>41716

Julian Assange's lawyers, journalists sue the CIA for allegedly spying on them

A group of journalists and lawyers are suing the CIA and its former director Mike Pompeo, claiming the intelligence agency spied on them when they visited WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at Ecuador's embassy in London.

AFP / SBS - 16 August 2022

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Lawyers for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange sued the US Central Intelligence Agency and its former director Mike Pompeo on Monday, alleging it recorded their conversations and copied data from their phones and computers.

The attorneys, along with two journalists joining the suit, are Americans and allege that the CIA violated their US constitutional protections for confidential discussions with Mr Assange, who is Australian.

They said the CIA worked with a security firm contracted by the Ecuadoran embassy in London, where Mr Assange was living at the time, to spy on the WikiLeaks founder, his lawyers, journalists and others he met with.

Mr Assange is facing extradition from Britain to the US, where he is charged with violating the US Espionage Act by publishing US military and diplomatic files in 2010 related to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

Robert Boyle, a New York attorney representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said the alleged spying on Mr Assange's attorneys means the WikiLeaks founder's right to a fair trial has "now been tainted, if not destroyed."

"The recording of meetings with friends, with lawyers and the copying of his attorneys' and friends' digital information taints the criminal prosecution because now the government knows the contents of those communications," Mr Boyle told reporters.

"There should be sanctions, even up to dismissal of those charges, or withdrawal of an extradition request in response to these blatantly unconstitutional activities," he said.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17410333 (180902ZAUG22) Notable: Former prime minister Scott Morrison says he took the “unconventional” move to assume responsibility in several portfolios due to the “unprecedented times” brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic

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>>41718

Scott Morrison breaks silence on ministerial roles

ELLEN RANSLEY - AUGUST 16, 2022

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Former prime minister Scott Morrison says he took the “unconventional” move to assume responsibility in several portfolios due to the “unprecedented times” brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

He says he has no regrets about exercising his responsibility as prime minister because his government’s decisions at the beginning of Covid-19 “saved 40,000 lives and tens of thousands of businesses”.

He says he never triggered his responsibility in the portfolios of health and finance

It’s a different story with the resources portfolio, which resulted in him using his powers to gazump his minister to overturn a controversial gas project.

He said ultimately he made that decision because the “buck stops with the Prime Minister”.

Radio host Ben Fordhamsaid the revelations of the past few days had generated “a giant storm in a tiny teacup”.

“At the end of the day, he didn’t use the powers as health minister or finance minister,” he said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has asked for a second briefing from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet after it was revealed Mr Morrison had been secretly sworn in to the portfolios.

Then health minister Greg Hunt and other cabinet ministers were aware of the move concerning that portfolio under the Biosecurity Act, while then finance minister Mathias Cormann was left in the dark.

Mr Morrison said that was an oversight of “offices”.

“I thought it had been through offices, to be honest. That was an oversight. I’ve apologised to Mathias for that,” he told Nine Radio.

While Mr Morrison’s actions regarding finance and health came amid the Covid-19 pandemic, his decision to be sworn in to the resources portfolio came almost a year later.

Mr Morrison said he had taken that move because of the “importance” of the decision surrounding controversial offshore gas project PEP-11.

He said he had discussed the issue with then resources minister Keith Pitt.

“We’d discussed the issue, but I’d always respected Keith’s role as the decision maker, and if I wished to be the decision maker, then I had to take the steps that I took,” Mr Morrison said.

“I had to follow a very meticulous process in informing myself about the issue … and then making a decision in accordance with all the legal requirements, which I did.

“The buck stops with the Prime Minister. If I hadn’t personally considered that issue, then how could I look at the people of Newcastle and the Central Coast and the Northern Beaches in the eye and say, I’ve done everything I could.”

Mr Pitt says people up in arms over Mr Morrison’s actions should “take a calming breath and a cold shower”.

According to news.com.au, Mr Pitt told colleagues he was kept in the dark that Mr Morrison swore himself in to his portfolio.

But on Tuesday morning Mr Pitt dodged questions about whether he knew that Mr Morrison had sworn himself in to the portfolio in 2021, only saying that it was “unusual”.

Mr Morrison made the unprecedented move to take control of the resources portfolio reportedly to gazump Mr Pitt to reject the permit for the controversial PEP-11 project off the NSW coast.

Mr Pitt said it was indeed “unusual” for Mr Morrison to swear himself into the portfolio in order to dismiss an offshore gas exploration project.

But questions over whether he made that decision as prime minister or as a secret second resources minister remain unanswered.

During an ABC Radio interview on Tuesday morning, Mr Pitt said “those things in the fullness of time will come forward”, citing the reason he needed to be cautious was because the PEP-11 case was before the Federal Court of Appeal.

“Over a period of time, who knew what when is bound to come out over a period of time. I think everyone just needs to take a calming breath and a cold shower to be honest,” Mr Pitt told ABC Radio.

“I’ve got no issues with the decisions I’ve made.

“I’m absolutely confident we were a strong government.”

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17410340 (180906ZAUG22) Notable: Peter Dutton says he will not call for Scott Morrison to resign after revelations the former prime minister had sworn himself into five additional portfolios during the pandemic

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>>41718

Peter Dutton refuses to back calls for former PM Scott Morrison to resign

JESSICA MALCOLM - AUGUST 16, 2022

Peter Dutton says he will not call for Scott Morrison to resign after revelations the former prime minister had sworn himself into five additional portfolios during the pandemic.

The Opposition Leader said it was time for “cooler heads to prevail”, and argued there were bigger issues that Australian families were worried about including cost of living pressures and energy prices.

His comments come after former home affairs minister Karen Andrews this morning called on Mr Morrison to resign from parliament.

Mr Dutton said he would await for the Solicitor-General’s legal advice before making any decisions on how to move forward. The advice is expected to be given to Anthony Albanese on Monday.

“At the start of this pandemic and leaders all over the world, it was a warlike situation and there is concern about what would happen is a Prime Minister, as [former] prime minister Morrison pointed out this morning, there was concern as to what would happen in the shadow, in the cabinet at the time and I was sent to hospital and people were in ventilators and people were dying at that stage and that’s the context in which prime minister at the time, Mr Morrison, made some of those decisions,” Mr Dutton said.

“As he explained this morning, I wasn’t aware of decisions, I wasn’t there for decision-making in that regard and I think he’s made statements this morning that you can reflect on.

“The Prime Minister has sought legal advice, he will get that back Monday and there is a process set in place and so I think we should respect the process and let’s see what the Prime Minister is able to advise next week,” Mr Dutton said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Ms Andrews told The Australian she had “no knowledge” and called on Mr Morrison to resign.

“I had absolutely no knowledge and was not told by the PM, PMO nor the department secretary. This undermines the integrity of government,” Mr Andrews told The Australian.

The Prime Minister on Tuesday announced Mr Morrison swore himself into home affairs, treasury, health, finance, and the entire department of industry, science, energy and resources during the pandemic.

Mr Albanese said the revelations were an “extraordinary and unprecedented trashing” of Australia’s democracy, and accused the Morrison government of operating in secret.

“It is completely extraordinary that these appointments were kept secret by the Morrison government, it is completely contradictory, too, for example, the questions that ministers answered on the floor of the House of Representatives and the Senate,” Mr Albanese said.

“It turns out I was wrong about there being just two jobs. He told us he was a bulldozer and his Coalition colleagues just shrugged their shoulders and cheered him on, not in one election but in two elections.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/peter-dutton-refuses-to-back-calls-for-former-pm-scott-morrison-to-resign/news-story/daf1700565046c06f218d501e2131b2e

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17410350 (180913ZAUG22) Notable: Scott Morrison warned Donald Trump off Vladimir Putin G7 invitation - Scott Morrison raised concerns with Donald Trump about Vladimir Putin being potentially invited to rejoin the G7, urging the former US president to reject the idea almost two years before Russia invaded Ukraine

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>>41665

Scott Morrison warned Donald Trump off Vladimir Putin G7 invitation

SIMON BENSON and GEOFF CHAMBERS - AUGUST 16, 2022

Scott Morrison raised concerns with Donald Trump about Vladimir Putin being potentially invited to rejoin the G7, urging the former US president to reject the idea almost two years before Russia invaded Ukraine.

The former prime minister’s warning about the Russian President was made during his final one-on-one conversation with Trump in July 2020.

The prescient advice, revealed in a new book, Plagued, released on Tuesday, was prompted after Trump publicly declared it was “common sense” for Putin to ­rejoin the G7 after Russia was kicked out following its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014.

“Since the 2019 G7, Morrison had been quietly behind the scenes putting the case to the Americans that there was nothing remotely liberal or democratic about Russia,” the book says.

In his direct conversation with Trump, a few months before Joe Biden won the US election, Morrison told the president “I think you’re a bit more optimistic than we are.”

Morrison, whose warning of threats posed by autocracies was vindicated in February this year when Russia invaded Ukraine, held strong reservations about Mr Putin being admitted back into a forum founded on the “principles of the international rules based order”.

“The US president dealt breezily with the business part of the call, which was to invite Morrison to attend the G7 summit at Camp David later in 2020: ‘We’d love you to come to the G7’, Trump said.

“It was a demonstration of Australia’s emerging position in the world that for the second year in a row, it would participate as a guest member in this gathering of the world’s leading industrialised economies – the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan.

“Morrison made the point that the 2019 G7 meeting in Biarritz, France, which he’d attended alongside Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had been such a successful summit because it brought like-minded liberal democracies together in one room at a time when the world was facing increasing strategic challenges.”

After discussing preparations for the US-hosted G7 summit, later cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Morrison reminded Trump that Russia would “struggle to fall into any definition of a liberal democracy”. “He said Trump shouldn’t forget Russia’s role in downing Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014. Of the 298 people on board who were killed, 38 were Australians.”

Morrison also pressed Trump on the case for Washington to bring its focus back to the Indo-Pacific and talked him through points he had canvassed with like-minded leaders and the need to build stronger partnerships with India, Singapore, Japan and ­others.

“A feature of Morrison’s discussions with Trump through the year had been the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a strategic ­alliance between the US, Australia, Japan and India, generally known as the Quad,” the book says.

“His thrust was the need to ­elevate the engagement to a leaders’ level meeting.

“He would maintain that position in his ongoing conversations with (former US secretary of state Mike) Pompeo and, eventually, the new US President, Joe Biden.”

In a speech at the Lowy Institute on March 7 this year, Morrison spoke about a “new arc of autocracy”, which was aligning to challenge and reset the world order in their own image.

“We face the spectre of a ­transactional world, devoid of principle, accountability and transparency, where state sovereignty, territorial integrity and liberty are surrendered for respite from coercion and intimidation, or economic entrapment dressed up as economic reward,” he said.

“This is not a world we want – for us, our neighbours or our ­region. It’s certainly not a world we want for our children.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/scott-morrison-warned-donald-trump-off-vladimir-putin-g7-invitation/news-story/bb199e4d480b98c6c57f32b917dbaaf7

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17417576 (200410ZAUG22) Notable: Former prime minister Scott Morrison says he feared alarming his cabinet colleagues and the broader public by disclosing he had assumed co-control of powers across five senior ministries, as he sought to explain why he had kept his extra appointments secret

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Morrison says he feared undermining colleagues if he disclosed extra ministries

Katina Curtis and Lisa Visentin - August 17, 2022

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Former prime minister Scott Morrison says he feared alarming his cabinet colleagues and the broader public by disclosing he had assumed co-control of powers across five senior ministries, as he sought to explain why he had kept his extra appointments secret.

At an extraordinary press conference in Sydney, Morrison rejected calls to resign from parliament and defended his actions in the context of the unusual circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But pressed on why he kept the matter secret, electing not to advise the Australian public or even his cabinet colleagues, Morrison said he did not want to undermine the confidence of his ministers or alarm the public.

“I think there was a great risk that in the midst of that crisis those powers could be misinterpreted and misunderstood, which would have caused unnecessary angst in the middle of a pandemic and could have impacted on the day-to-day functioning of the government,” he said.

He said those fears were justified by the political discussion over the past couple of days since the matter came to light.

While serving as prime minister, Morrison took on the portfolios of then-health minister Greg Hunt, then-finance minister Mathias Cormann in March 2020, followed by then-resources minister Keith Pitt in April 2021 without publicly announcing that decision to the Australian public. It later emerged that he also took on the treasury and home affairs portfolios in May 2021, unbeknown to those ministers at the time, Josh Frydenberg and Karen Andrews, respectively.

Morrison confirmed he discussed the legal process for being appointed co-minister of the health department with then-attorney-general Christian Porter. But he didn’t tell him when he later used that same authority to be appointed joint minister of the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, even though it was Porter’s own department at that time.

Asked whether any members of his cabinet had been aware he had added the senior ministries of treasury and home affairs to his duties, Morrison said no but revealed there were bureaucrats and staffers in his office who knew of the appointments.

“There was people in the department and the people in my office who were directly responsible for managing these specific things,” he said.

Responding to Morrison’s remarks, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his predecessor was evasive in the face of demands for transparency and questioned his lack of contrition to the Australian public.

“The first rule of power grab club is don’t talk about power grab club. And Scott Morrison broke that rule today. Scott Morrison was evasive, he was defensive, he was passive-aggressive and he was self-serving. So at least he was true to himself today. What we saw was all of his characters on full display,” Albanese said.

“How about an apology to the Australian people? The Australian people went to an election not knowing that any of this had occurred, not knowing that there was a shadow government operating … without transparency.”

Andrews is, so far, the only former minister to call on Morrison to resign, labelling his conduct unacceptable. But Morrison rejected this call on Wednesday, saying it was his intention to remain as the member for Cook.

Former employment minister Stuart Robert, a close confidante of Morrison and now shadow assistant treasurer, said there was no need for Morrison to resign, but added it had been “unwise” for him not to inform cabinet of his actions.

“My assessment is if Scott Morrison had brought this to cabinet, colleagues would have said it’s not needed,” he told Sky News.

(continued)

Originally posted at >>>/qresearch/17417651 (200444ZAUG22) Notable: ‘I acted in good faith’, says Scott Morrison - Scott Morrison, former Prime Minister of Australia - theaustralian.com.au

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‘I acted in good faith’, says Scott Morrison

Scott Morrison, former Prime Minister of Australia - AUGUST 17, 2022

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The devastating impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and associated recession required an unprecedented policy response from our government.

These were extraordinary times and they required extraordinary measures to respond. Our government’s overriding objective was to save lives and livelihoods, which we achieved. To achieve this, we needed to ensure continuity of government and robust administrative arrangements to deal with the unexpected in what was a period of constant uncertainty during the nation’s biggest crisis outside of wartime.

The prospect of civil disruption, extensive fatalities and economic collapse was real, especially in the early stages, which was occurring in other parts of the world.

The risk of ministers becoming incapacitated, sick, hospitalised, incapable of doing their work at a critical hour or even fatality was very real. The home affairs minister was struck down with Covid early in the pandemic and the UK prime minister was on a ventilator and facing the very real prospect of dying of Covid.