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Uyghurs in Australia scour through thousands of leaked photos from Xinjiang Police Files searching for loved ones

Erin Handley - 25 May 2022

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Hawagul Tewekkul's eyes brim with tears as she stares down the barrel of a camera.

Her photograph is one of 2,884 mugshots revealed in the Xinjiang Police Files, an unprecedented data leak that sheds new light on China's treatment of Uyghurs.

The source of the files claims to have hacked and downloaded the documents from several police computer servers in China's far-western region of Xinjiang, before decrypting and leaking them to Adrian Zenz, a US-based scholar, who shared the cache with international media.

Thousands of kilometres away, Uyghurs in Australia spent much of the night searching frantically through the database hoping to find a glimpse of their family members.

In many cases, they have not had contact with their loved ones in years.

Rayhangul Abliz told the ABC she trawled through the photographs searching for her parents, who live in a neighbouring area, but in vain.

"I couldn't stop my tears," she said.

"All of them look like my dad or my brothers, every [pair of] eyes looks like [they are] asking me … 'Please help me'."

She said it was distressing to see hundreds and hundreds of faces, and the feeling for many Uyghurs in Australia was funereal.

Human rights groups estimate more than a million people from Muslim ethnic groups, including Uyghurs and Kazakhs, have been detained in re-education facilities — which China calls vocational training centres — in Xinjiang in recent years.

There have also been reports of forced labour and forced sterilisation, as well as accusations of genocide, which China denies.

Ramila Chanisheff described the "devastation" many felt when looking at long sentences handed down for "absurd" reasons.

"It was extremely painful to read the report and see the thousands of innocent faces on the screen," she said.

"We have relatives over there. So [we've been] scouring through the pictures.

"You can hear the anxiety and the stress and sadness in their voices.

"Other people were thinking, 'Well, my family members whom I haven't spoken to in the last five, six years, their pictures are not there. But where are they?'"

Fatimah Abdulghafur, whose father was detained in Xinjiang in 2017 and died the following year, said looking at the photos was "retraumatising".

"It entered our consciousness all over again, even though it never left me or us, the Uyghur people," she said.

At the same time, she said there was a kind of relief in seeing more evidence – directly from Chinese police stations – that contradicts the Chinese Communist Party's narrative and led some to doubt the "huge atrocity" unfolding.

What do we know about the files?

The photos were taken in the first half of 2018 in detention centres and police stations in Konasher county – called Shufu in Chinese – in Kashgar prefecture.

The identity of the source of the files remains a mystery — the BBC said they have connected with the source, but they were not willing to reveal their whereabouts.

For Ms Tewekkul, who was 46 at the time, the reason for her internment is unknown.

The youngest face in the files belongs to Rahile Omer, 15, who was subjected to "re-education".

Others were detained for travelling to "sensitive" countries, or for "growing a beard under the influence of religious extremism", or for listening to "illegal lectures".

The files also contain images captured inside detention centres, as well as information indicating at least 12 per cent of ethnic adults in the county were detained, as well as 15 children.

In some images, minders or police with batons can be seen standing to the edge of the frame. Many depict men with their heads shaved.

The files also include a set of 452 spreadsheets, classified speeches by senior officials and internal police protocols.

Photos from inside the centres appear to show an interrogation in a "tiger chair" — a chair designed to restrain detainees — and a row of detainees watching a speech from a local politician under the watchful eyes of guards.

Other files show surveillance of worshippers at mosques, as well as images of confiscated items, including prayer rugs and hand-written passages from the Qur'an.

One transcript of a May 2017 speech tells police to "handcuff them, blindfold them and use ankle shackles if needed", while another 2017 speech by Xinjiang's leading official instructed police to "shoot dead" anyone who tried to escape.

(continued)

>>16343646

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Dr Zenz and his team at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation analysed and authenticated the documents and published peer-reviewed research on the data.

The BBC and a consortium of investigative journalists have also been able to authenticate significant findings from the leak.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin dismissed the new findings as "the latest example of the anti-China forces' smearing of Xinjiang".

"It is just the same trick as they used to play before," he said.

"The lies and rumours they spread cannot deceive the world, nor can they hide the fact that Xinjiang enjoys peace and stability, its economy is thriving and its people live and work in peace and contentment."

People detained 'simply because of their identity'

Ms Abdulghafur said it was clear Uyghurs were being targeted for their culture and faith, but not enough had been done to answer the question of the motive.

"We had our culture, we had the land, we had everything, and now you're trying to erase us? Why are you doing this?" she said.

The leak coincides with a visit to Xinjiang this week by United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet — a trip some observers fear will be stage-managed by the Chinese Communist Party.

Ms Abdulghafur was concerned Ms Bachelet – whose visit will take place inside a "bubble" to prevent the spread of COVID-19 – would be "fooled".

"She will see all the dancing and seeing Uyghur's happy faces … and it's sick, the world will see a sickness. And meanwhile, the leaked files or the hacked files, they show you a different picture," she said.

Sophie Richardson from Human Rights Watch told ABC's RN Breakfast that the UN's and Ms Bachelet's credibility was on the line, and it was unlikely she would see anything Chinese authorities did not want her to.

She said if Ms Bachelet did not walk away with a strong plan to investigate and prosecute, it would show the world's foremost human rights system had been cowed.

She said the new information was "extraordinary and chilling", and the photographs were reminiscent of the Khmer Rouge's torture prison, Tuol Sleng, in Cambodia.

"These images are people's children, their parents, their siblings — each of these people has a story," she said.

"You can see from the looks on their faces that people are frightened and confused.

"And it's almost certainly because they're being detained not for any discernible criminal offence, but simply because of their identity."

Ms Chanisheff said she wanted the new Labor government to act on a bill passed by the Senate that would ban products of slave labour – such as cotton from forced Uyghur labour — from entering Australia, and to strengthen Magnitsky-style sanctions.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been contacted for comment.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-25/uyghurs-in-australia-xinjiang-police-files-leak-from-china/101097100

https://twitter.com/adrianzenz/status/1528989285692620801

—

The faces from China’s Uyghur detention camps

John Sudworth - May 2022

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/85qihtvw6e/the-faces-from-chinas-uyghur-detention-camps

https://www.xinjiangpolicefiles.org/

https://www.xinjiangpolicefiles.org/images-of-detainees/

https://journals.univie.ac.at/index.php/jeacs/article/view/7336

>>16343646

Xi Jinping defends China’s human rights record to visiting UN commissioner

Leader warns against using issue as ‘excuse to interfere in internal affairs of other countries’ as Michelle Bachelet goes to Xinjiang

Helen Davidson - 25 May 2022

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China’s leader, Xi Jinping, has spoken with the UN human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, as she visited the Xinjiang region, warning against the politicisation of human rights as an “excuse to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries” and defending his government’s record.

It comes amid renewed defensiveness in Beijing after the publication of a significant data leak from Xinjiang’s security apparatus, including mugshots of thousands of detained Uyghurs and internal documents outlining shoot-to-kill policies for those who try to escape.

Xinjiang is home to millions of Uyghur and other Turkic Muslims, who have been subjected to a Chinese government campaign of cultural, linguistic and social control and acts of oppression that governments including the US have termed a genocide.

Bachelet, the UN’s high commissioner for human rights, is in China for a highly orchestrated six-day visit, including the Xinjiang cities of Kashgar and Urumqi. The tour, which China has said is not an investigation, has been met with criticism by some western legislators over its potential to be used as propaganda.

In a video call on Wednesday, Xi and Bachelet “expounded in depth major issues related to the development of the Chinese human rights cause”, according to an official state media readout. The president said China had successfully embarked on a human rights path that “suits its national conditions”.

“There is no perfect ‘ideal country’ on the human rights issue; there is no need for a ‘teacher’ who commands other countries, and we can’t politicise and instrumentalise the human rights issue, engage in double standards, and use human rights as an excuse to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries,” he told her, according to CCTV and Xinhua.

“Deviating from reality and completely copying the institutional model of other countries will not only be difficult to adjust to, but also bring disastrous consequences, and in the end, it is the broad masses of the people who will suffer.”

The readout also claimed that Bachelet, among other remarks, told Xi she “admired China’s efforts and achievements in eradicating poverty, protecting human rights, and realising economic and social development”.

(continued)

>>16343661

2/2

The Guardian contacted the office of the high commissioner, which gave a different version of her comments, delivered in front of some reporters. Foreign media has been banned from accompanying the tour.

“I have been committed to undertaking this visit – the first visit by a UN human rights high commissioner to China in 17 years – because for me, it is a priority to engage with the government of China directly, on human rights issues, domestic, regional and global,” Bachelet told Xi, according to the UN transcript.

“For development, peace and security to be sustainable – locally and across borders – human rights have to be at their core. China has a crucial rule to play within multilateral institutions in confronting many of the challenges currently facing the world, including threats to international peace and security, instability in the global economic system, inequality, climate change and more. I look forward to deepening our discussions on these and other issues, and hope my office can accompany efforts to strengthen the promotion and protection of human rights, justice and the rule of law for all without exception.”

The transcript covered Bachelet’s comments at the beginning of the meeting but not the whole conversation with Xi.

Foreign officials have raised questions over what Bachelet’s visit can realistically achieve, and there is concern that the Chinese government will use the trip to whitewash its human rights record. So far the visit has included Bachelet receiving a gift of the book Xi Jinping on Respecting and Protecting Human Rights, and she has been photographed bumping elbows with China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi. The US has called the visit a mistake.

Xi’s comments to Bachelet on Wednesday underscored the deep sensitivity in China’s government to criticism of its human rights record. It has long denied claims and evidence of its abuses against Uyghurs, saying it is conducting anti-terrorism and poverty-eradication programmes in Xinjiang. At first, Beijing denied the existence of detention camps, before describing them as vocational training centres.

Documents called the Xinjiang Police Files, released on Tuesday, were obtained by the researcher Adrian Zenz from unidentified hackers and published by a consortium of media outlets including the BBC. They revealed thousands of photos of detained Uyghurs, and a database of tens of thousands of records detailing the alleged crimes – including studying scripture or travelling to sensitive countries – that led to their detention or jailing. It also detailed policies on extreme use of restraints to transfer “trainees” between facilities, and on permission for officers to shoot and kill attempted escapees.

China’s state media and officials have reacted with fury to the release, repeating long-held claims that evidence of abuses in Xinjiang are “the lies of the century” and accusing “anti-China forces” of fabricating smears. Media outlets have expounded the success of Xinjiang’s economy and modern life in an apparent effort to counter the reports.

“It seems that the United States and the United Kingdom and other countries don’t care about the truth at all, but want to use the visit of the high commissioner for human rights to hype the so-called ‘Xinjiang issue’ and smear China,” the foreign ministry’s spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, said on Tuesday.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/25/xi-jinping-china-human-rights-record-un-commissioner-visit-michelle-bachelet

https://twitter.com/heldavidson/status/1529363991775961088

Penny Wong visits Fiji, saying Australia neglected Pacific on climate change, as China's Wang Yi visits Solomon Islands

ABC/wires - 26 May 2022

1/2

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has arrived in Solomon Islands, the first stop of an eight-nation Pacific tour, where he is seeking a sweeping regional deal on security and trade.

His visit coincides with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong arriving in Fiji on Thursday to meet with Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama tomorrow, her first Pacific visit since being sworn in on Monday.

In a keynote address, Senator Wong said previous Australian governments had let down the Pacific family on climate change.

"I acknowledge and understand that, under past governments, Australia has neglected its responsibility to act on climate," she said.

"I understand that climate change isn't an abstract threat, it's a present and existential one."

She praised Pacific leaders for their leadership on climate action, vowed Australia would listen to them, and acknowledged they had been "ignored" and "disrespected" in the past.

"We will end the climate wars in our country," she said.

"This is a different Australian government and a different Australia.

"And we will stand shoulder to shoulder with you, our Pacific family, in response."

She added that Australia "will remain a critical development partner for the Pacific family in the years ahead" in dealing with the triple challenge of climate, COVID-19 and "strategic contest".

"Australia will be a partner that doesn't come with strings attached nor imposing unsustainable financial burdens," she said.

"We understand that the security of any one Pacific family member rests on the security of all."

When asked about China's growing influence in the region, she said she did not approach discussion about China's activities in the Pacific as abstract from Australia.

"I look at this and think, 'What is it we need to do to work together to ensure that regional security is fostered and supported?'" she said.

"I respect the sovereign right of every nation to make its own decisions … these aren't decisions in the abstract. These are decisions which affect other nations and the region as a whole."

Wong receives warm welcome from Pacific Islands Forum

Ahead of the speech, Pacific Islands Forum secretary-general Henry Puna said on Twitter it "speaks volumes that her first bilateral visit as Foreign Minister is to our Blue Pacific region".

"This is an issue so critical for our survival, and we cannot settle for anything less than urgent climate action now," he said in remarks before Senator Wong's speech.

Senator Wong has wasted no time in signalling Labor's intention to work more closely with Pacific islands nations, sharing an address to Pacific leaders on Twitter soon after she was sworn in and travelling to Fiji barely 24 hours after returning from a Quad meeting in Tokyo.

Australia to increase aid to Pacific, introduce new visa pathways

In her speech, Senator Wong pointed to a promised increase in Australia's overseas development assistance to the Pacific by $525 million over the next four years.

She said the government would ensure Pacific Islanders who came to Australia to work were treated fairly, with better conditions, and said workers would be allowed to bring their families here.

The new government will also create a Pacific engagement visa to provide a pathway to permanency for 3,000 people per year.

Senator Wong said an Australia-Pacific Climate Infrastructure Partnership would support climate-related infrastructure and energy projects in Pacific countries and Timor-Leste.

She added the new government would reinstate the role of Australia's ambassador for climate change, and would appoint Australia's inaugural First Nations ambassador, who would lead a new office within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

(continued)

>>16343917

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Draft communique shows China seeks deals with 10 Pacific countries

Solomon Islands has rolled out the red carpet for Mr Wang, who was greeted by Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele when he landed in Honiara in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Mr Wang met Mr Manele and Solomon Islands Governor General Sir David Vunagi. He was also expected to meet with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare a month after it was revealed the two countries signed a security pact.

Australia, the United States, Japan and New Zealand have raised concerns about the deal, which they say could give China a military foothold in the Pacific.

A leaked draft communique shows that China will seek an agreement with 10 Pacific Island countries covering policing, security, trade, marine and data communication.

In Honiara, Mr Wang said China hoped relations with the Solomon Islands could be a model for other Pacific Island countries.

Mr Wang said Solomon Islands gained a "sincere and reliable partner" when it established diplomatic relations with China, according to a statement on the foreign ministry website. Solomon Islands switched ties from Taiwan to China in 2019.

China hopes relations with Solomons could be model for others

"Wang Yi said that China will, as always, firmly support Solomon Islands to maintain national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, safeguard domestic unity and accelerate the country's development and revitalisation, and will continue to provide all the assistance it can," the statement said.

The two sides agreed to "work on landmark projects that belong to the 'Belt and Road Initiative' together … and help [Solomon Islands] fully tap its resource advantages and development potential."

The Solomon Islands government said in a statement Mr Wang would sign a number of cooperation agreements between the two countries in a two-day visit. The Chinese delegation of 44 includes vice ministers in foreign affairs, commerce, environment, and information officials.

Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation reported that Mr Sogavare welcomed the high level visit from China, one of the Pacific nation's key development partners.

"We will always stand true to our policy of friends to all and enemies to none," he said.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a news conference in Washington DC the Pacific is New Zealand's home and any security challenges should be addressed by Pacific nations.

"I see [the communique] as China's trying to increase its engagement with sovereign nations, but expanding into a space that — actually the need around security arrangements — we are able to meet within our region," she said.

Dame Meg Taylor, former secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum, was asked about the prospect of naval bases built on Manus Island in her home country of Papua New Guinea.

"For me, it's very, very important that part Papua New Guinea as a sovereign state is the one that calls the shots and not anybody else," she told RN Drive.

"It doesn't matter how small we are, it's very important that our countries in the region are the ones that make those decisions."

Honiara press to boycott press conference

Few details are known about the details of Mr Wang's trip and that could be compounded by a planned media boycott of a press conference to be held by the Chinese official and his Solomon Islands counterpart, Jeremiah Manele, after media learned of restrictions.

"According to the program, the press will be given the opportunity to ask only two questions," Media Association of Solomon Islands (MASI) President Georgina Kekea said in a statement.

"One from a Solomon Islands journalists directed to the Solomon Islands Foreign Affairs Minister, and one from Chinese media, directed to their Foreign Affairs Minister," she said.

"How ridiculous is that?"

She said journalists should be able to ask questions on behalf of the people.

"What is the whole purpose of hosting such an event for the press when they are only allowed one question and directed to their Foreign Minister only?"

She said the boycott was not intended to disrespect the government but to showcase the media's disagreement with the restrictions.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-26/penny-wong-visits-fiji-as-wang-yi-touches-down-in-solomons/101101216

https://twitter.com/FijiPM/status/1529633665147318272

https://twitter.com/henrytpuna/status/1529701342776016896

>>16343917

Deals sought as China casts Pacific net

BEN PACKHAM and GEOFF CHAMBERS - MAY 26, 2022

1/2

Beijing is seeking a deal with 10 ­Pacific countries offering policing, security, cyber support and a new China-Pacific free-trade agreement, dramatically escalating Xi Jinping’s grab for regional influence.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will seek support for the proposed deal at a meeting of ­Pacific Island foreign ministers during an unprecedented regional eight-nation trip starting on Thursday, as Australia’s new ­Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, embarks on her own Pacific blitz to counter China’s efforts to win over the nation’s traditional partners.

Senator Wong said “after a lost decade we’ve got a lot of work to do to regain Australia’s position as the partner of choice in the Pacific, in a region that’s less secure and more contested”.

A draft agreement and five-year action plan sent by Beijing to 10 ­Pacific Island nations, first ­revealed by Reuters, proposes strengthened “exchanges and co-operation in the fields of traditional and non-traditional security“.

Mr Wang will seek agreement on the plan at a meeting on Monday with Pacific foreign ministers in Fiji, midway through his ­regional trip that will also take in visits to Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and East Timor.

It follows China’s controversial security deal with the Solomon ­Islands, which Australia and the US fear could open the way for a Chinese base less than 2000km off Cairns.

The proposed agreement says China would provide “intermediate and high-level police training” and forensic laboratory processing for Pacific Islands police forces, as well as cyber security, customs and data network support.

It also flags a China-Pacific ­Islands free-trade area, and support for action on climate change and health.

Senator Wong will visit Fiji on Thursday in her first Pacific ­Islands visit, meeting Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama and ­Pacific Islands Forum secretary-general Henry Puna “to discuss how we can best secure our region and help build a stronger Pacific family”.

The trip will be the first in a burst of regional visits by Senator Wong, who is expected to visit ­almost every one of Australia’s ­Pacific partners in coming weeks. “China has made its intentions clear. So too are the intentions of the new Australian government,” she said. “We want to help build a stronger Pacific family. We want to bring new energy and more ­resources to the Pacific.

“And we want to make a uniquely Australian contribution including through our Pacific ­labour programs and new permanent migration opportunities.”

Anthony Albanese will also begin a series of important ­regional trips, starting with Indonesia, in coming weeks. He will then visit Papua New Guinea as soon as possible after the country’s national elections, which run from July 2-22.

The Prime Minister exchanged tweets with Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Wednesday, telling him he looked forward to visiting Jakarta and deepening co-operation and economic ties between the neighbours.

“Look forward to working closely with you in advancing our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, including the concrete ­implementation of IA-CEPA,” Mr Joko said.

(continued)

>>16343938

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Mr Albanese and Senator Wong will also attend the Pacific Island Forum in mid-July, where they will present the nation’s more ambitious climate change policies to show that Australia is listening to its Pacific partners.

The draft China-Pacific deal has already sparked objections, with Federated States of Micronesia President David Panuelo warning the agreement could spark a new “Cold War” between China and the West.

In a letter obtained by Reuters, Mr Panuelo said the proposed deal would shift Pacific Island signatories “very close into Beijing’s orbit, intrinsically tying the whole of our economies and societies to them”.

Australian Strategic Policy ­Institute national security program director Michael Shoebridge also warned against the agreement, saying it showed “the scale and speed of Beijing’s ambitions in the South Pacific”.

“It’s a dystopian future they are offering to the people of the South Pacific,” he said.

“It is backed by seemingly free opaque concessional loans, and packaged with lots of schmoozing and cash for Pacific political figures … and it’s got a gravitational attraction that audited investment and aid spending from Australia doesn’t.”

Mr Shoebridge said Australia needed to respond with a Pacific version of the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations framework, offering visa-free travel and the ability for regional workers to take up employment in Australia.

“No aid and engagement increase will match that. And nothing Beijing can offer would either,” Mr Shoebridge said.

Senator Wong’s Fiji trip comes less than a day after she returned to Australia from Quad talks in Japan with Mr Albanese where they discussed rising geostrategic competition in the South Pacific with US President Joe Biden, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

The Australian understands Mr Biden’s senior advisers were “very positive” about working with the Albanese government to expand the reach of the Quad and its allies in the Pacific.

But Mr Wang’s latest Pacific tour is aimed at lifting China’s ­regional diplomacy efforts to new heights, according to the Lowy ­Institute’s senior fellow for East Asia, Richard McGregor.

“Senior Chinese leaders including Xi Jinping have visited Pacific nations before, but there has never been, as far as I know, a high-profile minister making a trip of this dimension and length,” he said.

“When you consider the ­extent of China’s global interests and the relatively small size of the Pacific countries, that tells you immediately that Beijing has ambitious long-term plans in the region.”

The trip, which runs until June 4, is “beneficial to the peace, stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region”, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

Wang Wenbin said China ­attached “great importance to ­developing friendly relations with Pacific island nations”.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said the Chinese Foreign Minister’s one-day visit, with a 20-strong delegation, would be a “milestone” in the two countries’ relationship.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/deals-sought-as-china-casts-pacific-net/news-story/5f25be095f952d3f6df942bd9a5788c1

>>16343917

China to provide South Pacific countries ‘what US, Australia failed to offer’

Yang Sheng and Liu Caiyu - May 25, 2022

1/2

As China and South Pacific island countries are going to strengthen their cooperation to better serve local people's demand for development, some voices from the West or Western media have started to distort the cooperation and hype the fear of a new "Cold War." Chinese experts said the US and Australia always see the island countries as their puppets. So when China help them to become independent and prosperous, the West will definitely feel anxious.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will pay an official visit to the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and East Timor upon invitation from May 26 to June 4, and will also visit Micronesia via video and have a virtual meeting with leaders of Cook Islands and Niue. Observers believe this trip will be a milestone for relations between China and the entire region.

Wang's trip will cover cooperation and deals in many fields including economy, infrastructure, climate change, public health, policing and security.The reason why China's presence has been welcomed by the regional countries is that China could promote the livelihood of the locals and activate the economic potentials of those islands, experts said. However, some Western media have focused only on the cooperation about security, and tried to exaggerate that the cooperation could spark "new Cold War" between China and the West in the region.

"I totally disagree with the saying that the cooperation between China and the South Pacific island countries could spark a 'new Cold War,'" Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a routine press conference on Wednesday.

He cited the fact sheet published by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday reflecting the broad cooperation between the two sides in the fields of economy, trade, maritime environmental protection, poverty relief, tourism, education, culture and sports and said that "the relationship between China and the island countries has become an example of unity and cooperation between the countries with different scales and political systems."

Chen Hong, president of the Chinese Association of Australian Studies, told the Global Times on Wednesday that Washington and Australia have been hyping the "China threat" mythology with fabrications of the so-called Chinese military base in the region.

"However, the slightest effort of fact-checking would show that the security cooperation between China and the Pacific Island countries aims to maintain social order as a way to guarantee a stable business environment, to prevent riots and violent disturbance from taking place again," noted Chen, also director of the Australian Studies Center at East China Normal University.

The Solomon Islands' security cooperation with China is based on real security concerns. The riots in 2021 incurred huge damage to the country's public order and political security, and threatened the safety of local people and expatriates, including Chinese businesspeople in the country. So if the security cooperation has brought about anxiety to the West, it means they are trying to harm the independence and safety of the Solomon Islands and other South Pacific Island countries, said analysts.

Control vs cooperation

Penny Wong, Australia's new foreign minister, said she would travel to Fiji on Thursday, a trip that will coincide with Wang's tour of the eight Pacific Island countries. According to the Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday, Wong said that "China has made its intentions clear. So too are the intentions of the new Australian government."

Chen said Australia apparently regards the South Pacific as its exclusive sphere of influence and has attempted to ostracize China. But China's successful cooperation with the island countries based on mutual respect and reciprocal benefits has been accepted and welcomed by the island countries. "China believes that countries, no matter big or small, should be treated equally - they are not there for anyone to win over and to control."

Shen Shishun, an Asia-Pacific expert with the China Institute of International Studies, said that "the most prominent manifestation of Australia's colonial mentality toward the South Pacific region" is that it always assumes itself as "a leader of South Pacific countries" or "a head in a family" that everyone must obey.

So the idea of Australia developing ties with the South Pacific Island countries is about "control" while China's idea is based on "win-win cooperation," and if Australia wants to compete with China in the region, it's about the competition between "control" and "cooperation," said analysts.

(continued)

>>16343959

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Yu Lei, chief research fellow at the Research Center for Pacific Island Countries of Liaocheng University, told the Global Times on Wednesday that "Western countries, especially Australia, not only require South Pacific countries to copy the Western political and legal systems, but also force them to become a 'voting tool' to serve the West in the international organizations."

"Western troops or military advisers even have de facto control of some countries' army and police such as Palau. Economically, the Western countries have made sure they can enjoy priority to exploit local resources such as mining and fishing wantonly," Yu continued.

The aid from Western countries to the South Pacific, mainly ideological training and indoctrination on civil servants and military or police personnel, is to make sure the governments of these islands are under control, while very few aid was poured into livelihood and local economic development, which is different from the China's cooperation with the South Pacific countries, Yu said.

No one wants to be controlled and made use of by others while receiving very limited benefits. So the West, or Australia's presence in the region, was not welcome. But due to the weak national strengths, the island countries didn't have many choices in the past, analysts said. But now these countries have found that China is a major power which is willing to treat them equally and can provide win-win cooperation and seek no control over them.

Liu Ze, general secretary of Solomon Islands Chinese Business Council, told the Global Times on Wednesday that Australia in recent months has been refocusing on the Solomon Islands, looking to scale up investment to counter what it claimed as "growing Chinese influence." But investments from the West do not bear much attractiveness when compared with those from China, a country known for world-leading infrastructure building capacity and the aquatics industry.

"The economic structure of the Solomon Islands has not made any progress in the past 15 years, which made the ruling party realize that cooperating with the West did not result in development. On the other hand, China - home to the world's most complete industrial and one of the world's largest markets - could not only be an export destination for the island countries' products but also aid them to integrate into the global supply chain," Liu explained.

Help needed

China could explore the possibility to work with the Pacific Island countries in how to provide them with economic development aid, technical training in climate change, ecological protection of mangroves, and infrastructure construction such as power, bridge, and roads which are areas that China is particularly good at, Yu said.

Shen believes that cooperation on the COVID-19 epidemic should be a top priority as the pandemic continues to wreak havoc around the world. China could continue to provide necessary aid.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, China has provided the Pacific Island countries nearly 600,000 doses of vaccines and more than 100 tons of anti-epidemic supplies, according to the fact sheet published by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Although China is geographically far from the Pacific Island countries, it has paid great efforts to support relevant countries in disaster prevention and mitigation. In December 2021, the China-Pacific Island Countries Reserve for Emergency Supplies was officially launched in South China's Guangdong Province, according to the fact sheet.

China provided immediate humanitarian aid when the island countries were hit by natural disasters.In January 2022, a volcanic eruption struck Tonga, which triggered a tsunami and ash fallout. The Chinese government was greatly concerned and acted immediately, making China?the first country to provide assistance to Tonga.

Most of this help was ignored by Western media as they were interested only in exaggerating the security cooperation into a sign of "new Cold War" since they are anxious about China getting more popular in the region. But they can't stop the development of the relations between China and the Pacific Island countries, experts said.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202205/1266550.shtml

GT Voice: To break ice in China trade, the ball is in Australia's court

Global Times - May 25, 2022

New Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday urged China to remove the so-called trade barriers against Australian goods when attending a summit of Quad in Tokyo, Reuters reported.

"It's China that has applied sanctions on Australia. There is no justification for doing that. And that's why they should be removed," he said.

It is not surprising to see the new prime minister repeat some cliché accusations against China when it comes to the bilateral trade issues. After all, he was just sworn in and might have not had the chance to review the current trade issues. Therefore, it must be pointed out that to break the ice in trade tensions between China and Australia, the ball is in Australia's court. It was the Australian federal government that discriminated against Chinese firms and investments and torn apart economic agreements - on top of the tremendous political hostility. China has never announced any economic retaliation or "sanctions" against Australia.

Currently, observers generally believe that while it remains to be seen whether Albanese and his team will restore rationality to their China policy, the new government at least provides an opportunity for the China-Australia relationship to see some improvement. And from the perspective of both its own national interest and its current economic situation, Canberra needs to value this hard-won opportunity.

China has long been Australia's largest trading partner, largest export market and largest source of imports. Even as the China-Australia relationship has been down to a deep freeze since 2020, bilateral trade still accounted for the largest share in Australia's total trade over the past two years. In 2021, Australia exports to China hit $133 billion.

Had Canberra, led by former Prime Minister Scott Morrison, not made erroneous remarks and deeds on issues concerning China's core interests and internal affairs, and not gone further down the road of politicizing trade and investment issues by frequently suppressing Chinese companies on grounds of national security, then the Australian economy would have reaped dividends from bilateral trade far beyond its current level.

Due to the geographical distance, there is no territorial or historical conflict between China and Australia. All the so-called national security problems are nothing but imagination by some politicians. But regrettably, the former Morrison government has been keen to serve as an "anti-China vanguard" to show its loyalty and commitment to strengthen the US-Australia alliance, with little regard for its economic ties with China.

In fact, Australia's hostility toward China has always been in the shadow of the US' geopolitical games. For a long time, the US has shown a strong willingness to politicize trade activities, which inevitably affected Australia, contributing to the latter's trade difficulties with China.

If the new Australian government has the willingness to change the situation, they need to find ways to turn a new page for its relationship with China. Of course, given that Australia is one of the US' closest allies, that change may not be easy to come.

But if the new government still wants to make a difference economically, they need to stop politicizing trade activities as the US does to show its sincerity to cooperate with China, at least on the trade front. For instance, they need to grant Chinese high-tech companies like Huawei fair treatment instead of shutting them out citing baseless national security reasons.

If Canberra wants to change course with China, there is actually no short of cooperation opportunities for both countries. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which took effect at the beginning of this year, is supposed to bring more resilient regional supply chains and more export opportunities for countries within the trade bloc.

Moreover, both countries have set ambitious targets for tackling climate change, which could open a new front for cooperation. China will aim to hit peak emissions before 2030 and for carbon neutrality by 2060, while Albanese pledged to set an emissions reduction target of 43 percent by 2030 and boost the share of renewables in the national electricity market to 82 percent.

All in all, we hope that the new government could reduce hostility and show sincerity in its China policy to at least ease tensions for bilateral trade so as to promote trade relations with China in a pragmatic manner. Baselessly accusing China of economic "sanctions" is not a positive first step.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202205/1266572.shtml

>>16343917

China seeks region-wide Pacific Islands agreement, Federated States of Micronesia decry draft as threatening 'regional stability'

Stephen Dziedzic - 25 May 2022

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Foreign Minister Penny Wong is promising to blitz the Pacific with a host of visits over coming weeks as Australia grapples with the fallout from a renewed push by China to dramatically expand security and commercial ties with the region.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia had "dropped the ball" and Senator Wong's visit to the region would indicate that his government wants to "step up, genuinely".

"We need to respond to this because this is China seeking to increase its influence in the region of the world where Australia has been the security partner of choice since the Second World War," Mr Albanese told ABC News Breakfast.

"They are sovereign nations and we need to respect that, of course, but we need to be offering more support. Otherwise, we can see the consequences with the deal that was done with the Solomons.

"We know China sees that as the first of many, which is the context of their Foreign Minister's visit to the region."

On Wednesday, Reuters revealed that China will seek a region-wide deal with almost a dozen Pacific islands, covering policing, security and data communications cooperation.

A draft communique and five-year action plan sent by Beijing to 10 Pacific islands ahead of a foreign ministers meeting on May 30 prompted pushback from at least one of the invited nations, which says it showed China's intent to control the region and "threatens regional stability".

In a letter to 21 Pacific leaders, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) President David Panuelo said his nation would argue the "pre-determined joint communique" should be rejected, because he fears it could spark a new "Cold War" between China and the West.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Wednesday dismissed "sensational remarks" that the region-wide deal could spark a new Cold War between China and the West in the region.

"China and South Pacific Island countries are good friends and good partners pursuing common development on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit," Mr Wang said at a routine press conference.

The ABC has also obtained a copy of the letter by Mr Panuelo — as well as the "Five Year Action Plan on Common Development" and "Common Development Vision" that China's government has proposed to Pacific states — and verified the contents.

The two documents not only lay out a plan to expand policing cooperation but also propose a new free trade arrangement between China and the Pacific, a new Chinese government envoy to the region, intensified cyber security cooperation and deeper cooperation across a host of sectors from agriculture to fishery and pandemic management.

Senator Wong is due to travel to Fiji on Thursday to meet with top officials and leaders as she begins a regional push to cement Australia's position and press back on Beijing's most recent foray into the region.

"China has made its intentions clear. So too are the intentions of the new Australian government. We want to help build a stronger Pacific family," she said.

"I will be a frequent visitor to the Pacific, starting this week with a visit to Fiji as we lead up to the Pacific Islands Forum."

"We want to bring new energy and more resources to the Pacific. And we want to make a uniquely Australian contribution including through our Pacific labour programs and new permanent migration opportunities."

Multiple diplomats and officials said they were aware of Mr Panuelo's letter warning against the deal, and of China's push to rapidly strengthen ties with the region.

But the officials said several other Pacific island countries were also deeply uneasy about the document and were determined to resist Beijing's push. One Western diplomat predicted it could spark a round of recrimination between Pacific Island countries that recognise China.

(continued)

>>16344026

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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit eight Pacific island nations that China holds diplomatic ties with between May 26 and June 4.

He will hold several meetings in Solomon Islands, which recently signed a security pact with China despite objections from Australia, the United States, Japan and New Zealand, which fear it could upset regional security arrangements and give China a military foothold in the Pacific.

Beijing rejects this, saying the pact is focused on domestic policing, and criticism by Western countries was interfering in Solomon Island's sovereign decision-making.

But the simultaneous Pacific visits by Penny Wong and Wang Yi, as well as the deepening controversy over the new pacts pushed by China, both highlight the way intensifying jousting between China and several Western countries is beginning to reshape elements of the Pacific geopolitical landscape.

Shift in China's approach to Pacific

A region-wide agreement covering security and trade between China and Pacific islands would represent a shift in Beijing's focus from bilateral relationships to dealing with the Pacific on a multilateral basis, and would likely increase concerns by Washington and its allies.

The China-Pacific Island Countries Common Development Vision draft document, as well as a five-year action plan, has been circulated by Beijing ahead of the meeting in Fiji.

It states China and the Pacific islands will "strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the fields of traditional and non-traditional security".

"China will hold intermediate and high-level police training for Pacific Island Countries through bilateral and multilateral means," the document seen by Reuters says.

The action plan outlines a ministerial dialogue on law enforcement capacity and police cooperation to be held in 2022, and China providing forensic police laboratories.

The draft communique also pledges cooperation on data networks, cyber security, smart customs systems, and for Pacific islands to "take a balanced approach to technological progress, economic development and protection of national security".

Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei, which is barred from 5G networks run by several US allies, has been repeatedly thwarted in attempts to build submarine cables or run mobile networks in the Pacific islands by Australia and United States offering rival bids for the sensitive infrastructure, citing national security concerns.

The communique also proposes a China-Pacific Islands Free Trade Area, and support for action on climate change and health.

Pacific at risk of being caught up in China-West conflict

In his letter to other leaders, Mr Panuelo said the communique would shift Pacific islands who hold diplomatic relations with China "very close into Beijing's orbit, intrinsically tying the whole of our economies and societies to them".

Mr Panuelo highlighted the risk of Pacific islands being caught in geopolitical conflict as tensions rise between the United States and China over Taiwan.

"The practical impacts, however, of Chinese control over our communications infrastructure, our ocean territory and the resources within them, and our security space, aside from impacts on our sovereignty, is that it increases the chances of China getting into conflict with Australia, Japan, the United States and New Zealand," he said.

China's provision of customs systems would lead to "biodata collection and mass surveillance of those residing in, entering and leaving our islands", he added.

The letter was also critical of Australia's lack of action on climate change, which Mr Panuelo said was the greatest security threat to the region.

Mr Albanese pledged this week to increase climate financing to Pacific islands, saying climate change was the main economic and security challenge for low-lying island countries.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-25/china-seeks-pacific-islands-policing-security-cooperation/101099978

Peter Dutton 2.0: I’ll be a gentler and caring me

JOE KELLY and SIMON BENSON - MAY 26, 2022

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Peter Dutton has promised that Australians will see another side of his character as opposition leader, arguing the Liberal Party is the natural champion of families, small business and aspirational workers across the ­nation’s cities, suburbs and regions.

The former defence minister has confirmed he will nominate for the leadership of the Liberal Party and has campaigned on a platform to unify his colleagues and hold Labor to account in an economic cycle dominated by rising inflation and interest rates.

Mr Dutton said he would reveal a gentler side of his character, arguing that the public had grown accustomed to seeing him in “tough portfolios” like defence and home affairs where his job was to deport drug traffickers and child sex offenders.

Amid the debate over whether the party should shift to the right or the left after the teal revolution saw the Liberals lose up to six inner-city seats to Climate 200 independents, Mr Dutton signalled he would lead from the centre.

“We aren’t the Moderate Party. We aren’t the Conservative Party. We are Liberals. We are the Liberal Party. We believe in families – whatever their composition,” he said. “Small and micro businesses. For aspirational, hard-working ‘forgotten people’ across cities, suburbs, regions and in the bush.

“I’ve had tough jobs – firstly as a policeman dealing with serious sexual assaults and murders, to home affairs minister where I deported drug traffickers and child sex offenders.

“Most people have only seen that side of me. I hope now, in moving from such tough port­folios, the Australian public can see the rest of my character, the side my family, friends and colleagues see. The side my community sees, where they have elected me eight times.

“I come from the suburbs and I have never changed my values or forgotten where I come from.”

One of Mr Dutton’s key challenges will be his ability to appeal to female voters, with Scott Morrison having faced severe criticism over his handling of women’s issues, including the response to the alleged rape of former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins in Parliament House.

Mr Dutton’s wife, Kirilly, said her husband was an “amazing ­father and the kids adore him”.

The couple has two sons, Harry, 17, and Tom, 16, and daughter Rebecca, 20, from Mr Dutton’s first marriage.

“He has a great sense of humour - very dry and witty but he also has an incredible compassion, particularly when it comes to the protection of women and children,” Ms Dutton said.

“He hides a lot of his emotion from the public but he gets most upset at reports of children or women being sexually abused or harmed. It obviously stems from his time as a policeman working in that area, but it’s also from being the eldest of five kids growing up in the suburbs.”

Mr Dutton said Australians needed a prime minister who “won’t buckle in hard times and will stand up for our country, and I have proved that in the portfolios I’ve had”.

“My work ethic is second to none and I have the skill and experience, having served five leaders and having learnt from each,” he said.

“I have held portfolios in government and in opposition, including defence, home affairs, health, fin­ance, assistant treasurer, sport and employment,

“I was raised by my political mentors John Howard and Peter Costello. I was a minister under John, assistant treasurer under Peter.

“Things are going to be tough under Labor: higher interest rates, cost of living, inflation and electricity prices. Labor talked a big game on the economy.

“They now have to deliver, and we will hold them to account.”

(continued)

>>16344039

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Mr Dutton said the Liberals would be a “strong alternative at the next election with economic policies to help, not harm people”.

“This will be in stark contrast to what we will get under Labor,” he said.

With Mr Dutton certain to emerge as opposition leader, Labor on Wednesday launched a pre-emptive assault on the future direction of the Liberal Party under his leadership.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said if Mr Dutton was the answer to the problems facing the Liberal Party, then it was “not ­entirely clear they had heard the questions that were raised ­during this election campaign”.

Jim Chalmers said Mr Dutton’s elevation would “show they have learned absolutely nothing from the drubbing on Saturday”.

“Peter Dutton has all of the same characteristics that people didn’t like … in Scott Morrison. I think we’re up for a very divided period when it comes to the Liberals and Nationals,” the Treasurer said.

Likely education minister Tanya Plibersek mocked Mr Dutton’s physical appearance on Wednesday, comparing him to the Harry Potter series villain Voldemort.

“There’ll be a lot of children who have watched a lot of Harry Potter films who’ll be very frightened of what they see on TV at night,” she told Brisbane’s 4BC radio.

A spokesman for Ms Plibersek later told The Courier-Mail that she had unreservedly apologised to Mr Dutton for commenting on his appearance.

Mr Dutton has strong defenders within this party ranks, with North Queensland MP Warren Entsch saying the popular characterisation of Mr Dutton in the media was “nothing like the ­person I know” and “nobody can tell me he isn’t a man of ­compassion. He has been given some of the most difficult portfolios, and he has had to stick by them despite being vilified by sections of the community.

“He has done incredibly well as minister in adverse positions,” Mr Entsch told The Australian.

Moderate Liberal MPs also poured cold water on reports in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that serious plans to remove Mr Morrison had been canvassed broadly.

Sturt MP James Stevens branded the idea “completely ridiculous … Any experienced political operator knows if any discussion of that nature was occurring, there’s no way the media would not have found out,” Mr Stevens said.

“It would shock me if it was anything more than whispers into an empty beer bottle.”

Mr Entsch said he had been completely unaware of any whispers to roll Mr Morrison, and the only concerns he had heard were from a “couple of constituents”.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/peter-dutton-20-ill-be-a-gentler-and-caring-me/news-story/c2592763931229b8c174f23015aa723f

>>16344039

Peter Dutton seeks to recast his image as Tanya Plibersek apologises for likening him to Voldemort

Georgia Hitch and Nour Haydar - 26 May 2022

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Federal Liberal MP Peter Dutton is seeking to change his public image ahead of a vote on Monday to confirm the leader of the Liberal Party and the next opposition leader.

Mr Dutton has formally nominated for the leadership, but he would not speculate on who the deputy leader could be.

Mr Dutton is also attempting to soften his image, saying while he would not be changing who he was he wanted people to be able to see his "complete character".

"Not just what they've seen through sound grabs when I'm talking about boats or all sorts of different issues," he told Nine radio.

"You've got to be a tough person to be the defence minister in this country, you have to be a tough minister to be in charge of ASIO and the Australian Federal Police and Border Force.

"But I've been elected in my seat eight times now and locals who've seen me and interacted with me, I think see a more complete picture and I hope I can show that side as well and people can draw their own conclusions."

Announcing his nomination on social media, Mr Dutton said Australia needed a leader who would not buckle in hard times.

The Liberal nominee said he'd had tough jobs as a government minister and formerly a police officer, but that he also had a softer side.

"Most people have only seen that side of me," he wrote.

"I hope now, in moving from such tough portfolios, the Australian public can see the rest of my character. The side my family, friends and colleagues see."

Earlier, Mr Dutton also appeared to try and differentiate himself from former prime minister Scott Morrison when it came his religiosity.

"I believe in God but I don't attend church on a regular basis, so I'd be a failed Catholic as Tony Abbott would point out, but I don't seek to make that part of who I am," he said.

Mr Morrison was very public about the depth of his Pentecostal Christian faith and regularly attends church.

Yesterday, ousted Liberal MP Dave Sharma said voters in his Sydney electorate believed Mr Morrison was "too religious".

Mr Dutton said as Opposition Leader he would seek to "bring the party together" and restore its position as a "broad church" with voices from both the left and right, but that at the end of the day the Liberal Party was centre-right and would not become "Labor lite".

The 51-year-old conservative hard head has been the centre of his fair share of controversy during his more than 20 years in parliament.

In 2015, he was caught on a "hot mic" making a joke about "water lapping at the door" of Pacific Island nations because of climate change and the next year he made inflammatory remarks about refugees' literacy levels.

He was also the only opposition frontbencher in 2008 to boycott then prime minister Kevin Rudd's apology to the Stolen Generations and personally voted no "and encouraged people to do the same" to same-sex marriage in the 2017 postal vote.

Ultimately, Mr Dutton voted in favour of same-sex marriage in parliament after majority support for it was made clear by the postal vote.

(continued)

>>16344054

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Former environment Minister Sussan Ley is the frontrunner for the deputy leadership position.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told Sky News that he hoped he could work cooperatively with Mr Dutton.

"I congratulate him if that is the decision of the Liberal Party," Mr Albanese said.

"The leader of the opposition, I know, isn't an easy task.

"I've got a much better relationship with Peter Dutton than [with] Scott Morrison. Peter Dutton has never broken a confidence I've had with him."

Mr Dutton said he respected and had a good relationship with the Prime Minister, and had been able to work pragmatically with him in the past.

Plibersek apologises for Voldemort comment

Mr Dutton confirmed that senior Labor MP Tanya Plibersek had apologised "to her credit" for likening him to Voldemort, the villain from the Harry Potter series.

Ms Plibersek made the comments on Nine Radio when asked about Mr Dutton becoming opposition leader.

"I think there will be a lot of children who have watched a lot of Harry Potter films who will be very frightened of what they are seeing on TV at night, that's for sure," she had said.

"I am saying he looks a bit like Voldemort and we will see whether he can do what he promised he would do when he was last running for leader, which is smile more."

Mr Dutton told Nine Radio it was "water off a duck's back".

"You read that sort of stuff online and it's sort of the sewer of Twitter… I just don't think you need to be nasty and mean," he said.

He went on to joke that his "head's made for radio" and when his teenage sons give him grief for being bald he reminds them "that I had more hair than they did at 16 and 17" and that they may have the same genes as him.

"I'm not bald by choice, I was diagnosed with a skin condition a couple of years ago, it's all just the reality of getting older," he said.

"I'm not the prettiest bloke on the block but I'm hopeful I'll be pretty effective."

Mr Albanese said Ms Plibersek's remarks were not acceptable and she did the right thing by apologising.

"I do want to change the way that politics functions in this country," he said.

"People do have conflict fatigue."

Morrison looking forward to being 'quiet Australian'

In his first interview since losing the election, former prime minister Scott Morrison says he is looking forward to supporting the new leadership of the Liberal Party.

While he would not comment on who was running to be leader, Mr Morrison told Nine Radio he would support whoever was elected "and the direction they’re taking".

Mr Morrison also said that he was looking forward to "going back to being a 'quiet Australian'" in his local community in Sydney and joked about now doing the drop off and pick-up at school.

"You accept the result and you move on,” Mr Morrison said about Saturday’s defeat.

"You’re just very humbled by the opportunity you’ve had. You can dwell on defeat or you can dwell on the things that led you to go and do what you did.

"You live every day and you take every opportunity you can to achieve what you’re looking to achieve for the country.

"I leave not with regrets but with a great sense of gratitude."

The former prime minister said his faith and his family had allowed him to keep a level head.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-26/peter-dutton-recast-image-tanya-plibersek-voldemort-comment/101100708

Kevin Spacey charged over four sex attacks

The Hollywood megastar, 62, was charged by the UK’s Metropolitan Police on Thursday and is due to appear in court.

news.com.au - May 27, 2022

Kevin Spacey has been charged with four counts of sexual assault against three men.

The Hollywood megastar, 62, was charged by the UK’s Metropolitan Police on Thursday and is due to appear in court.

He also faces a charge of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.

All of the counts are alleged to have happened between 2005 and 2013.

Four of the alleged offences are said to have taken place in London, while the other is alleged to have happened in Gloucestershire, in the south west of England.

Robert Ainslie, head of the UK Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime Division, said: “The CPS has authorised criminal charges against Kevin Spacey, 62, for four counts of sexual assault against three men.

“He has also been charged with causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. The charges follow a review of the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police in its investigation.

“The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against Mr Spacey are active and that he has the right to a fair trial.”

The Met opened an investigation into the House of Cards star in 2017.

Spacey was interviewed under caution by the police in 2019.

His House of Cards character, Frank Underwood, had to be killed off after he was booted from the series as allegations emerged.

Spacey was ordered to pay the studio that created the show $43.7million last year over breach of contract following sexual harrassment claims.

The production company claimed it incurred extra costs as it had already started filming parts of a new series before Spacey had to be cut out.

The former A-lister has a new film coming out, Peter Five Eight, in which he plays a serial killer.

Spacey won the Academy Award for best actor for his performance in American Beauty, and also won the best supporting actor Oscar after starring in The Usual Suspects.

He also starred in Seven, LA Confidential and Baby Driver.

https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/kevin-spacey-charged-over-four-sex-attacks/news-story/4c0816f584a375a23ea33311390ee460

>House of Cards

>>16345934

Q Post #4590

Jul 18 2020 11:18:04 (EST)

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/kevin-spacey-accuser-dies-by-suicide-day-after-actor-posts-kill-them-with-kindness-video

"This marks the third Spacey accuser to die in 2019."

At what point does it become painfully obvious?

Q

https://qanon.pub/#4590

—

Kevin Spacey accuser dies by suicide day after actor posts 'kill them with kindness' video

Spencer Neale - December 26, 2019

A prominent Kevin Spacey accuser died by suicide on Christmas Day.

Ari Behn, 47, was married to Norwegian Princess Martha Louise between 2002 and 2017 and accused Spacey of groping him under a table at a Nobel Peace Prize event in 2007.

"It is with great sadness in our hearts that I on behalf of the very closest relatives of Ari Behn must announce that he took his own life today," Behn's manager Geir Hakonsund told Norway Today.

This marks the third Spacey accuser to die in 2019. In May, Linda Culkin, who accused Spacey, 60, of sexual harassment, was killed when she was struck by a vehicle in Massachusetts. In September, an anonymous massage therapist who accused Spacey of sexual assault died in the middle of a lawsuit against the actor.

Behn's death comes one day after Spacey released a video on YouTube titled "KTWK (Kill Them With Kindness)." Stoking a roaring fireplace adorned with Christmas stockings, Spacey can be seen looking into the camera and saying, "I know what you're thinking. Can he be serious? I'm dead serious."

"The next time someone does something you don't like, you can go on the attack, but you can also hold your fire and do the unexpected," said the Oscar winner as music played in the background. "You can kill them with kindness."

It marked the second video the American Beauty actor has released around the Christmas holiday. In 2018, Spacey published a video titled "Let Me Be Frank," in which he mimicked his character Frank Underwood from the House of Cards TV series.

A statement released by the Royal House of Norway said Behn "was an important part of our family for many years, and we carry warm and good memories of him with us."

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/kevin-spacey-accuser-dies-by-suicide-day-after-actor-posts-kill-them-with-kindness-video

https://qanon.pub/?q=spacey

https://qanon.pub/?q=house%20of%20cards

>House of Cards

Election 2022: Teals were vicious and brutal, says Scott Morrison

JESS MALCOLM - MAY 27, 2022

Scott Morrison says teal independents who unseated up to six moderate Liberals ran a “vicious and brutal campaign” against the Coalition, as he confirmed he would remain in parliament as a backbencher.

In his first interview since ­Labor won government on ­Saturday, the former prime minister said he was extremely disappointed but conceded Australians had clearly spoken in favour of change.

Speaking to 2GB radio on Thursday, Mr Morrison said the teal independents had “played hard”. He said he hoped the new independents, who campaigned on ambitious climate change targets and a stronger federal anti-corruption watchdog, followed through on their promises.

“They’ve made all sorts of big commitments about how they think they can change everything – well, we’ll just see, won’t we?” Mr Morrison said. “The newcomers need to be held to account if they did not deliver.”

“I‘m devastated Josh Fry­denberg won’t be there,” Mr Morrison said.

“He was a huge part of the party’s future and I certainly hope he still is in some way.”

While refusing to comment ­directly on the future direction of the Liberal Party, Mr Morrison said he would give his full support to the new team.

“I look forward to giving that new leadership every support, and going back to being a quiet ­Australian in the (Sutherland) Shire,” he said.

“It’s not the first time that the Liberal Party has lost an election. That happens in various cycles, but the party will regroup under new leadership.”

The new independent MP for North Sydney, Kylea Tink, ­denied accusations that those backed by the Climate 200 group ran a brutal campaign, as she attacked the ­Coalition for ­“refusing to listen” to voter ­concerns.

“I don’t think our campaign was brutal at all,” Ms Tink told Sky News. “It was the antithesis of that.”

She said the previous ­Coalition government was one that “was not listening and ­refused to listen”.

Mr Morrison said he was ­looking forward to spending more time with his family after a tough few years.

“I’ve got no plans to go anywhere,” Mr Morrison said. “I am going back to the Shire and re-establishing our life back there and getting the girls back into their routine.

“I’ve just dropped them off at school this morning. I’m looking forward to being a dad again – it’s been a while since I’ve been able to spend as much time as I would like with the family. ”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/election-2022-teals-were-vicious-and-brutal-says-scott-morrison/news-story/cd9791df5492b0638a030a7bb241d506

‘Trust and respect’: Macron agrees to rebuild ties with Australia

Trudy Harris - May 27, 2022

Sydney | French President Emmanuel Macron has said he is ready to start rebuilding his country’s fractured relationship with Australia, during his first phone call with new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Mr Macron reminded his new counterpart during the phone call of the “severe breach of trust” that occurred between the two countries over a cancellation of a $90 billion submarine contract that angered Paris.

But in a statement released by the French presidential palace on Thursday (Friday AEST), the leaders agreed to “rebuild a bilateral relationship based on trust and respect to jointly overcome global challenges, foremost among them the climate emergency, and the strategic challenges in the Indo-Pacific”.

Mr Macron, who had previously written to Mr Albanese following his election victory on Saturday night, called the prime minister to congratulate him and to discuss the road map ahead, the Élysée statement also said.

“A road map will be prepared to structure this new bilateral agenda, by identifying strategic co-operation between our two countries with the aim of strengthening our resilience and contributing to regional peace and security.”

Mr Macron recalled during the call the “historical ties forged” between France and Australia during World War I and the “immense gratitude of generations of French people” for Australian soldiers’ efforts.

“This sacrifice will never be forgotten, especially when war has returned to the heart of the European continent,” he said of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The French leader had a spectacular personal falling out with Scott Morrison over the Coalition government’s cancellation of the submarine contract with French company Naval Group, and the subsequent creation of AUKUS.

Mr Macron accused Mr Morrison of lying to him, and the two men proved unable to move their governments on from the diplomatic fracas.

Mr Albanese said their conversation was “warm and constructive” in a social media post on Thursday night, with the two leaders discussing their commitment to “a free, open and resilient Indo-Pacific, cooperating on climate and energy, and support for Ukraine”.

“I look forward to working together on our shared priorities,” he said on Twitter.

Last October, an outraged France accused its allies of stabbing it in the back when Australia opted for nuclear-powered submarines to be built with US and British technology instead of a multi-billion dollar French submarine program.

Departing French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian was a bitter critic of the AUKUS pact, and told French media on Saturday that “the defeat of Morrison suits me fine”.

https://www.afr.com/world/europe/trust-and-respect-macron-agrees-to-rebuild-ties-with-australia-20220527-p5aoy6

https://twitter.com/AlboMP/status/1529777358252949506

US greenlights proposed HIMARS rocket launcher sale to Australia

Charbel Kadib - 27 MAY 2022

The State Department has rubber-stamped the proposed sale of half-a-billion-dollars in rocket launch capability to Australia.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has announced the approval of Australia’s proposed request to purchase 20 M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) for approximately US$385 million (AU$542 million).

The State Department has made a determination approving a possible foreign military sale to the government of Australia of HIMARS launchers and related equipment for an estimated cost of $385 million.

Also included in the proposed deal are:

• 30 M30A2 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS);

• 30 Alternative Warhead (AW) pods with Insensitive Munitions Propulsion Systems (IMPS);

• 30 M31A2 GMLRS Unitary (GMLRS-U) high explosive pods with IMPS;

• 30 XM403 Extended Range (ER)-GMLRS AW pods;

• 30 EM404 ER GMLRS unitary pods; and

• 10 M57 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS).

The Lockheed Martin-built system is billed as a technically advanced, affordable and sustainable artillery solution, designed to offer multiple launch rocket system firepower on a wheeled chassis.

HIMARS can carry a single six-pack of GMLRS rockets or one TACMS missile aboard a Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) five-tonne truck and can launch the entire MLRS family of munitions.

“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States,” the DSCA noted in a statement.

“Australia is one of our most important allies in the Western Pacific. The strategic location of this political and economic power contributes significantly to ensuring peace and economic stability in the region.

“It is vital to the US national interest to assist our ally in developing and maintaining a strong and ready self-defence capability.”

Two US government and five US contractor representatives are expected to support the Australian Defence Force’s integration of the capability.

This is the latest of a number of proposed foreign military sales approved by the United States this year.

In April, the Commonwealth government secured approval for its proposed acquisition of 106 Multifunctional Information Distribution System Joint Tactical Radio System (MIDS JTRS) terminals for approximately US$42 million ($56 million).

Earlier in the year, the US also greenlit a US$122 million ($168.7 million) purchase request for Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) Line Replaceable Units (LRUs) and related equipment.

https://www.defenceconnect.com.au/strike-air-combat/10082-us-greenlights-proposed-himars-rocket-launcher-sale-to-australia

https://www.dsca.mil/press-media/major-arms-sales/australia-himars-launchers

https://www.dsca.mil/sites/default/files/mas/Press%20Release%20-%20Australia%2022-28%20CN.pdf

Missing witness and a change of government: the latest delays in Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation case

Trial held up due to Covid and fall of Kabul now waits for evidence release by new attorney general and reappearance of Person 27

Ben Doherty - 27 May 2022

Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation case – first filed in 2018 – has borne delays for Covid and national security concerns, been rearranged because of the fall of Kabul, and now, in its final days of evidence, has been further stalled by a change of government and witnesses who can’t be found.

The nearly year-long trial, has only two witnesses left to appear – both subpoenaed by Roberts-Smith: two serving SAS members, anonymised as Person 27 and Person 81.

Roberts-Smith, a Victoria Cross recipient, is suing three newspapers for defamation over a series of reports he alleges portray him as committing war crimes, including murder.

The newspapers are pleading a defence of truth. Roberts-Smith denies any wrongdoing.

Person 27 has already given evidence in this trial, but is being recalled to be re-cross-examined over alleged inconsistencies in his evidence.

But efforts to find him have thus far proven fruitless.

The court heard Friday morning it was believed he was “out of the jurisdiction … that is overseas” on military service, “but we haven’t been able to confirm that,” the barrister for Roberts-Smith, Arthur Moses SC, told the court.

The appearance of the final witness has been delayed by Australia’s change of government at the weekend. Person 81 is a serving member of the SAS, and a senior officer in the regiment.

About 30 defence documents relating to his evidence need to be released by the government, requiring the commonwealth attorney general to sign off because of national security concerns.

With the change in government after last weekend’s election result, that signoff has been delayed. ACT Senator Katy Gallagher has been sworn in as interim attorney general and is expected to make a decision on whether to release the documents early next week.

It is expected that the final two witnesses will give evidence next week. After a break, the trial will then hear closing submissions, before Justice Anthony Besanko retires to make a ruling and deliver his judgment.

Roberts-Smith’s defamation action was filed in 2018, but the trial did not begin hearing evidence until the middle of 2021.

The evidence of three Afghan witnesses was brought forward in July that year due to deteriorating security conditions in Afghanistan. In a brutal and swift coup, Kabul fell back under the control of the Taliban a month later.

The trial was then delayed by Sydney’s Covid-19 delta outbreak and the closure of some of Australia’s internal borders. Many of the SAS witnesses in Perth were unable to attend court in Sydney without becoming stranded because of Western Australia’s strict Covid restrictions. Given the sensitive nature of their evidence relating to national security, they could not appear by video link.

Lawyers for Roberts-Smith told the court he was being disadvantaged by the constant delays in the trial, and argued hearings should be moved to a new city, lest it become indefinitely delayed. Lawyers for the commonwealth argued against moving, citing the extraordinary and costly national security protocols that had been put in place in Sydney to run the trial.

The trial was kept in Sydney, but was put on hiatus for nearly six months, before resuming in February this year.

The last weeks of evidence have been slowed by scheduling issues around witnesses, including one soldier who was forbidden from giving evidence at the last minute by the foreign military with which he now serves.

The trial will resume next week, with evidence expected to be completed by the end of the week. A judgment could be months, even up to a year, away.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/may/27/missing-witness-and-a-change-of-government-the-latest-delays-in-ben-roberts-smiths-defamation-case

Julian Assange's family says federal election result brings renewed hope for WikiLeaks founder's release

Brendan Mounter and Adam Stephen - 27 May 2022

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The family of Julian Assange is hopeful the election of a federal Labor government will pave the way for the WikiLeaks founder's eventual release and a return to Australia.

It has been almost a decade since Mr Assange, who originally hails from Townsville in north Queensland, has been a free man.

For the past three years, he has been in high security detention at Belmarsh Prison in the United Kingdom, after seven years of asylum within London's Ecuadorian embassy in a bid to avoid arrest.

United States authorities have sought Mr Assange's extradition from the UK so he can stand trial on charges of espionage and computer misuse relating to hundreds of thousands of leaked cables from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

His brother, film producer Gabriel Shipton, said Mr Assange had been persecuted for publishing the ugly truths of war.

"Julian is accused of what investigative journalists do all the time, which is sourcing and publishing materials from a source, Chelsea Manning," Mr Shipton said.

"Those releases exposed war crimes in Iraq, undocumented civilian deaths in Iraq, corruption, government malfeasance … all sorts of things."

American prosecutors allege Mr Assange unlawfully helped US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal classified diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks later published, putting lives at risk.

Family urges incoming government to act

Lawyers for Mr Assange fear he could face up to 175 years in jail if he is extradited to the US and convicted.

But the weekend's election result has buoyed his supporters, with the hope that the new Labor government will intervene and help secure his release.

While in Opposition, newly elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is reported to have told a February 2021 caucus meeting that "enough was enough" and he "can't see what's served by keeping [Assange] incarcerated".

Mr Albanese is also a signatory to the Bring Julian Assange Home Campaign petition.

Senior Labor MP Mark Dreyfus, who is expected to be appointed Attorney-General, has also expressed a need to "bring the matter to a close".

Mr Shipton is calling on the new government to turn those words into action.

"That was the Labor position before the election so we're very hopeful when there's a new administration, a new government coming in there's always a lot of hope that they will live up to their promises," he said.

"I hope [Mr Albanese] raised Julian's case with [US President] Joe Biden [at the recent Quad meeting]."

The ABC has approached federal Labor to confirm if MPs' positions had changed, whether Mr Assange's case was raised at this week's Quad meeting in Tokyo, and what plans the new government had to intervene or offer consulate assistance.

A spokesperson said the ALP could not comment at this stage, noting the new ministry was yet to be appointed.

(continued)

>>16349835

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UK precedent could offer Assange a lifeline

Mr Shipton said the UK and Australia could also work together to reject the US extradition request, citing a precedent set when former British home secretary Theresa May was in office.

"She rejected an extradition order for Gary McKinnon, who had a similar Asperger's syndrome and severe depression that Julian has, saying that Gary would not get the support that is needed for his conditions in a US prison, so there is a precedent there," he said.

"I think Anthony Albanese could just pick up the phone and call Boris Johnson and implore him to show some compassion on this."

Mr Shipton has grave fears for his brother's welfare, well beyond any life sentence, if he were to be extradited to the US.

"I really believe he won't be kept safe there in the US prison system," he said.

"We know there are people who are part of the security state in the US who really want Julian dead. They've called for it on national television.

"It's really important that we stop this here; that he's not extradited, and he's released and brought home to Australia."

Assange supporters believe his freedom is important for democracy

Mr Shipton had produced a documentary called Ithaka, detailing the efforts of John Shipton, the brothers' father, to secure his son's freedom.

He believes public support for his brother has galvanised during the prolonged incarceration, citing various petitions and a growing number of public figures demanding Mr Assange's release.

"It's not just about Julian, it's about all of us, and I think people around the world are starting to realise that and they're making their voices heard," he said.

"People are beginning to see what this case means for their right to know what the government's doing in their name.

"I really believe that this movement is growing and we will be able to bring Julian home."

Ithaka will be screened on ABC TV and ABC iView over two nights beginning on June 7.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-27/julian-assange-release-family-election-result-brings-hope/101100860

https://iview.abc.net.au/show/ithaka-a-fight-to-free-julian-assange

>>16343917

Wong takes on Beijing over climate, debt and influence

Eryk Bagshaw - May 26, 2022

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Singapore: Foreign Minister Penny Wong has warned Pacific leaders a region-wide security and trade deal with Beijing could sacrifice their independence, lead to unsustainable debt levels and endanger the region.

Wong spoke in Suva after new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese blamed the former Coalition government for China’s rising influence in the Pacific, arguing Australia had “dropped the ball” by neglecting its closest neighbours.

Albanese said the security deal between Beijing and Solomon Islands signed last month was “just the first of a range of deals that they want to exercise” and that Australia had to increase respect as well as funding for the Pacific.

In her first press conference as foreign minister, at the Pacific Islands Forum on Thursday evening, Wong set off a fight over the future of the region as Canberra and Beijing vie for influence and allies through promises of economic development, security assistance and climate change action.

“Our objective is your independence and your own economic sustainability and prosperity,” she said. “It doesn’t come with strings attached. What we would urge as Australia is consideration of where a nation might wish to be in three or five or 10 years.”

Wong said Australia would help secure the region, appoint a new ambassador for climate change and put its commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 into law.

“I understand that climate change is not an abstract threat, but an existential one,” she said. “The triple challenges of climate, COVID and strategic contest will challenge us in new ways”.

Wong acknowledged that Australia had neglected its climate change commitments but dismissed Beijing’s criticism of Australia’s record as “disappointing”, noting that China was Australia’s largest coal export market.

In comments directed at Beijing, Wong told the forum that Australia would not impose unsustainable financial burdens. “We are a partner that won’t erode Pacific priorities or institutions,” she said.

She then took a jab at China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, over Beijing’s record on press freedom.

“I hope that you get the opportunity to ask as many questions of the foreign minister when he comes as you get to ask me,” she said.

(continued)

>>16349873

2/2

Wong and Wang both arrived in the Pacific on Thursday as the Chinese foreign minister landed in Solomon Islands for the first time since a security deal with Honiara was signed. Wang said on Thursday that China had “no intention” of building a military base in the Solomons. The draft text of the security deal revealed plans to allow Chinese ships to be serviced and replenished in the Pacific nation. Wang defended the signing of the deal as “above board, with honesty and integrity”.

China’s President Xi Jinping in 2015 pledged to not militarise islands in the South China Sea, an area that has since seen a steady build up of Chinese military infrastructure.

Wang told Solomon Islands Acting Governor-General Patteson Oti on Thursday morning that China respected Solomon Islands in developing friendly relations with all countries.

But that assurance has done little to manage Australia’s concerns after revelations on Wednesday that China was seeking to establish a 10-country security and trade deal with the Pacific, a move labelled by the President of the Federated States of Micronesia David Panuelo as “the single-most game-changing proposed agreement in the Pacific in any of our lifetimes”.

The deal would establish a Beijing-orchestrated free trade area, climate change cooperation, digital forensics, security training for Pacific Islands police, and diplomatic exchange programs in exchange for Chinese-backed infrastructure investment.

“[This will] shift those of us with diplomatic relations with China very close into Beijing’s orbit, intrinsically tying the whole of our economies and societies to them,” Panuelo warned in a May 20 letter first obtained by Reuters to 20 Pacific leaders, including former prime minister Scott Morrison.

The proposal – which includes a clause committing members to not interfering in China’s internal affairs – is due to be debated at a Pacific foreign ministers meeting on May 30.

Albanese said Australia had to respond by providing $525 million in extra aid, building climate change resilience programs and ramping up migration programs and security exchange programs with the Pacific.

“We know that this has been building for some time. Australia dropped the ball. We can’t afford to do that. We need to reengage with the region,” he told the ABC on Thursday.

“They are sovereign nations, of course. And we need to respect that. But we need to be offering more support. Otherwise, we can see the consequences of the deal that was done with the Solomons. We know that China sees that as the first of many which is the context of their foreign minister’s visit to the region.”

The Solomon Islands security deal will allow China to protect its infrastructure assets by force less than 2000 kilometres from the Australian coast. Fears spread to Washington on Thursday that a similar proposal could be adopted throughout the Pacific.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said the US was concerned the reported agreements were being negotiated through a rushed and opaque process.

”These recent security agreements have been conducted with little regional consultation, provoking public concern not only in the US but across the Indo-Pacific region,” he said. “We don’t believe that importing security forces from the People’s Republic of China and their methods will help any Pacific Island country.”

https://www.theage.com.au/world/asia/wong-takes-on-beijing-over-climate-debt-and-influence-20220526-p5aov3.html

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-27/new-foreign-minister-penny-wong-makes-pitch-to-pacific/101104730

>>16343917

China eyes next Pacific target, says opposition ‘doomed to fail’

Eryk Bagshaw and Anthony Galloway - May 27, 2022

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Singapore: China says attempts by the United States and Australia to sabotage its security plans for the Pacific are doomed to fail, as Beijing’s top diplomat Wang Yi arrived in Kiribati to forge ahead with plans for Chinese-built infrastructure in the island nation.

As China and Australia go head-to-head in a diplomatic blitz of the Pacific,Wang accused the US and Australia of treating the region as their “backyard” and said China would help strengthen security cooperation in the region. The comments, after a meeting with Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele, followed interventions by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and the US State Department on Thursday.

“Any smears and attacks on China-Solomon Islands normal security cooperation will be a dead end and any interference and sabotage will be doomed to failure,” Wang said in Honiara.

US officials continue to hold concerns about China’s plans for a two-kilometre runway on the tiny Kiribati island of Kanton halfway between the US and Asia. China’s Foreign Ministry says it has proposed upgrading and improving the airstrip - an ageing stop off on long-haul tourism flights across the Pacific. The Kiribati government maintains China has only provided funding for a feasibility study and any runway will be strictly for civilians. Kiribati’s foreign affairs secretary Michael Foon last week denied the country was in “discussions on a security agreement with any partner” after warnings from the US about a broader deal with China.

Kiribati has control over 3.5 million square kilometres of the Pacific and one of the world’s largest protected fishing areas. Like the Solomons, Kiribati switched its diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to China in 2019. Taiwan claims Beijing made promises to Kiribati of planes, ferries and economic investment.

The details of Wang’s visit have been closely guarded but the Kiribati government made an exception to its strict COVID-19 border policy for the 20-strong Chinese entourage to arrive on Friday. All officials who meet with Wang during his four-hour visit will have to go into quarantine for a week.

Kiribati opposition leader Tessie Lambourne said on Wednesday she was “gravely concerned” about a security deal between Kiribati and Beijing that would give China access to Kanton Island and its marine zones.

“Our rich marine territory in the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) will be under China’s control for sure,” she told 1News in New Zealand.

(continued)

>>16349907

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Washington and Canberra have been lobbying other Pacific nations against signing up to a proposed 10-country Solomons-style trade and security pact with China that could shift the balance of power in the region and see Beijing establish a strategic foothold between Australia, Asia and the United States.

On Friday, China’s ambitions were dealt a blow after Fiji, the region’s largest economy and most significant diplomatic player, announced it would join a US-led Indo-Pacific framework. The framework, which to date is more symbolic than practical, is designed to counter China’s “Common Development Vision,” which offers countries security training and free trade networks in exchange for Chinese-led development.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Fiji had joined the framework because “across geography, we are united in our commitment to a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region”.

The Fiji announcement came as Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong met with Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama on Friday in Suva. Wong denied her trip to the Pacific had anything to do with Wang’s visit to the region. The Chinese Foreign Minister is scheduled to attend a meeting in Fiji on May 30 where China’s proposed development plan will be debated.

“I was very keen to come to the Pacific as soon as I became Foreign Minister,” she said. “It’s for Pacific nations to make their own decisions about who they want to partner with and in which areas.

“We want to be a partner of choice. We want to demonstrate to your nation and other nations of the region that we are a partner who can be trusted, who can be reliable – and historically, we have been.”

Wong said Australia had expressed its concerns publicly about the security agreement between Solomon Islands and China because, like other Pacific nations, “we think there are consequences, we think it is important that the security of the region is determined by the region”.

Wang rejected that criticism. “The framework agreement aims to…support Solomon Islands to better safeguard its social security while also protecting the safety of Chinese citizens and institutions in Solomon Islands,” he said.

“[This is] reasonable and legitimate with everything being operated in an open and transparent manner.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that competition between China, the US and its allies would continue to escalate, but Washington was not looking for conflict or a new Cold War.

“China is the only country with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do it,” he said.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/china-eyes-next-pacific-target-says-opposition-doomed-to-fail-20220527-p5ap3g.html

>>16343917

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Damukana Sogavare Meets with Wang Yi

2022-05-27

On May 26, 2022 local time, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Damukana Sogavare met with State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Prime Minister's Office in Honiara.

Sogavare asked Wang Yi to convey his sincere greetings to the Chinese leaders and his heartfelt thanks to China for its strong support and great help for Solomon Islands' development. He expressed that Solomon Islands firmly supports China in safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity, firmly defends the one-China principle, and always stands shoulder to shoulder with China on the right side of history.

Sogavare said that China has become the largest infrastructure partner and a reliable development partner of Solomon Islands. He thanked China for providing anti-pandemic materials as well as rapid testing equipment and dispatching medical teams to Solomon Islands. He also appreciated China's timely provision of police supplies and sending police advisors to help maintain social security after the riots in Honiara. The cooperation between Solomon Islands and China is based on equal treatment and mutual respect, witnessing increasingly close ties in various fields and bringing tangible benefits to Solomon Islands' people.

Wang Yi conveyed the Chinese leaders' cordial greetings and good wishes to Prime Minister Sogavare, expressing China's appreciation of Solomon Islands' firm will to safeguard national interests, strong desire to develop China-Solomon Islands friendly cooperation, staunch adherence to the one-China principle and its friendship policy toward China. China also firmly supports Solomon Islands in safeguarding national sovereignty and independence, maintaining domestic solidarity and unity, and accelerating the realization of national prosperity and strength in accordance with the development path chosen by Solomon Islands.

Wang Yi said that friendship, whenever it happens, is cherishable. The establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Solomon Islands is not long, but it has a good start and witnesses the steady and rapid development. The two countries witness increasingly deepening political mutual trust and broad prospects for practical cooperation, having become close friends with mutual trust and good partners with mutual support. Facts have showcased that Solomon Islands' political decision to establish diplomatic relations with China is totally in line with the trend of development and progress of the times as well as the fundamental and long-term interests of Solomon Islands' people. China is willing to work with Solomon Islands in the spirit of seizing the day and giving full play to the late starter's advantage so as to make the bilateral relations stronger and promote deeper cooperation for bringing more benefits to the two peoples.

Sogavare thanked China for speaking up for Solomon Islands at the UN Security Council and expressed his willingness to continue to enhance communication and cooperation with China in international affairs. Wang Yi stressed that the evolution of the current changes unseen in a century is accelerating and unilateral bullying acts are rampant, while the collective rise of emerging markets and the peace and development are still inexorable trends. China is willing to work with Solomon Islands to strengthen coordination and cooperation at the United Nations and other multilateral institutions, adhere to true multilateralism, and promote cooperation on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and climate change response, so as to jointly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of small and medium-sized countries.

After the meeting, the two sides attended the signing ceremony of cooperation documents on Blue Economy, tariff preferences, health and anti-pandemic, civil aviation, and disaster prevention and mitigation.

On the same day, Wang Yi met with Acting Governor General of Solomon Islands John Patteson Oti. Wang Yi also held talks with Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele and they met the press together.

https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/202205/t20220527_10693326.html

>>16343917

>>16350025

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China

Wang Yi Expounds on Three Principles of China-Solomon Islands Security Cooperation

2022-05-26

On May 26, 2022 local time, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Foreign Minister of Solomon Islands Jeremiah Manele jointly met the press in Honiara.

In response to a reporter's question about the China-Solomon Islands framework agreement on security cooperation, which has aroused some debate and suspicion, Wang Yi said that the framework agreement on security cooperation negotiated between China and Solomon Islands is the cooperation between sovereign countries, which aims to assist Solomon Islands in improving its policing and law enforcement capabilities and support Solomon Islands to better safeguard its social security while also protecting the safety of Chinese citizens and institutions in Solomon Islands, which is reasonable and legitimate with everything being operated in an open and transparent manner.

Wang Yi further expounded on three principles for China and Solomon Islands to promote security cooperation.

The first principle is to fully respect the national sovereignty of Solomon Islands. China-Solomon Islands cooperation is based on Solomon Islands' needs and requirements, on the premise of Solomon Islands' consent, and on the basis of equal consultation. It is never China's foreign policy, nor is it Chinese style, to impose business deals on others, interfere in Solomon Islands' internal affairs, or damage other countries' interests.

The second one is to help maintain the social stability of Solomon Islands. China-Solomon Islands security cooperation includes assistance in maintaining social order, protecting lives and property in accordance with the law as well as conducting humanitarian relief and natural disaster response at the request of Solomon Islands. The aim is to help Solomon Islands strengthen police capacity-building, offset the security governance deficit and maintain domestic stability and long-lasting peace and security. China-Solomon Islands security cooperation is aboveboard and frank, not imposing on others, not targeting third parties and not intending to establish military bases.

The third one is in parallel with regional arrangements. China supports Pacific Island Countries in strengthening security cooperation and working together to address regional security challenges. China also supports the existing regional security cooperation arrangements. At the same time, China-Solomon Islands security cooperation and the existing regional arrangements complement each other, sharing the same objectives and interests. China-Solomon Islands security cooperation conforms to the common interests of Solomon Islands and the South Pacific region.

Wang Yi stressed that Pacific Island Countries are sovereign and independent states and are not anyone's "backyard"; both countries have the right to make their own choices, not being subordinate to others. Any smears and attacks on China-Solomon Islands normal security cooperation will be a dead end and any interference and sabotage will be doomed to failure.

https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/zxxx_662805/202205/t20220526_10693195.html

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>>16343917

China-Australia relations: ex-Australian PM Kevin Rudd tells West to offer alternatives to Pacific islands, not ‘lectures’ about their ties with Beijing

Bhavan Jaipragas - 27 May, 2022

Western powers should avoid delivering “stern moral lectures” to Pacific island states about their deepening ties with China and instead offer alternative development proposals, the former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd has said.

The comments by Rudd, the ex-leader of the Australian Labor Party that swept to power in last weekend’s election, comes amid duelling visits by the new Australian foreign minister Penny Wong and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi to the Pacific region this week.

The visits follow the Solomon Islands’ recent decision to sign a security pact with China, a move the West believes is a precursor to Beijing bolstering its military presence in the region. China has denied having any such motivations.

“The critical thing for the island states is to ensure that their basic national interests are being properly attended to by the large powers around the Pacific, Rudd said in a dialogue session at Nikkei’s Future of Asia conference.

He said these micronations – with “micro-budgets” crucially required development assistance, policy arrangements to protect their extensive fisheries resources and protection of their territorial integrity as they come under threat from rising sea levels.

What was required was regular face-to-face diplomacy from senior Australian, New Zealand and American officials, he said.

The way forward was “not to issue public declarations condemning any of these countries for beginning to sign agreements with China”, Rudd said.

“These are sovereign states, they’re entitled to do what they wish to do. The challenge for Australia and other partners in the region is to offer different, better and more development-friendly proposals for consideration embraced by these governments rather than delivering them a stern moral lecture,” he said. “The latter is more likely to have an averse reaction.”

On the likely Asia policy of the new government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who served as Rudd’s No 2 during one of his two terms in power, the former leader said the administration had to deliver concrete policy proposals.

“I think the key challenge for Australia is to respond to the legitimate development needs and climate action needs of both Southeast Asia and the South Pacific rather than waving some strategic wand over the top and pretending it will be all right in the morning.”

Rudd was speaking remotely from Washington on the second day of the high-profile conference, which also featured speeches by the prime ministers of Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

In a panel session earlier on Friday, the former Singaporean ambassador to the United Nations Bilahari Kausikan, US foreign policy scholar Bonnie Glaser, and Peking University’s professor of International Studies Jia Qingguo discussed US-China ties in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Beijing’s decision to remain neutral over the conflict.

Bilahari suggested recent events, including the international community’s reaction to the Russian invasion, indicated that the “global correlation of forces” was moving in the direction of the West “and China cannot be very happy about it”.

The conflict has “coalesced the West, coalesced Europe, it has given new energy to the Quad [group of nations],” he said.

Responding, Jia said it was important to note that the West “has a lot of problems mostly not caused by others, but by themselves at home”. He referenced America’s inability to forge a multi-trade trade pact with Asia – choosing instead to launch a looser Indo-Pacific Economic Framework – due to domestic political reasons.

He suggested that the US was seeking an “ideological” international order, while Beijing was seeking a “secular” order that was based on “national sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3179402/china-australia-relations-former-australian-pm-kevin-rudd-tells?module=live&pgtype=homepage

Australian scholars call for improvement of China-Australia relationship

Xinhua - 2022-05-27

CANBERRA, May 27 (Xinhua) - Fifteen scholars from Australian universities called for improvement of China-Australia relationship in an open letter released on Thursday.

The open letter, to the new federal government elected last Saturday, was published on the blog platform Pearls and Irritations.

The scholars included former diplomat and visiting professor in the University of Sydney Jocelyn Chey, Australian National University (ANU) professor and economist Jane Golley, Director of the China Studies Center at the University of Sydney David Goodman, Director of the Australia-China Relations Institute in the University of Technology Sydney James Laurenceson, and Ben Hillman, director of the Australian Center on China in the World in the ANU.

Addressing to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong, the letter said, "The change in government presents the opportunity for a circuit breaker in the poor diplomatic relations that have developed between Australia and China in the recent past."

"As professors of China Studies who undertake research on various aspects of China's society and politics, we acknowledge that the new government is likely to avoid the over-aggressive approach of its predecessor. In our view less public aggression is likely to be more effective in dealing with China: international engagement should replace the language of war," it said.

The scholars said the growth of China, as a significant regional and would-be global power, is bound to be disruptive, and two-way communication, rather than "megaphone diplomacy", is needed so that the changing environment is managed as effectively as possible.

"A China policy informed as much by diplomatic and economic interests as by great power strategic concerns may well and more sustainably ensure Australia's national and economic security," they said.

"While appreciating the tremendous difficulties ahead we urge this adjustment in approach to China."

https://english.news.cn/20220527/c8490b3ec28f499f80c900d6a21f61de/c.html

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David Goodman and others – An Open letter to the New Government on relations with China

P&I Guest Writers - May 26, 2022

To Prime Minister Albanese and Foreign Minister Wong,

In the spirit of new opportunities represented by your election, we would like to offer the following thoughts on our country’s relationship to the People’s Republic of China.

The change in government presents the opportunity for a circuit breaker in the poor diplomatic relations that have developed between Australia and China in the recent past. As professors of China Studies who undertake research on various aspects of China’s society and politics, we acknowledge that the new government is likely to avoid the over-aggressive approach of its predecessor. In our view less public aggression is likely to be more effective in dealing with China: international engagement should replace the language of war.

The growth of China as a significant regional and would-be global power is bound to be disruptive. Two-way communication not ‘megaphone diplomacy’ is needed so that the changing environment is managed as effectively as possible. In particular, a China policy informed as much by diplomatic and economic interests as by great power strategic concerns may well and more sustainably ensure Australia’s national and economic security. While appreciating the tremendous difficulties ahead we urge this adjustment in approach to China.

Vivienne Bath, Professor of Law, University of Sydney.

Jocelyn Chey, AM, Visiting Professor of Chinese Studies, University of Sydney

Louise Edwards, Emeritus Professor University of New South Wales

Mobo Gao, Professor of Chinese, University of Adelaide

Jane Golley, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University

David S G Goodman, Professor and Director, China Studies Centre, University of Sydney

Yingjie Guo, Professor of Chinese Studies, University of Sydney

Hans Hendrischke, Professor of Chinese Business and Management, University of Sydney

Ben Hillman, Professor and Director, Centre on China in the World, Australian National university

James Laurenceson, Professor of Economics and Director Australia China Relations Institute, UTS

Kam Louie, Honorary Professor of Chinese Studies, University of New South Wales

Wanning Sun, Professor of Media and Communications, UTS

Sue Trevaskes, Professor of Chinese Studies, Griffith University

Mark Yaolin Wang, Professor and Director Centre for Contemporary China Studies, University of Melbourne

Anthony Welch, Professor of Education, University of Sydney

https://johnmenadue.com/david-goodman-and-others-an-open-letter-to-the-new-government-on-relations-with-china/

‘Son of Satan’: Man jailed for 25 years for depraved attacks on women

Erin Pearson - May 26, 2022

Warning: This story contains disturbing content

Andrew Males’ victims call him the son of Satan.

The cruel and sadistic man with links to white supremacy groups took pleasure in raping, bashing and brutalising women across Melbourne’s north and west over two decades.

“I used to think things would always get better with Andrew, but I think I always knew there was evil in him. He’s like the son of Satan,” one victim said.

On Thursday, Males, 43, was jailed for 25½ years for what a judge described as sustained and devastating attacks against four women.

The County Court heard there were no other cases like Males’ recorded in Victoria’s history. Police sources described him as one of the worst perpetrators of sexual and family violence the state had ever seen before he was finally arrested in 2015 and later charged with 20 years of abuse.

Judge Patricia Riddell said Males’ violence and sexual offending included some of the worst examples of the crimes. She praised the courage of the women who not only survived their attacker’s abuse, but took their stories to trial.

Riddell said research showed abused women were less likely to report violence when it came from a partner than a stranger, as feelings of emotional attachment and self-loathing were often complicating features. She acknowledged the crimes left the victims scared, humiliated and ashamed.

The judge told Males: “They have brought you to justice.

“The community is sick of, and sickened by, the cowardice of men like you,” Riddell said.

“The sinister nature of intimate partner violence is exacerbated by the fact it is often hidden. A secret scourge on the community.”

Despite appearing in court almost every year of his adult life, the court heard Males had avoided charges for sexual crimes until recently, offending against new and former victims every time he was released from custody from the age of 18.

While some of his offending is too graphic to detail, the court heard he repeatedly choked his victims until they passed out, raped one victim while she was unconscious and beat another with a hammer.

One of Male’s teenage victims had known him only days when he forcibly held and abused her for weeks in a bungalow behind his Altona North house. He raped another in the dining room of his mother’s house.

The four women were vulnerable, some homeless and others young mothers, the court heard. They had nowhere to go when Males befriended them before they started relationships.

Males was charged with more than 130 offences against nine women in 2017, but five women’s cases did not proceed to trial.

Following two separate trials in 2021, he was found guilty of 24 charges against four women, including nine counts of rape and 10 of intentionally causing injury.

Court records show Males had been dealt with by the courts almost every year of his adult life until his arrest. Those crimes included jail terms and suspended sentences for violence and weapons offences, armed robbery, and placing others in danger of death.

He was on bail, and on parole, for other crimes during his offending against the four women.

Court records also show Males was earlier convicted over violent assaults on two other women with “chilling” similarities.

“Despite repeated involvement with the authorities and periods of incarceration, you continued to commit serious examples of violence and sexual violence,” Riddell said.

“A lifetime in the criminal justice system did not deter you.”

A formal risk assessment has since declared Males to be at the highest risk category of reoffending, and the judge acknowledged he would pose a serious danger to women when released.

Males, who had failed to show any remorse, yelled abuse at his victims on Thursday, but his insults were muffled by the glass in the dock.

Males must serve 20 years and 10 months before he is eligible for parole.

He will also be on the sex offenders register for life.

Outside court, one victim, Julie, whose surname has been withheld, told The Age she hoped the lengthy sentence would encourage others to come forward.

Still physically and emotionally scarred by the abuse she suffered for more than eight years, she urged other women not to stay quiet.

“I never thought police would believe me if I reported it because what he did was so horrible, like something out of a horror movie that no one would think was real. But they did,” she said.

“If you stay, the pain is only going to get worse.”

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

https://www.1800respect.org.au/

https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/son-of-satan-man-jailed-for-25-years-for-depraved-attacks-on-women-20220525-p5aodc.html

Queensland MP shares story of child sexual abuse to 'give a voice' to other survivors

Tobias Jurss-Lewis - 26 May 2022

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A Queensland MP has shared her harrowing story as a victim of child sexual abuse in a bid to raise awareness and inspire other victims to speak out.

WARNING: This story contains graphic details that readers may find distressing.

Labor Member for Macalister Melissa McMahon told Queensland parliament she had been "chased by demons" since being "repeatedly raped and abused" as a child – but said she would "recover loudly so others don't die silently".

Ms McMahon was elected to Macalister in November 2017, which is centred on Beenleigh, south of Brisbane.

She is currently a member of Parliament's Mental Health Select Committee and the Crime and Corruption Committee.

Ms McMahon told the house she would seek a leave of absence from parliament, but did not reveal from when or for how long.

"My recovery is not done," she said.

"I know that in standing up here today … will inevitably have ramifications for my own wellbeing in the short term.

"I know I need to take time to rebalance and spend with my family."

Ms McMahon told the house she was first abused at the age of five when "those who were responsible for my supervision after school were derelict in their duty".

"I was subsequently left in the care of a group of older teenagers," she said.

"Most afternoons I was shopped around the neighbourhood to other teenagers and men, often in exchange for a can of soft drink.

"I still vividly remember the first and the second time this occurred to me but mercifully after that it is a blur."

'Look pure evil in the face'

She said her family's "nomadic lifestyle" moved them on, but "the worst was yet to come" and at the age of nine she "would look pure evil in the face for the first time".

"Courtesy of our church, I came into the company and under the supervision of the last person on Earth who should ever be granted such a position — a child sex offender recently released for a particularly heinous child sex crime," she said.

"They declined to notify my family, with whom he was placed again. My hours after school became a personal hell.

"I cannot quite put into words the things that happened to me or what I was made to do."

Before Ms McMahon was elected to parliament in 2017, Ms McMahon enlisted in the Australian army in 1994 at the age of 18.

She then joined the Queensland Police Service in 1997, attaining the rank of sergeant, with her last posting working in the Domestic, Family Violence and Vulnerable Persons Unit.

"The sense of dread that I feel whenever an Argos investigation uncovers new amounts of child exploitation material never goes away," she told the house.

While working as a police officer, Ms McMahon continued her army service through the reserves, reaching the rank of major. She was deployed on overseas operations twice from 2008, leading specialist teams in field roles.

(continued)

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'Exhaustion reached its limit'

Ms McMahon said she was "saved" again when her family moved, but she had been haunted by the experience for 40 years.

She said last year her "exhaustion reached its limit".

"My facade cracked … and feelings that I had meticulously tucked away and locked in a box deep down kept threatening to come to the surface," Ms McMahon said.

"I felt like my skin was inside out. I felt raw and exposed walking around.

"I sought [help] where I could — my GP, a counsellor or psychologist, friends and colleagues … [but] earlier this year, I did hit rock bottom."

Ms McMahon described "walking out of the PA hospital barefoot with what is left of my prescription medication" and "giving the answers I knew I had to give to avoid being admitted to a mental health unit".

"Paramedics and police were called to my home," she said.

"My children had found me unresponsive.

"I was resuscitated.

"For the unbearable stress this placed on my family late that night, I am truly sorry."

Authenticity the way forward

Ms McMahon told the house her way forward would be authenticity, "to let go of the facade … acknowledging my past truthfully and fully".

"I will talk about these things so maybe someone else won't wait 40 years to talk," she said.

"I have a voice in here [in parliament] and I will use it to give a voice to those who aren't yet brave enough to."

Ms McMahon said she was "more determined than ever to continue to contribute as a member of this government".

She was congratulated on her bravery by members of both her party and the opposition.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-26/qld-mp-melissa-mcmahon-shares-child-sexual-abuse-story/101103290

Former Hey Dad! star Robert Hughes’ public parole hearing concludes in Sydney

A former Hey Dad! cast member and convicted pedophile’s sad transformation was revealed when he appeared in court in a bid for freedom.

Ryan Young - May 27, 2022

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Convicted pedophile and ex-Australian TV star Robert Hughes should be released from prison because there is a low risk he will reoffend, a court has been told.

The 73-year-old former star of sitcom Hey Dad!, who was described as looking old and frail, is serving a 10 year and nine-month prison sentence for historic child sex offences, including sexual intercourse without consent and multiple acts of indecent assault.

His six year non-parole period expired in 2020 and the NSW State Parole Authority has twice refused him parole.

The authority held a public hearing in Sydney on Friday after earlier requesting a psychological report about Hughes’ risk of reoffending.

Addressing the hearing, Hughes’ solicitor Hannah Bruce said he had “consistently been assessed as either medium, below risk or low risk of reoffending”.

“Whilst in custody it makes him ineligible for programs, he is ineligible for any sex offender programs … there are no further programs that he can complete whilst in custody that would go to reducing his risk of reoffending,” she said.

“It’s not a situation where he will be completely unmonitored when released to the community.

“He’s a gentleman towards the end of his years. His focus on release is maintaining a very low profile.”

The hearing was told Hughes’ wife, former celebrity talent agent Robyn Gardner, maintained her support for him and had made contact with a psychologist specialising in treating sex offenders like Hughes who maintain their innocence.

If parole is granted Hughes will be immediately deported to the UK after he renounced his Australian citizenship and the federal government cancelled his residency visa.

In the UK Hughes will be required to notify authorities about his whereabouts and personal circumstances, with his legal representative telling the hearing there would be “significant sanctions” if the notification orders were breached.

(continued)

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Several of the victims Hughes targeted in the 1980s and ’90s, including former co-star Sarah Monahan, were present in court for the hearing and he showed no emotion as he appeared via audiovisual link on a screen from prison.

“He looked really, really old,” Ms Monahan told reporters gathered outside the Parramatta Law Courts building where the hearing took place.

“Anybody who’s going through it and they’re scared to go in to the court and see them, absolutely do it because it takes all their power away.

“I wanted him to see me … and that I wasn’t scared anymore.”

Ms Monahan said she had doubts about findings Hughes had a low risk of reoffending.

“He’s an old man and he’s frail but they don’t change,” she said.

“He’s a denier, he still thinks he hasn’t done anything wrong so he’ll keep doing the wrong thing and be like ‘I didn’t do anything’.

“On the one hand I’d prefer him to stay in jail where he’s not hurting kids and on the other hand it’s like, just let him go, let him be someone else’s problem and then I don’t have to deal with it anymore.”

According to court documents, the bulk of Hughes’ crimes were committed before he secured the lead role of widowed dad Martin Kelly on the hit Channel 7 sitcom that ran for seven years.

While in jail, Hughes claimed he was subject to constant verbal and physical abuse that included excrement, urine and boiling water being thrown over him.

Hughes’ sentence is due to expire on January 6, 2025.

The parole board has reserved its decision.

https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/former-hey-dad-star-robert-hughes-public-parole-hearing-concludes-in-sydney/news-story/611a67affc7f5440ad505d3adeac8abe

President Biden Tweet

I’ve got more good news: 27.5 million bottles of safe infant formula manufactured by Bubs Australia are coming to the United States.

We’re doing everything in our power to get more formula on shelves as soon as possible.

https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1530253441708314626

—

Arthur Sinodinos, Australia’s Ambassador to the United States Tweet

Great that @BubsAustralia is helping out American families in need with clean, safe infant formula

https://twitter.com/A_Sinodinos/status/1530354874700943360

—

Kristy Carr, Founder CEO - Bubs Australia Tweet

Thank you, Mr. President. We know this problem can’t be solved by one company alone but @BubsAustralia hopes that we can help bring some relief to American families by offering a clean, safe formula for their babies during these challenging times.

https://twitter.com/KristyC83940058/status/1530283871383605248

Australian killed in Ukraine remembered as a ‘larrikin’ and ‘battler’

Pallavi Singhal - May 28, 2022

An Australian man who died this week amid fighting in Ukraine has been remembered as “a larrikin [and] always a battler”.

Father-of-three Michael Charles O’Neill, 47, who lived in Hobart, was killed on Wednesday while providing humanitarian aid in Ukraine following the Russian invasion.

“Always looking for a cause, he headed to Ukraine to drive trucks helping citizens flee the country,” his sister said online.

“He then assisted driving the wounded and injured from the front line, unfortunately meeting a sad end.”

She said O’Neill drove trucks for the mining industry before going to Ukraine.

O’Neill’s mother said he was killed when the Ukrainian army came under heavy fire in a war zone.

“Our family is grieving, and he has left a huge hole in our lives,” she said online.

“He left two daughters and a son so part of him is still with us. During his time [in Ukraine], he was awarded a commendation for bravery from the Commander of the Ukraine Army so he obviously made his presence felt … Always loved and missed.”

In a death notice in the Hobart Mercury on Saturday, the family wrote: “We are all so proud of you, you did it your way.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday that O’Neill’s death was a tragedy.

“This is a tragedy and I want to give my condolences to the family of the person involved,” Mr Albanese said.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was “providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian killed in Ukraine”.

“We send our deepest condolences to the family,” she said.

The department’s advice for Ukraine remains at “do not travel”, with the government advising that its ability to provide consular assistance is limited due to Russia’s ongoing invasion of the country.

A memorial will be held for O’Neill at the Kermandie Football Clubrooms in Hobart on June 18.

Russian troops began moving into Ukraine and bombing its cities in February. Fighting is ongoing, especially in the eastern Donbas region.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/australian-killed-in-ukraine-remembered-as-a-larrikin-and-battler-20220528-p5ap9q.html

José Ramos-Horta accuses Alexander Downer of ‘distorting’ issues around 2004 Timor-Leste bugging

Exclusive: President of south-east Asian nation says Australia used cover of ‘supposedly altruistic foreign aid program’ to spy on behalf of oil companies

Christopher Knaus - 28 May 2022

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The president of Timor-Leste, José Ramos-Horta, has accused former foreign affairs minister Alexander Downer of “avoiding and distorting” the issues around the 2004 bugging scandal, saying recent comments ignored the fact that Australia had spied “on behalf of oil companies and using the cover of Australia’s supposedly altruistic foreign aid program”.

On Thursday, Downer appeared on the ABC’s Q&A program and was questioned about the 2004 Australian Secret Intelligence Service mission to bug Timor-Leste’s government during sensitive talks to carve up oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea.

Downer, who was foreign affairs minister at the time, took care not to comment directly on the operation, but said Australia’s intelligence practices were “no different from any of our other allied countries”.

“What our intelligence services do is collect intelligence,” he said. “That’s what they exist for. The suggestion that we somehow have intelligence services but they don’t collect intelligence is … is absurd.”

The comments have frustrated Timor-Leste, a partner in the Indo-Pacific, at a time when Australia is actively attempting to counteract Chinese government influence in the region.

Ramos-Horta told the Guardian that Downer was “obviously avoiding and distorting the core issue”.

The 2004 spy mission – later exposed with the help of intelligence officer Witness K and his lawyer, Bernard Collaery – was used to give Australia the upper hand in what were commercial negotiations about accessing oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea, which a collection of resource companies, led by the Australian company Woodside Petroleum, were seeking to exploit.

The fledgling and impoverished ally was hoping access to the Timor Sea reserves would lay the foundations for its development.

(continued)

>>16343917

China to consider funding new police training centre in Solomon Islands

Madison Watt and Stephen Dziedzic - 28 May 2022

China will consider building a police training centre in Solomon Islands, as Foreign Minister Wang Yi tours the Pacific in a bid to increase its influence in the region.

In addition to the possible new police training facility in the Solomons, China will also help Samoa build a fingerprint lab to go with the construction of an already announced new police academy.

Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele announced the proposal during his Chinese counterpart's visit to Honiara on Thursday.

"China… will further a consider a proposal… for a police training centre and support towards police infrastructure and assets given the country's fragile security environment," Mr Manele said during a press conference that was boycotted by local media.

China's Foreign Minister is currently on an eight-nation tour of the Pacific, during which he is seeking a sweeping regional deal on security and trade, ahead of a group foreign ministers meeting with 10 Pacific nations in Fiji on Monday.

Mr Wang met with Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa on Saturday and discussed regional priorities of climate change, COVID-19 and security.

After the meeting, Samoa's government released a statement announcing China would help build a new fingerprint laboratory in addition to the previously announced construction of a police academy.

Increase in police training support

The proposal for a Chinese-funded police training centre in Solomon Islands mirrors that of a 2020 promise to build a police school in Samoa, as China seeks to increase its influence in the region through police training support.

In March, Solomon Islands police published pictures of their officers brandishing replica assault rifles donated by the Chinese government, as part of a new police training program run by Chinese police.

At the time, there were questions over the legality of the shipment of the replica guns, as well as the future implications of such firearms training.

Experts and opposition politicians believe the move to bring in replica arms clearly suggested the police force was planning to bring in real weapons from China in the future.

Australian officials are also warning that China might encourage more brutal and confrontational tactics to put down local protests, inflaming existing political and ethnic tensions.

China seeks sweeping multilateral deal

Earlier this week, it was revealed China is hoping to strike a deal with 10 Pacific nations during Mr Wang's tour of the region.

The sweeping agreement covers everything from security to fisheries and is seen by at least one Pacific leader as an attempt by Beijing to wrest control of the region.

A draft communique and five-year action plan sent by Beijing to 10 Pacific nations prompted pushback from the leader of the Federated States of Micronesia, who said it showed China's intent to control the region and "threatens regional stability".

News of the proposed deal follows last month's announcement of a new security pact between Solomon Islands and China, in a move that has concerned traditional regional partners such as the US and Australia, as well as intelligence officials.

That pact has raised fears that China could send troops to the island nation or even establish a military base there, not far from Australia.

Solomon Islands and China say there are no plans for a base.

Mr Wang's Pacific tour coincides with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong's own visit to the Pacific, meeting with Fiji's Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama on Friday in her first official trip to the region since being sworn in last week.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-28/china-considering-funding-new-police-academy-in-solomons/101107682

>>16343917

>>16356414

China inks deal on economic technologies with Samoa during FM’s trip, welcomes partnership with Australia, NZ to help PICs

Global Times - May 28, 2022

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa on Saturday - the third stop on Wang's visit to the Pacific region, with the two sides signing a cooperation agreement on economic technology and culture, according to a release from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

During their meeting, Fiame, who is also the Foreign Minister of Samoa, said she had visited China many times and admired China's development path and the emphasis on a people-centered approach. She expressed hope to strengthen exchanges with China on economic development, especially on poverty alleviation.

Samoa firmly insists on the one-China principle and not interfering with China's internal affairs on the question of the island of Taiwan, Fiame said.

The Samoan Prime Minister also noted that cooperation with China in all sectors has produced noticeable achievements, helping Samoa to promote its infrastructure and agricultural technologies. Samoa will carry on promoting the bilateral partnership based on mutual respect, trust and benefit.

Wang praised the friendly exchanges between China and Samoa for half a century after the establishment of diplomatic relations and admired Samoa's insistence on the one-China principle to defend China's core interests.

China has always insisted that all countries no matter their sizes and strength are equal. As the biggest development country in the world, China has always stood with the developing countries and called on justice for them since China shared similar experiences throughout history and a common mission for development. China's such diplomatic tradition will never change, Wang said.

Wang also noted that China is willing to do all it can to help developing countries, including island nations in the Pacific to speed up developments, and during this process, China has never interfered with other countries' internal affairs, not attached political strings and has not pursued geopolitical interests. China is willing to achieve development and prosperity with developing countries and to make the world fairer.

Wang stressed that China's cooperation with developing and Pacific island nations does not target the third party nor will it seek exclusiveness. "We have no intention to compete with others and have always opposed a zero-sum game mindset," Wang said, noting that China is willing to strengthen communications with all countries that care for island nations, especially Australia and New Zealand and others, leverage each country's advantages and carry out more tripartite cooperation based on respect toward island nations.

Australia and the US are closely watching Wang's trip to Pacific island nations, trying hard to demonize China's cooperation with these countries.

The two sides also exchanged ideas on climate change. Wang stressed that China has set a China-Pacific Island nations cooperation center and is willing to help these countries to deal with climate change. He also urged developed countries to fulfill their commitment on carbon emissions.

Agreeing with Wang, Fiame also noted that climate change has become an importance field for Pacific island nations to cooperate with China and wished the cooperation center will play an active role.

The two sides also signed agreements on many fields including economic technologies and culture.

Wang also met with Samoa's head of state Tuimaleali'ifano Va'aletoa Sualauvi II on Saturday.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202205/1266760.shtml

>>16343917

China’s FM visits Kiribati, where fishing ground is at stake

NICK PERRY - 27 May 2022

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — China’s foreign minister on Friday arrived on the remote Pacific nation of Kiribati, where the future of a vast fishing ground is at stake.

The planned four-hour visit by Wang Yi was his second stop on an eight-nation tour that comes amid growing concerns about Beijing’s military and financial ambitions in the South Pacific region.

Kiribati closed its borders this year as it tries to stamp out an outbreak of COVID-19. But its government made a rare exception to allow Wang and his 20-strong delegation into the country for face-to-face discussions.

At stake in Kiribati is the future of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, a stretch of ocean the size of California that has been named a UNESCO World Heritage site.

In November, Kiribati President Taneti Maamau announced the government planned to end the commercial fishing ban that had been in place since 2015 and begin to sustainably fish the area.

Anna Powles, a senior lecturer in security studies at New Zealand’s Massey University, said she expected there would be some fisheries agreements between China and Kiribati that would come from Wang’s visit.

Powles said China, which already dominates fishing in the region, had offered to upgrade an airport runway and causeway in the Phoenix Islands.

“The worry is that this would essentially obliterate the fish stock,” she said. “That it would severely damage fish stocks that are already under pressure.”

She said there were also concerns that any kind of base for Chinese commercial fishing fleets in Kiribati could also be used as an additional hub for Beijing’s surveillance activities.

Kiribati’s president said Wang would visit his residence for bilateral discussions during the visit, and emphasized the health protocols that were in place.

Maamau said in a statement that the Chinese delegation would need to take PCR tests before arriving and stay in a travel bubble while there, and that everybody in Kiribati who came into contact with them would need to quarantine afterward for a week — presumably including himself.

“The high-level state visit is an important milestone for Kiribati-China relations, as it will strengthen and promote partnership and cooperation between our two countries after the resumption of diplomatic ties in 2019,” Maamau said.

China says Wang’s trip to the region builds on a long history of friendly relations between Beijing and the island nations.

A draft document obtained by The Associated Press shows that Wang is hoping to strike a deal with 10 small Pacific nations during his visit. The sweeping agreement covers everything from security to fisheries and is seen by at least one Pacific leader as an attempt by Beijing to wrest control of the region.

Wang is hoping the countries will endorse the pre-written agreement as part of a joint communique after a May 30 meeting in Fiji with the other foreign ministers.

But Australia scrambled to counter the move Thursday by sending its own Foreign Minister Penny Wong to Fiji to shore up support in the Pacific.

In Fiji, Wong said it was up to each island nation to decide what partnerships they formed and what agreements they signed, but urged them to consider the benefits of sticking with Australia.

“Australia will be a partner that doesn’t come with strings attached nor imposing unsustainable financial burdens,” Wong said. “We are a partner that won’t erode Pacific priorities or Pacific institutions.”

On Friday, Wong met with Fiji’s Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama.

China signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands last month in a move that sent shock waves around the world.

That pact has raised fears that China could send troops to the island nation or even establish a military base there, not far from Australia. The Solomon Islands and China say there are no plans for a base.

During his 10-day visit, Wang is also planning to make stops in Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and East Timor.

Australia’s new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday he’d sent Wong to Fiji because Australia needed to “step up” its efforts in the Pacific.

“We need to respond to this because this is China seeking to increase its influence in the region of the world where Australia has been the security partner of choice since the Second World War,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that in recent years, exchanges and cooperation between Beijing and the island nations had been expanding in a development that was welcomed by the Pacific countries.

https://apnews.com/article/china-new-zealand-beijing-wang-yi-9c1837ca76b55ce69a44d5dd69621b3b

>>16343917

>>16356468

Wang’s visit to Kiribati shows devt opportunities, injects firmness to one-China principle

Zhang Hui and Hu Yuwei - May 27, 2022

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China and Kiribati underscored the remarkable achievements of bilateral cooperation in improving livelihood and economy of Kiribati since the two resumed ties in 2019, during Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to the South Pacific nation on Friday, vowing to further enhance cooperation in tackling climate change, COVID-19, and building Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) amid the US and Australia's intensified demonization of China's role in the region.

Wang's visit has injected more confidence and firmness in both the government and people of Kiribati for their historical decision to develop ties with China on the basis of recognizing the one-China principle, Chinese analysts said, noting more countries in the region will realize that developing ties with the world's second-largest economy will bring them unprecedented development opportunities to better integrate into global development, and will help them make independent decisions free of the Western countries' interference.

Wang arrived in Kiribati on Friday during an eight-nation tour in the South Pacific region. In a meeting with Kiribati President Taneti Maamau, Wang said the president regarded China as a true friend as he received the Chinese delegation at his home.

But the US and its allies have focused their efforts on containing China's development with the essence of not wanting to see non-Western forces succeed in the world and the enhanced cooperation of developing countries, Wang said, noting no one and no force can stand in the way of the development and revitalization of China and other developing nations.

President Maamau said the nation unswervingly adheres to the one-China principle and the resumption in bilateral ties with China proved the world is on the side of China and Kiribati is on the right side of history.

On September 27, 2019, China and Kiribati resumed diplomatic ties.

The president said the pragmatic cooperation between the two countries has yielded fruitful results and the livelihood of the people in Kiribati has improved, which strongly testified to China's sincere friendship.

The first batch of Chinese medical teams arrived in Kiribati along with the Chinese delegation to help the nation fight against COVID-19, and the two sides also agreed to enhance cooperation on tackling climate change, infrastructure, tourism and promote the BRI construction.

The broad cooperation deals between China and Kiribati did not contain a security deal or have any military significance that the US-led West had hyped, and analysts said it's the US that has been excessively focusing on the military value of the region but ignoring the needs of the local people.

Kiribati is of great strategic importance due to its location between Asia and America, and the US has long expected to develop it and other nearby countries into its military relay base and saw it as its sphere of influence, Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times. He noted that that's why the US does not want to see any cooperation between China and the regional countries.

Yu Lei, chief research fellow at the Research Centre for Pacific Island Countries of Liaocheng University, told the Global Times on Friday that the US has built large military bases and even strategic missile bases in Micronesia, Palau and the Marshall Islands, and Kiribati is located right behind the three countries where US built military bases.

"If China sets up a military base in Kiribati, the US' first and second island chains would be meaningless," Yu said.

However, China's cooperation in the region was purely for the livelihood of local people which was deeply welcomed.

Ambassador of Kiribati to China David Teaabo told the Global Times on Friday that China is an "understanding, true and trusted friend," not a destabilizer in the Pacific as some have claimed.

Tinian Reiher, an honorable member of Kiribati parliament, told the Global Times that Wang's visit is highly expected to bring more concrete benefits.

"Many people are saying that we are allowing China to compete with the US and Australia. But in fact, we moved back to China because we believe that it is a wise move and in the best interest of our people and future development, given China's global influence as the fast-developing nation with huge economic wealth and power," Reiher said.

(continued)

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Reiher said biased media reports hyping up a potential security pact between China and Kiribati is unreasonable and with ulterior motives.

Wang's trip to Kiribati was made after his trip to the Solomon Islands. The tour of Pacific islands will also take him to Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and East Timor. Wang will also visit Micronesia via video and have a virtual meeting with leaders of Cook Islands and Niue.

Unease of Taiwan

The first two countries Wang visited in this trip were both Taiwan island's former "diplomatic allies," which cut off their "diplomatic relations" with Taiwan in 2019.

Taiwan was unease and anxious to see the deepening relations between Chinese mainland and the South Pacific region. The spokesperson for Taiwan's "foreign affairs department" on Thursday called on South Pacific countries to beware of the purpose of Chinese mainland government's help, and some Taiwan media quoted local scholars as saying it's time for Taiwan regional leader Tsai Ing-wen to reengage in various cooperation with the South Pacific region through the help of the US.

Chen Hong, president of the Chinese Association of Australian Studies, told the Global Times on Friday that Kiribati is a late comer in the South Pacific region's relations with China, but it has turned out to be a big achiever, and China's cooperation with Kiribati can serve as an exemplar to China's relations with other countries.

The Kiribati government and people have the wisdom to continue to stand at the right side of history as they know China never attempts to "buy" support and recognition with so-called "dollar diplomacy" as Taiwan's DPP authority has been doing, Chen said.

Taiwan media have revealed that the DPP spent heft amounts of money for its so-called foreign affairs activities each year to woo nations and maintain relations by taking advantage of US' influence.

Condescending attitude of Australia

China's moves in the South Pacific region also unsettled the US and its anti-China spearhead Australia, as the US sees South Pacific region a key component of its "Indo-Pacific Strategy," which is being pushed forward with full speed in Asia.

Fiji is joining the US' Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), the White House said on Thursday, and Reuters said the move makes Fiji the first Pacific Island country in the plan that is part of a US effort to push back on China's growing influence.

In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at Friday's media briefing that the Asia Pacific region is a highland for peaceful development and should not be turned into a geopolitical ground, and any initiative that truly benefits regional development should be open, inclusive and mutually beneficial instead of building walls to create division. This is the common aspiration of the South Pacific region.

Chen said the US attempted to incorporate the South Pacific region into an exclusive circle with the purpose to isolate China, and the imposition of the IPEF in the South Pacific is politically motivated to distance the local countries from their cooperation with China. Such attempts are irrational and bound to fail.

Australia's foreign minister Penny Wong threatened during a visit to Fiji on Friday, saying there were regional consequences to the Solomon Islands' security pact with China.

Chen said Australia seems to be headstrong to rush into competition and contestation with China in the South Pacific and Australia's new government seems to be still trapped in the Cold War mindset and ready for the engagement in a zero-sum rivalry with China.

In Suva, Penny Wong repeatedly talked about the "Pacific family," trying to play the "geography card" in her purported rivalry with China, Chen said.

"But one thing we still see amiss is a sense of equality and respect without self-interest. Australia still tries to play the role of the head of the family, which once again reveals its condescending attitude in the seemingly warm remarks," Chen said.

Some Australian media have also realized the hyping of "China threat" will not bring benefits to the region. Australia-based The Conversation published an opinion piece on Thursday, saying amplifying China threat narratives in South Pacific region "feeds into Australia's perceived need to compete by playing whack-a-mole with China," rather than by formulating a coherent, overarching regional policy that responds to the priorities of Pacific states.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202205/1266745.shtml

>>16343917

>>16349907

Wong’s rhetoric of leaving regional security to Pacific region shows hypocrisy, double standard

Global Times - May 28, 2022

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During her first solo trip in Fiji as new Australian foreign minister, Penny Wong outlined Australia's view of security in the Pacific following the signing of a security cooperation framework agreement between China the Solomon Islands, as well as Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi's tour of the Pacific island countries.

"We think that it is important that the security of the region be determined by the region," Wong said on Friday. She made a point. The thing is, the audiences of her remarks should be Australia itself and its ally, the US.

According to Wong's logic, regional security should be determined by the region itself, then why has Australia been so enthusiastic in carrying out the freedom of navigation operations with the US in the South China Sea, far away from their own regions? And why have both Australia and the US raised their voices in interfering in China's domestic affairs?

Think about Afghanistan, Iraq, the entire Middle East, South China Sea, the Taiwan question … Australia has no right to intervene, and it has even less excuse to do so if taking Wong's statement into account, observers note.

Australia is not a Middle Eastern country, so why did it send troops to Iraq and Afghanistan? Australia is apparently not an East Asian country either, but Canberra and Tokyo sighed a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), a bilateral defense and security pact which, according to reports, facilitates faster deployment of Japanese Self-Defense Forces and Australian defense force personnel and eases restrictions on the transportation of weapons and supplies for joint training and disaster relief operations. Why is Australia promoting such military cooperation far away from its own land in East Asia?

What Wong wants to convey is not simply the literal meaning in her rhetoric about the local region, but geopolitical nuances. Wong has been stressing a new construct of a "Pacific family," meaning Australia, New Zealand, and South Pacific island countries are of an exclusive grouping. By saying so, she insinuates two connotations. First, China, which locates in Asia, is not a member of that "family", but should be regarded as an outsider. Australia attempts to drive a wedge between China and regional countries with such insinuation. Second, Australia tries to assume the role as the "head of the family," or in other words, the hegemon in the region, so as to impose its will on other "family members," Chen Hong, director of the Australian Studies Centre at East China Normal University, told Global Times.

(continued)

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Chen added that South Pacific island countries have no such security concerns as what Australia and the US have been hyping up. In fact, their biggest security concern comes from climate change. The rising sea levels is a matter of existential crisis for them. Even though Wong underlined that the new Australian government is determined to make a difference on climate during her trip, it does not change the fact that Canberra has for a so long time casted a cold eye to the issue.

Peter Dutton, former defense minister and likely Liberal leader, even joked about the plight of Pacific Island nations in 2015 as they're facing rising seas due to climate change in a quip "water lapping at your door." When cracking the joke, Australia's contempt toward the regional countries was well disclosed.

This is why South Pacific island countries resolutely seek and welcome cooperation with China, which is in line with their actual needs. The so-called security threat from China, choreographed by Western countries, does not exist at all for the South Pacific islands. The governments and people in Pacific countries have the political wisdom and sensibility to distinguish truths and rumors, according to Chen.

They are well aware that cooperation with China brings real security, which will in turn, apart from cope with climate change, result in social stability and economic development. All of them are the solid benefits regional countries are most in need of.

On the other hand, like Wong's remarks, Canberra's real attitude toward South Pacific islands is not about whether they are "family," but double standards, arrogant colonialism and imperialism, which is vividly presented when Australia points fingers at the countries' mutual beneficial cooperation with China, which is sovereign countries' legal right and is consistent with the spirit of the UN Charter, Yu Lei, chief research fellow at the Research Center for Pacific Island Countries of Liaocheng University, told Global Times. What Wong tries to promote is not the rule - regional security should be determined by the region, but colonial rules, Yu added.

Solomon Islands' foreign policy - friends to all, enemy to none - reflects the mentality of regional countries. They have no interests in taking sides, or making decisions on whom to interact with by ideological differences, like the US and Australia. And colonial mentality won't last long in the international community.

When Australian politicians ever attempts to touch upon "regional security" again, it might as well think about its own behaviors in other regions, and the true nature of its own cooperation with them.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202205/1266759.shtml

>>16343917

Why China’s Pacific sweet talk will fail

Beijing’s plan to corral ten Pacific Island countries into an exclusive grouping is a daring attempt to take control of the region.

PETER JENNINGS - May 28, 2022

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Beijing’s plan next week to corral ten Pacific Island countries into an exclusive grouping, where China provides policing, cyber and security “assistance”, is a daring attempt to take control of the region.

The coup will fail. Most Pacific Island leaders are astute, patriotic and brave enough to resist Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s suffocating sweet talk. Pacific leaders will understand that Beijing’s money comes at the price of losing sovereignty, the support of their own people and their own self-respect.

China’s communist elite would more effectively dominate the region if they better hid their contempt for other countries. Well before starting his 10-­nation tour Wang had circulated the “concluded” outcomes of next Monday’s Pacific foreign ministers summit, and a five-year plan that will strengthen “co-operation in the fields of traditional and non-traditional security”.

This is how Beijing operates. There is no pretence of a negotiation between equals. The Pacific Islands can have “harmonious relations” and “win-win outcomes” only if it ­follows China’s lead in every detail.

The communique released after the visit claimed that “the two sides exchanged in-depth views on state-to-state and military-to-military relations and on issues of mutual interest”.

We did nothing of the sort. Over a day of talks at Defence’s Russell Headquarters, the Australian side attempted to shape a plan for defence activities for the coming year. A decade ago the forlorn hope was that practical co-operation would make the PLA a more amenable partner.

We failed to get Guo to agree to defence activities designed to promote the rule of law in the region. The general dismissed any more discussion and with a chuckle pushed a piece of paper across the table. “This is what we’ll do.”

It was a list of highly stylised contacts, more photo opportunity than defence training or exercising. Military music featured heavily.

In time we would establish a “Military Friendship and Culture Week” to “demonstrate the growing relationship between the Australian Defence Force and People’s Liberation Army”.

In September 2013, the People’s Liberation Army Band arrived to play concerts with the Australian Army Band, showing “Australia and China growing understanding and friendship through music”.

It is easy to see when one is being treated with contempt. In Defence we all knew that the pretence of military co-operation with China was a sham.

Pacific leaders will know in their hearts that Beijing wants this agreement because the Pacific Islands are strategically valuable to the PLA. This has nothing to do with respect for Pacific people or a commitment to their interests.

Controlling the islands complicates American military access to the Western Pacific. That remains just as true today as it was in the Pacific War, when the US had to retake island groups in Melanesia and Micronesia as it fought closer to the Japanese mainland.

Xi Jinping’s aim is to weaken America’s dominant military position in the Pacific Ocean, weaken America’s allies and make contact between them harder.

Unlike in the South China Sea where Beijing literally built islands on which to establish military air bases and ports, in the Pacific there is no need to build islands when you can simply buy ones already there or, more accurately, co-opt some leaders with financial inducements, soft loans and lavish trips to China.

One Pacific leader has already dismissed Beijing’s proposed “comprehensive development vision”. The President of the Federated States of Micronesia, David Panuelo, said the agreement would allow China to “acquire access and control of our region”.

The FSM is close to the US under a Compact of Free Association and not on Wang’s itinerary, but Panuelo’s concerns will be shared by numerous island leaders.

At best, Beijing’s summitry may yield a few Pacific Islands countries willing to sign up. That could fracture an already damaged PIC tradition of seeking regional consensus through extended negotiation.

Over the longer term I hope Beijing’s attempts to subvert the Pacific Islands will not be successful. Just like in Africa, the Caribbean and elsewhere, the Chinese Communist Party fails to win many Pacific hearts and minds.

It is notable that when instability hits Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and elsewhere, it’s often the local Chinatowns which are unjustly put to the torch. Conservative churchgoing Pacific Islanders do not warm to the CCP and object to their own elites being compromised.

(continued)

>>16356601

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The shorter-term risk, however, is that some PIC leaders may choose to follow the lead of Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare. A region that’s politically split is almost as useful to Beijing as controlling the whole area because it limits the capacity of the Pacific Islands Forum and other regional mechanisms to build a shared response to China.

Penny Wong’s visit to Suva could not be more timely. Wong is not correct to say that Australia has had a “lost decade” in the Pacific. Australia remains the partner of choice for many PICs, and we have natural advantages in people to people relationships which Beijing cannot match.

That said the region needs sustained and senior level attention from government and a willingness to think creatively about rebuilding our once-prominent position there.

The Labor government’s announcement of more development assistance, although welcome, is more of the same approach used over decades. It has done little to arrest our relative decline in influence.

Let’s think instead about finding ways to encourage Australian business back into the region with tax offsets. Let’s harness Australian churches to build ties with Pacific counterparts and Australian religious schools to offer funded places to Pacific children.

I have written earlier that some Australian naval bases in the region would be welcomed. We could help shape a region wide multinational Pacific response force, offering a humane option for PIC military and police forces than the riot training and mass surveillance techniques offered by the China.

Labor is right to plan to reform and expand the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme. The thinking needs to be big. Australia has deep workforce shortages that the PIC’s can help solve. By contrast one of the PIC’s biggest problems is chronic underemployment.

There is everything to be gained by looking at options designed to help each other. Beijing is not in this game. An overreliance on China would put the Pacific Islands into a dangerous world some years down the track when co-opted island elites could face their own colour revolutions from local populations angry that wealth is not being shared.

At that point is it inevitable that Australia will be the country the region calls on to help stabilise dangerous situations while Beijing just flies out its nationals?

Beijing’s attempted Pacific coup and the Quad leader’s meeting in Tokyo last week are connected by Xi’s greatest ambition: forcing Taiwan under communist control while Xi is leader.

For the third time as President, and notwithstanding the disgraceful attempts by White House staff to “correct” his remarks, Joe Biden has said that the US will defend Taiwan if Beijing attacks it.

Xi is preparing his country for that very task. He wants the option to use force if coercing Taiwan fails.

It’s not hard to link that to the suddenly urgent PRC interest in locking the Pacific Islands into an exclusive security grouping. A Pacific Islands region that becomes used to the presence of multiple PLA ships, submarines, combat aircraft and intelligence gathering equipment presents a massively complicating problem for an America and its allies intent on helping to defend Taiwan.

There will be Australians, perhaps like West Australian Premier Mark McGowan with his call for the Labor government to “become more diplomatic and more sensible in relation to our dealings with China”, who may be astonished to see a connection between Beijing’s Pacific strategy and what they aspire to do to Taiwan.

We can talk as softly as we like. Nice words won’t change Xi’s intentions, although they may encourage him to think he can hoodwink the gullible while he strives to dominate the region.

Peter Jennings is the former executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and a former deputy secretary for strategy at the Defence Department.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/chinas-sweet-talk-to-attain-pacific-domination-will-fail/news-story/13107dd962c28034e0f84b28cdf9e7aa

How a single USB stick led to the rescue of 56 children and the arrest of 26 men

Sally Rawsthorne - May 28, 2022

Warning: Distressing content

It looked like an ordinary USB stick, the type found in office drawers all over the country. But what an Australian Federal Police technician found on it led to the rescue of 56 children and 11 animals, the arrest of 26 men and 154 referrals to international police in what was the nation’s biggest child abuse bust.

“It’s gut-wrenching stuff, the whole of the material for Operation Arkstone is definitely the worst that I’ve seen and on the most extreme end. It is just the worst of the worst,” acting Sergeant Scott Veltmeyer said.

In February 2020, Operation Arkstone investigators arrived at the Central Coast home of Justin Radford, 30, courtesy of a tip from the United States’ National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children.

It was there they found the USB that would ultimately lead them to an online network of child abusers that spanned the globe.

“We had to delve deeper into his files. A digital forensic specialist could find hidden files and vault applications that revealed this online network that operated locally, nationally and overseas,” Veltmeyer said.

The USB uncovered a horrifying interconnected web of child abusers who would take videos and photographs of themselves sexually abusing children, then swap the content with other paedophiles on commonly used social media platforms including Snapchat, Kik and TikTok.

None of these men knew one another in real life; rather, police interviews reveal they would begin discussing child abuse with strangers on social media.

“It was clear a lot of them had been into child abuse material for a long time, they started off viewing child abuse material, then more extreme child abuse material then, in these particular situations, some of them then proceeded to abusing children.”

Beyond exchanging videos, the websites had a chat function.

“There were group chats of up to 50 people who were able to discuss horrendous crimes. What they wanted to or had done to children, images of bestiality and self-produced child abuse material,” Veltmeyer said.

One man caught in the sting, western Sydney soccer coach Grant Harden, used the online handle Baddad03 to solicit child abuse material from other men and shared hundreds of videos of himself sexually abusing seven different boys.

“28 pervy dad wanting to chat with under 14, Only add if you’re with a boy,” read one of his online solicitations for more child abuse material.

Harden came to the police’s attention on May 7, 2020; investigators worked through the night to arrest him the next day.

“It was a race to find him, we knew he was doing horrendous stuff to the children in his care.”

Harden will remain behind bars until at least 2042.

Other men caught up in the sting include Mid North Coast childcare worker Timothy Doyle, 27, who has pleaded guilty to a raft of charges including sexual intercourse with a person over 14 and under 16 and awaits sentencing.

His partner, 22-year-old Steven Garrad, pleaded guilty earlier this year to more than a dozen charges including sexual intercourse with a child under 10.

Paedophile rings are the focus of the AFP, who warn that child abusers come in many forms.

“It’s no longer the old school days where we have to look out for the man in the trench coat. These offenders are aged 20 to 48, childcare workers, volunteers, soccer coaches, teachers, chefs. It’s your everyday person.”

If this article has raised issues for you, support is available by phoning the National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Line - 1800 737 732; Men’s Referral Service - 1300 766 491; Lifeline - 13 11 14.

https://www.1800respect.org.au/

https://www.ntv.org.au/

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

https://www.smh.com.au/national/how-a-single-usb-stick-led-to-the-rescue-of-56-children-and-the-arrest-of-26-men-20220525-p5aohw.html

>>16344026

Embassy of The People's Republic of China in The Republic of Fiji

Statement by the Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Fiji on the China-Pacific Island Countries Cooperation

2022-05-27

Q: It was reported that, recently, the President of Federated States of Micronesia Panuelo sent a letter to the leaders of Pacific Island Countries on the “China-Pacific Island Countries Common Development Vision” and “Five-year Action Plan”, saying that the draft should be rejected, which essentially binds all Pacific Island Countries to China together,will affect the sovereignty of Pacific Island Countries. What is Embassy’s comments on this?

A: Certain leader’s remarks on China-Pacific Island Countries (PICs) cooperation are a distortion of China's foreign policy and China-PICs comprehensive strategic partnership. The relevant words are completely inconsistent with facts, do not represent the mainstream views of PICs and are not conducive to the in-depth development of China-PICs relations. It cannot be ruled out that the remarks were instigated and manipulated by Western forces.

In developing relations and cooperation with PICs, China has always adhered to the principle that all countries are equal no matter of their sizes, treating each other with sincerity and pursuing shared interests which has achieved fruitful results, and are warmly welcomed by the governments and people of PICs.

The upcoming 2nd China-PICs Foreign Ministers’ Meeting aims to build consensus on promoting peace and development and coping with risks and challenges, deepen friendly exchanges and practical cooperation between China and PICs in various fields, and promote prosperity and stability of the Asia-Pacific region. The 2nd China-PICs Foreign Ministers’ Meeting has received positive response and universal support from PICs.

I would like to stress again that PICs are not someone's “backyard” and should become a big stage for international cooperation, rather than an arena for geopolitical games. China’s foreign policy is open and transparent, with no political strings attached, not targeting any third party, and not seeking any self-interests or so-called “spheres of infulence”. China has always been the constructive force for peace, development and cooperation.

I believe that people of insight in the Pacific region can distinguish right from wrong and identify who is their real friend and who are the troublemakers undermining regional peace, stability and development. Any attempt to defame China’s foreign policy or undermine relations between China and PICs is doomed to failure, and has no market.

http://fj.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/sgxw/202205/t20220527_10693738.htm

>>16343917

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

Anthony Galloway - May 29, 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(continued)

>>16361649

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Marcus Thompson, the ADF’s former head of information warfare and an adviser for cybersecurity company ParaFlare, said it was important for Australia to help PNG with cybersecurity.

“There is so much strategic competition occurring in the Indo-Pacific region. Partnerships have never been more important,” Thompson said.

“And that strategic competition is occurring across each of the five domains: land, sea, air, space and cyberspace.

“I think that countries such as Australia that have to have the ability to support our regional partners absolutely should, and to help our regional partners lift their cybersecurity and resilience in cyberspace.”

Michael Shoebridge, director of the defence and security program at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said it was hugely important to protect the integrity of PNG’s election.

“It’s best to not be complacent about that. It’s about ensuring there can’t be doubt in the outcome,” he said.

“If we pretend to ourselves and to our South Pacific partners that none of this is happening because of strategic competition, that is dishonest. Some of this is required because of the reach into our region by China and that includes cyber interference.

“China has a history of cyber interference, including hacking and collection through technical and digital means.”

The security pact between Beijing and Honiara could see Chinese naval vessels and troops based less than 2000 kilometres off the Australian east coast and cut vital supply lines to the US and Asia in the event of a conflict.

A draft communiqué and five-year action plan sent by Beijing to 10 Pacific islands ahead of a foreign ministers’ meeting on May 30 shows China also wants to strike a regional deal covering policing, security and communications.

Shoebridge said he believed China had made a mistake by signing the deal with Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare first, because it revealed Beijing’s intent to militarise the region.

“The over-reach they made was to take opportunity with Sogavare because what that did is it raised awareness about some of the downsides and implications,” he said.

“I think that was a mistake by Beijing, but it’s one I’m glad they made.”

The Samoan government on Saturday said China would continue to provide infrastructure support to the country and there would be a new framework for future projects “to be determined and mutually agreed”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday he would attend the Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting later this year and be “proactive in the region”.

“There have been issues in the Pacific for some time,” Albanese said.

“Australia has been the partner of choice for a long period of time in the Pacific, and we intend to continue to be that.”

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/more-than-100-adf-personnel-to-be-sent-to-png-to-help-with-election-cyber-threats-20220528-p5ap7s.html

David Littleproud elected to lead the Nationals in opposition after post-election leadership vote

Kath Sullivan and Jake Evans - 30 May 2022

David Littleproud will lead the federal Nationals in opposition after a partyroom vote in Canberra.

Senator Perin Davey has been elected as deputy leader of the Nationals.

Mr Littleproud defeated incumbent leader Barnaby Joyce and former minister Darren Chester in a three-way contest to lead the party.

The leadership was determined at the first meeting of Nationals senators and MPs since the Coalition's election loss.

Mr Littleproud said it had been his dream to lead the party since he joined it as a six-year-old boy, 40 years ago.

"I believe passionately in the National Party … we are the conscience of rural and regional Australia right here in this parliament," he said.

"The National Party today starts its journey towards 2025, with a vibrant team, ready to articulate the policies that are important to regional and rural Australia, but also to draw on the experience of two former deputy prime ministers in Barnaby Joyce and Michael McCormack, to build that bridge of unity and purpose, to make sure that regional and rural Australia isn't forgotten."

Deputy leader Senator Davey said the Nationals would act in the interest of regional Australia from opposition.

"We've got three years to make sure we hold the new government to account, and to make sure they don't forget the regions, and they don't sell us short by doing deals with other parties and other interests," she said.

"So, my focus with David is eyes on the future, and we will continue to build and continue to be a very strong voice for the regions."

In a statement, Mr Joyce congratulated the new leadership team, saying they had "a mighty task ahead of them".

"I suppose you think I am sad. Not really," he said.

"Now, I have a chance to get back to my second greatest love, after my family, and that is my beloved people of New England, where I will have more time to get around my electorate and to be a person of service to them."

Nationals won't abandon 'net zero' climate commitment

The Coalition saw swings against it in urban centres and across regional Australia, amid perceptions that the Nationals were reluctant to embrace action on climate change.

Former leader Mr Joyce was previously a vocal opponent of a 2050 goal for net-zero emissions, but led the Nationals into a net-zero agreement with the Liberal Party.

Mr Littleproud said the leadership vote was not about "lurching" left or right, but finding the "sensible centre", and he would uphold the net-zero commitment.

"We have made a sensible decision to be part of the global community; the global community asked us to sign up to net zero by 2050," he said.

The Nationals party room spills the leadership positions after every election.

It kept all 16 of its lower house seats at the election, but the majority of its MPs suffered swings against them.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-30/barnaby-joyce-out-david-littleproud-elected-to-lead-nationals/101109494

>>16356338

We’re turning to China because you neglect us, says East Timor president

RICHARD LLOYD PARRY - MAY 30, 2022

China’s efforts to win over the South Pacific island nations are a warning to Australia and the West, which have neglected the region and bred resentment among its leaders, according to one of east Asia’s elder statesmen.

Jose Ramos-Horta, a Nobel peace prize winner who is president of the small nation of East Timor, will receive Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister, at the end of his eight-nation tour of the South Pacific and southeast Asia.

On his first stop in the Solomon Islands this week Wang finalised a deal that will permit Chinese security forces to operate there, arousing anxiety in the US and especially in Australia, which regards the Pacific as its back yard.

Ramos-Horta, 72, said East Timor would not enter into any such security agreement with China — but he hopes, anyway, that China will invest as much as $AU 4.23 billion in a huge offshore oil and gas field, which Australia has so far failed to do.

Australia ‘wasted time lecturing’

“Why would the Solomon Islands seek out China for support in maritime security and for the police?” he asked The Times. “Maybe because the Solomon Islands’ closest neighbour, in this case Australia, has not responded to their need. Maybe their neighbour wasted time lecturing them on human rights instead of trying to help.”

Speaking from the capital, Dili, where he was elected president this month, Ramos-Horta added: “It’s a wake-up call. The islands in the Pacific have learnt how to play superpower rivalry to their benefit.”

He spoke as Penny Wong, Australia’s new foreign minister, embarked on a hastily arranged tour of her own, intended to woo Pacific leaders. “We want to be a partner of choice,” she said in Suva, the capital of Fiji. “We want to demonstrate to your nation and other nations of the region that we are a partner who can be trusted, who can be reliable. We want to work together as part of the Pacific family.”

Australia has confirmed that it will send defence personnel to the Pacific nation of Papua New Guinea to help with an election in July.

Scramble for influence

During the Second World War bloody battles were fought between Japan and the US in the Solomon Islands and Palau for control of their air strips and harbours. In any future conflict between China and the US, they would have similar importance — hence the scramble for influence over them during a time of rising tension.

East Timor, which gained its independence from Indonesia 20 years ago, is part of southeast Asia, rather than the South Pacific, but it faces similar challenges in overcoming poverty, and low standards of healthcare and education.

Ramos-Horta won the Nobel peace prize in 1996 for his lonely campaign in exile for Timorese independence. He said that small nations faced a difficult balance in staying out of what looks to some like another Cold War. “I want the US and Australia to support us because they care about our people, because they care for peace and stability. I don’t want them to feel I’m blackmailing them by playing the China card.”

But when Wang visits Dili next week he is likely to be pressed for help in funding development of the Greater Sunrise offshore oil and gas field. Not everyone believes that the huge investment will bring sufficient returns.

If China steps in it will be a huge boost to East Timor. “I would hope that China will be a big investor,” Ramos-Horta said. “The sooner the better.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/the-times/were-turning-to-china-because-you-neglect-us-says-east-timor-president/news-story/e27f7269d2c6cee98dd548143bc10ee8

>>16343917

Fijian vow to hold the line on China influence

STEPHEN RICE - MAY 30, 2022

1/2

China’s aggressive bid to exert power in the South Pacific will meet strong resistance if Fiji’s former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka returns to office this year, with the two-time coup leader vowing to side with Australia as Beijing steps up its battle for dominance in the region.

The pledge comes as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrives in Suva for a meeting of regional leaders on Monday, aiming to push as many as 10 Pacific nations to sign a new trade and security deal that has alarmed Canberra.

Mr Rabuka said Beijing’s ­attempt to tie security issues to trade agreements was dangerous.

“They’re trying to lure us into their camp,” he said. “I think we should be very cautious. The Australian alliance had been tested and this one would be relatively new with a lot of unknowns.”

“I would not be comfortable doing that, we have different systems and we would rather stick with our traditional system,” Mr Rabuka said.

Recent polling suggests Mr Rabuka could beat bitter rival and incumbent Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama at an election due by the end of the year, but possibly as early as July, either on his own or in coalition with the traditionally Indo-Fijian-dominated National Federation Party, headed by economist Biman Prasad.

Mr Rabuka and Professor Prasad were in Sydney at the weekend for talks with expat ­Fijian leaders and to appear at a series of fundraisers.

Mr Rabuka said there was a real danger that Mr Bainimarama, now facing a domestic economic crisis, would accede to some of Beijing’s lucrative offers simply for his own political survival.

That might extend to selling critical areas of Fiji’s infrastructure such as airport and sea ports to Chinese interests, he said.

“They will think about that, and not just think, their hands are forced, they will have to do something like that but they should know that there are other ways of doing it,” he said, vowing to oppose any such deals. “We don’t want to sell our souls, that is tantamount to selling our soul.

“They are hoping to take over our fishing grounds and all those things. They will probably be ­offering us facilities to be able to police them better, so that they can use them more freely. In our case, I think we should be very, very cautious, very careful before we say yes. We would not want to put all that into the hands of a powerful fisherman. We’d like to keep it available for ourselves and the world.”

Mr Rabuka and Professor Prasad welcomed the new Labor government of Anthony Albanese. Mr Rabuka described Scott Morrison as a personal friend after many shared prayer breakfasts, but said that relationship had not led to closer official ties.

“I wish we could have extended the personal friendship into co-operation or even exchange of ideas, but we didn’t,” he said. “When the Solomons deal came out I felt that Australia was sleeping on the job, neglecting the region. I think it will be better potentially with a Labor government. They have a better understanding of the plight of these smaller states and our willingness to co-operate with Australia, so I hope they will take advantage of that.”

(continued)

>>16366850

2/2

Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s hasty visit to Fiji ahead of Mr Wang’s arrival was well received in Suva, but Mr Bainimarama’s government has strongly encouraged Chinese investment in the past and is expected to take a lead in any regional agreement.

On Sunday, Mr Bainimarama tweeted that he had “a wonderful meeting” with Senator Wong, but noted that “Fiji is not anyone’s backyard” – echoing word-for-word a warning by Mr Wang about attempts by other countries – implicitly the US and Australia – to intervene in the region.

Professor Prasad said the Bainimarama government was particularly susceptible to offers from China because of Fiji’s dire economic straits.

“That is a real possibility because for … Frank Bainimarama and (Attorney-General) Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, their overwhelming preoccupation right now is to hold on to power and if China offers them something big and be assured that they can remain in power, I think they will go with them,” he said.

“China found an easy partnership because they like to deal with dictatorial autocratic governments, so they found an easy way out in Fiji. I think the Chinese are saying, hey, you know, we’ve helped you, we’ve given you all these things during your time – now let’s get into something big. And this so-called Pacific-wide strategy is designed to do that.”

But the pledge of support for Australia from the two leaders comes with a strong caveat: Fiji cannot be taken for granted, as it has in the past, they said.

Mr Rabuka stressed the importance of regaining a healthy relationship with Australia that has eroded – partly, he concedes, because of his own military coups in 1987: “We need to be looking at long-term partnership not Band-Aid solutions which we have had and hopefully we will get a good deal, we will return to the good partnerships we had in the past. “We don’t want to have to continue to rely on an aid recipient mentality, we want to be strong enough to paddle our own canoe in the Pacific.”

Mr Rabuka and Professor Prasad have signed a memorandum of understanding outlining a future coalition that would counter the government’s racially balanced team of Mr Bainimarama and Mr Sayed-Khaiyum.

Mr Rabuka acknowledged such a combination would be ­essential to dispel longstanding antipathy by Indo-Fijians over his 1987 coups, which reasserted ethnic Fijian supremacy over Fijians of Indian descent.

He says he is sure the Bainimarama government would go to the Court of Disputed Returns if it loses the election, but is confident it would ultimately accept defeat, contrary to widespread concern that the military might intervene to keep Mr Bainimarama in power.

Mr Rabuka and Professor Prasad were arrested last year following their criticism of government moves to amend land legislation, in an increasingly ­authoritarian crackdown by the government on opponents.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/fijian-vow-to-hold-the-line-on-china-influence/news-story/cf5c01515c93db1024d377fa5ae43455

>>16343917

>>16344026

China, Pacific islands unable to reach consensus on security pact

Kirsty Needham - May 30, 2022

May 30 (Reuters) - China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday urged the Pacific region not to be "too anxious" about his country's aims after a meeting in Fiji with his counterparts from 10 island nations was unable to agree to a sweeping trade and security communique.

Wang hosted the meeting with foreign ministers from Pacific island nations with diplomatic ties with China midway through a diplomatic tour of the region where Beijing's ambitions for wider security ties has caused concern among U.S. allies.

A draft communique and five-year action plan sent by China to the invited nations ahead of the meeting showed China was seeking a sweeping regional trade and security agreement.

But the draft communique, first reported by Reuters, prompted opposition from at least one of the invited nations, Federated States of Micronesia, according to a letter leaked last week.

After the meeting, which included Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Niue and Vanuatu, Wang said the nations had agreed on five areas of cooperation, but further discussions were needed to shape more consensus.

The five areas he listed included economic recovery after the COVID pandemic, and new centres for agriculture and disaster, but did not include security.

"China will release its own position paper on our own positions and propositions and cooperation proposals with Pacific island countries, and going forward we will continue to have ongoing and in-depth discussions and consultations to shape more consensus on cooperation," he told reporters in Fiji. Questions at the media briefing were not allowed.

Wang said some had questioned China's motives in being so active in the Pacific islands, and his response was China supported developing countries in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean also.

"Don't be too anxious and don't be too nervous, because the common development and prosperity of China and all the other developing countries would only mean great harmony, greater justice and greater progress of the whole world," he said.

Taking questions after Wang's briefing, China's Ambassador to Fiji, Qian Bo, said participants had agreed to discuss the draft communique and the five-year plan "until we have reached an agreement."

"There has been general support from the 10 countries with which we have diplomatic relations, but of course there are some concerns on some specific issues."

Fiji's Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama told reporters the Pacific nations were prioritising consensus.

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

In a written address to the meeting, China's President Xi Jinping said China will always be a good friend of Pacific Island countries no matter how the international situation changes, China's state-owned CCTV reported.

PACIFIC TOUR

Several invited nations want to defer action on the draft communique or have it amended, an official from one Pacific country earlier told Reuters.

The United States, Australia, Japan and New Zealand have expressed concern about a security pact signed by Solomon Islands with China last month, saying it had regional consequences and could lead to a Chinese military presence close to Australia.

The new Australian government has made the Pacific islands an early foreign policy priority to counter Beijing's push, despatching the foreign minister to Fiji with the message Australia would put new priority on the region's biggest security challenge of climate change and announcing a new visa programme to allow Pacific island citizens to migrate.

In Honiara last week, Wang condemned interference in the deal and said the Solomon Islands' relationship with China was a model for other Pacific island nations.

With borders closed across the region because of the COVID pandemic, most foreign ministers are attending the Fiji meeting by video link. In several Pacific countries, the foreign minister is also prime minister.

Wang will travel to the South Pacific kingdom of Tonga for a two-day visit on Tuesday.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/china-hosts-pacific-islands-meeting-fiji-security-ties-focus-2022-05-30/

>>16344026

>>16366881

China shelves Pacific regional agreement

Dominic Giannini - May 30, 2022

China has shelved its plan to sign a regional agreement with Pacific island nations.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi has been travelling to Pacific nations, and had planned to visit 10 countries in the two week blitz.

Mr Wang says China will instead release a position paper following a meeting with Pacific foreign ministers in Fiji on Monday.

“After meeting, China will release its own position paper on our own positions and propositions and cooperation proposals with Pacific island countries,” he said.

“Going forward, we will continue to have ongoing and in-depth discussions and consultations to shape more consensus on cooperation.”

Mr Yang also tried to disparage commentary about China acting nefariously in the region as it tries to increase its influence.

“Don’t be too anxious and don’t be too nervous,” he said.

“The common development and prosperity of China and all the other developing countries would only mean great harmony, greater justice and greater progress of the whole world.”

The wide-ranging deal was leaked last week and covered free trade and security cooperations, including areas such as police training, cyber security, maritime mapping and resource access.

Micronesia expressed opposition to the regional agreement according to a leaked letter, and had previously publicly expressed concern over the Sino-Solomons pact and what it would mean for the region’s security.

An official from Kiribati told Reuters the country wanted to focus on economic ties rather than a security deal.

Mr Wang says China will provide assistance to Pacific Islands without political strings.

Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama says there remained a “consensus first” approach to regional agreements following the foreign minister’s meeting.

China’s ambassador to Fiji, Qian Bo, told reporters after the meeting, the draft communique and five year plan sent by China to Pacific nations would be shelved until an agreement was reached.

“”There has been general support from the 10 countries with which we have diplomatic relations, but of course there are some concerns on some specific issues,” he said.

“We have agreed these two documents will be discussed afterwards.”

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong also visited Fiji at the end of last week after returning from the Quad meeting in Tokyo.

Australia and the United States expressed concerns about a Chinese security deal signed with the Solomon Islands and said any military base in the Pacific would be considered a “red line”.

The US has also stepped up its footprint in the Pacific, with its embassy in Solomons’ capital Honiara due to reopen.

Regional security and a more assertive China was one of the main focuses of the Quad meeting between the heads of Australia, the US, Japan and India when they met last Tuesday.

https://www.aap.com.au/news/china-shelves-pacific-regional-agreement/

Lawyers in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide move to subpoena the source code for the encrypted AN0M app

Lawyers representing alleged bikie chiefs, mafia members and drug kingpins are mounting legal challenges to the software at the heart of Operation Ironside – the encrypted AN0M app.

Mitch Mott - May 30, 2022

Adelaide lawyers are mounting legal challenges to the software at the heart of the international crime sting Operation Ironside, which used the encrypted AN0M platform to intercept millions of messages before the app was shut down in June last year.

If successful, the legal move threatens to derail more than 100 cases before South Australian courts, as well as others interstate.

Defence counsel for South Australians arrested as part of the operation are leading the way, along with colleagues in Sydney and Melbourne, to subpoena the source code behind the encrypted app.

The lawyers argue that there is no way a court could be satisfied that what police said were decrypted messages from the app matched what had been typed in.

The Australian Federal Police and the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) are fighting to prevent the release of the source code – invoking immunity and arguing it would not be in the public interest.

It is the latest in a string of legal manoeuvres aimed at discrediting millions of intercepted messages, which police allege show conspiracies to murder as well as the trafficking of vast quantities of drugs.

In South Australia, a challenge to the validity of the warrants used to intercept the messages is expected to be heard by the Supreme Court later this year.

In NSW, top appeals silk Bret Walker SC has been retained by a consortium of around 30 Operation Ironside accused who are also seeking to challenge the warrants.

Those challenges are aimed at the admissibility of large collections of messages which might have been intercepted unlawfully.

However, the latest tactic is aimed at the very origin of the messages – the AN0M platform itself.

It is understood the source code is likely to not even be in Australia, but rather be in the possession of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the US.

Last week, Adelaide lawyer Dominic Agresta told the Adelaide Magistrates Court he would be seeking to challenge the legality and functioning of the AN0M platform.

Mr Agresta represents several Ironside accused whose charges range from conspiracy to commit murder, to the trafficking of huge quantities of cannabis and methamphetamine, both in South Australia and interstate.

Representing one of his clients, whose name is suppressed, Mr Agresta asked the court for a temporary stay of the prosecution and for the man to be released on bail because of the federal authorities refusal to hand over various documents, including the source code.

He said he, along with other defence counsel in Melbourne and Sydney, had requested disclosure of various documents from both the AFP and CDPP, including details of the inner workings of the AN0M app.

“The answer charge date is looming and we want these documents in relation to an application which could be made on that day,” he said.

“Effectively we are challenging the very basis for the AN0M application itself and these documents go to that.

“There has been a refusal to hand over details of the functioning of the app. We say we need those details because without them how can this court be satisfied that the decrypted messages are an accurate reproduction of the encrypted messages.”

John Clover, for the CDPP, said Mr Agresta and other lawyers needed to issue subpoenas to the AFP.

“It is the AFP’s claim of immunity and they need to be bought in as a party,” he said.

“Various documents have been identified as having potential relevance but also fall under claims of immunity.

“Just because they have potential relevance, not actual relevance, does not flow that it is exculpatory or helpful to (the accused).”

Claiming privilege over information allows a person or organisation to prevent it being presented to other parties in legal proceedings.

Public interest immunity is a type of privilege that is usually invoked by a government when it argues that disclosure of the information would do more harm than good.

Magistrate John Wells adjourned the hearing for a full argument and to allow the AFP to prepare its case against the release of the source code.

https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/lawyers-in-melbourne-sydney-and-adelaide-move-to-subpoena-the-source-code-for-the-encrypted-an0m-app/news-story/85c90469ec244c83e267679f0027e3d4

>>16349807

SAS soldier recalled after puzzling evidence in Ben Roberts-Smith case

An SAS soldier who gave evidence about a strange issue at the Ben Roberts-Smith trial has been brought back for one reason.

Perry Duffin - May 30, 2022

An SAS soldier, who testified for Ben Roberts-Smith about a puzzling war story, has been recalled to give more evidence behind closed doors in the marathon defamation case.

Mr Roberts-Smith is suing Nine newspapers over a series of articles in which they claimed he committed war crime murders in Afghanistan.

The Victoria Cross recipient denies each allegation and has been calling witnesses for over a month to testify in his case.

The court, on Monday, heard a witness codenamed Person 27 was now being recalled to testify in closed court.

He had been overseas until this weekend and the court had struggled to locate him - but he will now give evidence on Tuesday afternoon.

It‘s not yet clear if the public will learn what Person 27 is being recalled over - but the SAS soldier previously told the court Mr Roberts-Smith’s lawyers were behind a strange comment that has appeared in multiple court documents.

The court has heard claims Mr Roberts-Smith, at the end of 2012, ordered an Afghan special forces soldier to execute a detained civilian after the SAS discovered a weapons cache.

Some soldiers have claimed they witnessed the killing - others, including Mr Roberts-Smith, deny any such shooting took place.

Mr Roberts-Smith and four other SAS soldiers submitted outlines of evidence to the court that said Nine‘s allegation was wrong.

Their reason was simple and clear - an Afghan soldier, which Nine claims was also involved in the killing, was not working with the Australians at that time in 2012.

Person 27 was among those witnesses who said that particular Wakunish soldier, or “Waka”, had been removed from service because he shot a dog.

The bullet ricocheted and hit an Australian soldier in the rear, Mr Roberts-Smith‘s witnesses said in their outline of evidence.

But Person 27, speaking on the stand this month, told the court that the outline of evidence was incorrect.

The Wakunish soldier Mr Roberts-Smith‘s side accused of shooting the dog, known only as Person 12, had not been removed from service, the court has now repeatedly heard.

“Who first used Person 12’s name?” Nine’s barrister asked.

“Ben’s lawyers,” Person 27 responded.

Last month Nine‘s barrister, Nicholas Owens SC, accused Mr Roberts-Smith’s witnesses of “colluding” to give false evidence that would make Nine’s allegation impossible.

Mr Roberts-Smith‘s legal team deny there was any collusion.

Person 27‘s evidence is expected to last just one day before the court prepares to hear from a high ranking SAS officer.

The officer, who cannot be identified, will give evidence on another mission in which Nine claims Mr Roberts-Smith carried out war crimes.

The multi-year case is expected to close on Friday.

https://www.news.com.au/national/courts-law/sas-soldier-recalled-after-puzzling-evidence-in-ben-robertssmith-case/news-story/a38b5c367d54bb7fe5daff1f9eb358a8

U.S. Embassy Australia Tweet

Memorial Day

Each year on the last Monday of May, Americans honor the men and women who have lost their lives in military service. We express our deepest gratitude for the courageous Americans who have given their lives in service to the United States. #MemorialDay

https://twitter.com/USEmbAustralia/status/1531079296004943874

—

Q Post #1350

May 12 2018 22:24:18 (EST)

If America falls, the World falls.

God bless our brave fighting men & women.

They deserve our deepest gratitude.

Through their strength, and the millions of united Patriots around the World, we will succeed in this fight.

Peace through strength.

Now comes the pain.

Q

—

>Thank you for your service.

>Understanding what's at stake.

>God bless each and every one of you.

>We will not fail.

>WWG1WGA!!!

Anthony Albanese promises to lead more inclusive government in first speech to caucus

Georgia Hitch - 31 May 2022

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has used his first speech in front of his parliamentary colleagues to pledge that his government will do politics in a different, less divisive, way.

Mr Albanese was welcomed by the Labor caucus — which is the meeting of the Labor members of parliament — with cheers and applause, and choked back tears as he finished his speech by thanking his team for the "incredible honour" of being Prime Minister, saying it was "a big deal".

His speech also canvassed the success of the party's campaign, his vision for the next three years and his hope for re-election after that, but he did not reveal who would take what role in his ministry.

The government's frontbench will be officially sworn in on Wednesday morning.

The Prime Minister said he was serious about how the party would go about governing and implementing the policies it promised.

"We have an opportunity to shape the future from this position," he said.

"We need to change the way that politics operates in this country. We need to be more inclusive.

"We need to be prepared to reach out. We need to be prepared to engage on those issues. We can do that in this parliament."

Mr Albanese went on to say that reaching out needed to involve all Australians including multicultural communities, people of faith and the LGBTIQ community.

He said the election result was a rejection of the previous government's attempt to "wedge people" and cause division.

"We saw that during the election campaign, whereby some very vulnerable people were singled out … adding to their vilification," he said.

"We're a better country than that. We shouldn't do that ever. Ever."

The caucus meeting was also the first for a raft of new MPs, including a number from Western Australia where Labor experienced a significant swing toward it.

Mr Albanese used the opportunity to pay tribute to former senator Kristina Keneally and former shadow environment minister Terri Butler who both lost their seats at the election.

He also announced that parliament would return in the last week of July and that he would travel to Indonesia this Sunday.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-31/anthony-albanese-caucus-meeting-new-government/101112802

>>16344039

‘I won’t back down on Beijing’, says Peter Dutton

BEN PACKHAM - MAY 30, 2022

Peter Dutton says he won’t back away from his pre-election warnings about the dangers posed by China, declaring the country under President Xi Jinping’s leadership “is the biggest issue our country will face in our lifetimes”.

The former defence minister campaigned heavily before the election on the security threats posed by China, and with Scott Morrison said deputy Labor leader Richard Marles was sympathetic towards Beijing.

The hawkish rhetoric cost the Coalition votes in seats with high numbers of Chinese speakers who flipped to Labor, including Chisholm in Victoria and NSW electorates of Reid and Bennelong.

Speaking after his elevation as Liberal leader on Monday, Mr Dutton said he did not resile from his comments on China “because I feel very passionately about this issue. I have had the benefit of the briefings in the National Security Committee and to be high-level in some circumstances as defence minister,” he said.

He said he wanted Australia to have a productive relationship with China – which slapped $20bn in punitive tariffs on Australian exports and refused to engage with Australian ministers – but said resolving the rift was “an issue for China”.

Ahead of the election, Mr Dutton warned Australians that to preserve the peace, the nation needed to “prepare for war”.

He said on Monday the warning was “realistic”, given Beijing’s stated intent to take Taiwan.

“I'm concerned that if they went into Taiwan, that would change quite dramatically the ­security settings within our own region,” Mr Dutton said.

The warnings came amid criticism of the Coalition’s failure to head off a Chinese security agreement with Solomon Islands, and slow progress in delivering new capabilities to the Australian Defence Force.

Prior to the campaign, Mr Morrison was forced to apologise to parliament after branding Mr Marles a “Manchurian candidate”.

ASIO director-general Mike Burgess said at the time that the politicisation of national security had been “not helpful”.

After the campaign, Mr Burgess’s predecessor, Major General Duncan Lewis, also criticised the Coalition’s rhetoric on China, ­saying that it had been “rather louder than we should have been”.

“We’ve been in the forefront of some of the criticism of states such as China, when we might well have been better to have been one back and one wide,” he said.

The Australian reported during the election campaign that Mr Marles had met with Chinese diplomats 10 times over five years, and had given a draft speech to the Chinese embassy in Canberra before delivering it on a 2019 trip to China.

Mr Marles said after the election that the Coalition’s claims he was too close to China were “a ­pathetic attempt to distract from their own failings”.

“What we saw here was an ­attempt to politicise issues of nat­ional security, of strategic policy, to create difference where it didn’t exist,” he said.

“And the reason for that was ­really to distract from the former government’s failings, particularly in handling our relations within our own region, with Solomon Islands in the Pacific.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/i-wont-back-down-on-beijing-says-peter-dutton/news-story/2c90b34c8bd6b42392364d4a495e2c60

>>16344026

China tries to calm Pacific fears after security snub

WILL GLASGOW - MAY 31, 2022

Pacific Islands leaders have rebuffed Beijing’s sweeping security and trade pact while calling on China – the world’s biggest polluter – to do more to address its “greatest threat”: climate change.

Xi Jinping’s top envoy Wang Yi said the region should not be “too nervous” about China’s intentions in the region in comments made after Beijing failed to get agreement for an ambitious security and trade proposal at a meeting of Pacific Island leaders in Fiji on Monday.

Mr Wang, China’s Foreign Minister, said concerns expressed by Canberra, Wellington and many of their Pacific Island partners were misplaced.

“Don’t be too anxious and don’t be too nervous,” Mr Wang said in brief remarks in Suva.

Instead of signing on to Beijing’s agreement, Pacific Island leaders called on China to address climate change. “Being a true partner and friend to the Pacific requires urgent and deep climate change action,” said Henry Puna, Secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum, on behalf of members.

“We call on China and our international partners to submit enhanced nationally determined contributions in line with the 1.5C pathway and net zero by 2050.”

Beijing has said it will not reach net zero until 2060 – a decade later than America, Japan, the European Union, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong visited Suva last week after a draft of Beijing’s sweeping agreement was leaked and said the new Albanese government understood the acute concern about climate change in the Pacific.

In a statement after Monday’s meeting, Senator Wong said it was “up to countries in the region to make choices for their people”. “The security of the Pacific is the responsibility of the Pacific family, of which Australia is a part,” she said.

China had proposed to radically increase its involvement in the security, economy and politics of the region. Ahead of Mr Wang’s visit, China proposed a pact that would see Beijing train Pacific Island police, become involved in cybersecurity, expand political ties, conduct sensitive marine mapping and gain greater access to natural resources on land and in the water.

Beijing also offered millions of dollars in financial assistance and the prospect of a China-Pacific Islands free trade agreement.

Federated States of Micronesia president David Panuelo warned the proposed agreement was “disingenuous” and would “ensure Chinese influence in government” and “economic control” of key industries.

Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said on Monday broad agreement would be needed before inking any “new regional agreements”. “As always, we put consensus first,” he said.

China’s Foreign Minister refused to take questions from the media, as has been the case at every stop on his unprecedented 10-day blitz in the Pacific. He is scheduled to be in Tonga on Tuesday.

Speaking to the media after his boss had left, China’s Ambassador to Fiji, Qian Bo, confirmed Pacific Island countries had not reached agreement on the Chinese proposal.

“There has been general support from the 10 countries with which we have diplomatic relations, but of course there are some concerns on some specific issues,” he said.

Dr Anna Powles, a senior lecturer in international security at New Zealand’s Massey University, said the outcome was an example of “astute Pacific statecraft”.

The shuttle diplomacy by Australia’s new Foreign Minister has underlined continuing structural tensions in Canberra’s relationship with Beijing. China’s party state media last week accused Senator Wong of “double standards, arrogant colonialism and imperialism” for her concern about Beijing’s outreach in the region. Government-affiliated Chinese foreign policy experts have reacted angrily to the Australian government’s use of the phrase “Pacific family”, which they say is used to exclude China.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/china-fails-to-ink-security-pact-with-pacific-nations/news-story/7663e5465f36a1f5bce9c5fad76e2407

>>16361649

Timing of Wang Yi visit to PNG ‘inappropriate’, says Peter O’Neill

BEN PACKHAM - MAY 30, 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Don’t be too anxious and don’t be too nervous,” Mr Wang said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

>>16366850

Fiji’s ‘Rambo’ will take the fight to Xi Jinping

China’s aggressive bid for influence in the Pacific will depend in part on the outcome of an epic struggle for power between Fiji’s rival strongmen.

STEPHEN RICE - May 31, 2022

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The last time a Chinese delegation arrived at Fiji’s Grand ­Pacific Hotel it was to beat up a Taiwanese official in the ballroom for daring to host a celebration of his country’s National Day.

But that was 18 months ago, a lifetime in the world of international relations.

This week, the Chinese came in peace – or what now passes for it in the Pacific – with Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s hefty entourage occupying much of the hotel as Beijing’s island-hopping charm offensive hit town.

It was all smiles at reception, the previous unpleasantness having been quickly swept under the (slightly blood-stained) carpet when the two Chinese embassy thugs were granted diplomatic immunity by a Fijian government anxious to avoid trouble.

Beijing may not have pulled off its desired regional agreement but it was always going to find a receptive audience in Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama’s much-diminished Republic of Fiji. In his 15 years in power, the one-time navy commander has become increasingly reliant on friends in Beijing.

Former Bainimarama media adviser Graham Davis recounts an experience at a reception one evening at State House in Suva when the Prime Minister shocked the gathering by telling the then US ambassador Judith Cefkin “You’re not a true friend of Fiji. See that guy over there” – pointing to the Chinese ambassador – “he’s a true friend of Fiji.”

Now Fiji finds itself suddenly at the forefront of Beijing’s largesse, as the superpower stretches its muscle in the South Pacific.

It could not have come at a better time for Bainimarama.

The rugby fanatic who took power in a military coup in 2006 but reinstated democratic rule to Fiji presides over a ruined economy and a fractured nation. The country is $5bn in debt and almost totally reliant on a tourist industry that was in trouble even before Covid wiped out large parts of it.

For Beijing, Fiji is ripe for the plucking. But for many Fijians, the government of Bainimarama is also on the nose. And many are now considering what might once have seemed unthinkable: a return to Fiji’s archetypal strongman, former soldier Sitiveni Rabuka, instigator of two military coups in 1987, and later democratically elected as prime minister from 1992 to 1999.

The coups led to a mass exodus of the country’s Indo-Fijians; the prime ministership delivered only a partial redemption.

This year’s election will be a clash of sworn enemies in what is likely the last roll of the dice for both men. A win would not just be a remarkable turnaround for Rabuka – and his country – but a nasty blow for China. The wily Rabuka is far more cautious about Beijing’s push into the Pacific than his hated adversary Bainimarama, who calls him “the snake”.

(continued)

>>16372930

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This week, Rabuka – who is still known in friendlier circles as “Rambo” – told The Australian he wouldn’t be trading Fiji’s security for economic benefits under any circumstances. “We don’t want to sell our soul, and that is tantamount to selling our soul,” he said.

Now, at age 74, Rabuka faces the biggest challenge of an already overly dramatic career: to convince the country, especially its 37 per cent Indo-Fijian population, that he is a changed man.

Rabuka was in Sydney at the weekend raising funds for his fledgling People’s Alliance party. The Fijian diaspora in Australia wields considerable sway, with many retaining footholds in both countries. Expats sent back $1.5bn in remittances over the past two years, a lifeline to family and to the ­national economy.

Crucially, on this visit Rabuka was joined by his coalition partner Biman Prasad, head of the traditionally Indo-Fijian dominated National Federation Party.

They make an odd couple: the charismatic Fijian strongman and the unassuming Indo-Fijian professor. But it was a winning combination, at least, for 500 supporters at a sold-out black tie ball in Bankstown.

Rabuka received a hero’s welcome from the largely iTaukei (ethnic Fijian) audience at the event; but so did Prasad, arriving late in Sydney’s Saturday night traffic to an unexpected ovation.

At another gathering largely attended by Indo-Fijians – some who had left the country in fear after the 1987 coups, and others who were not even born then – Rabuka admits that there were moments of awkwardness.

Have they forgiven him?

“Some of them only know the Rabuka of 1987 and nothing else,” he says. “I’m glad that last night Biman came along and said: this is what he has done since. And it was good for them to see – okay, so you’re different now.”

Rabuka chuckles at the turnaround, as if slightly amazed by it. If he wins this election, there’ll be plenty of upheaval all round.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/fijis-sitiveni-rambo-rabuka-will-take-the-fight-to-xi-jimping/news-story/7ff9f7ef6e296ee2f8d9a8d60d2d6ea3

>>16344026

>>16366881

China, Pacific Island nations expand cooperation at second FMs’ meeting covering poverty alleviation, climate change and agriculture

China respects local countries in signing cooperation, but could be sabotaged by few politicians used as US pawns

Zhang Hui, Liu Caiyu and Shan Jie - May 30, 2022

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One year since the first virtual foreign ministers' meeting between China and the Pacific Island nations, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi took a historic trip to eight regional countries and jointly chaired the second foreign ministers' meeting in Fiji on Monday, during which China and the countries reached a new consensus to deepen cooperation on sectors including poverty alleviation, climate change and agriculture.

Chinese analysts believed that any cooperation between China and the Pacific Island nations is conducted on the basis of respecting the countries and their people, and the cooperation will never be imposed on them like some Western countries do. They said that even for some joint document that is not yet finalized, which is a normal process for bilateral relations, China will respect regional countries and continue the discussions.

But they also pointed out that a few people in these countries, under the pressure and coercion of the US and former colonizer, may be willing to serve American interests at the cost of their national and people's interests.

At the second China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Monday, Wang announced that China will continue to jointly build six new cooperation platforms with regional countries on sectors including poverty alleviation, disaster prevention, climate change and agriculture. The meeting was attended by foreign ministers of China, Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Micronesia, the Solomon Islands and Tonga, as well as secretary general of the Pacific Islands Forum online and offline.

China and the Pacific Island countries reached a five-point consensus at the meeting, which include deepening their comprehensive strategic partnership, upholding true multilateralism and pursuing common development and prosperity.

Wang said facts proved that China's cooperation with Pacific nations conforms to the trend of the times, benefits the people in the region, and has bright prospects, and China will continue to listen to the voices of the regional countries and their people, respect the current cooperation mechanism of the region and support other countries to increase investment in promoting regional development and carry out three-party or four-party cooperation.

The foreign ministers from the regional countries said they support the Belt and Road Initiative, will continue to firmly pursue the One China policy and look forward to working with China to expand cooperation in various fields and improve infrastructure and people's livelihood.

China also released a 15-point position paper on mutual respect and common development with Pacific Island countries, including jointly promoting regional peace and security and cracking down on transnational crimes, such as cyber crimes, and tackling COVID-19 and strengthening people-to-people exchange.

As for some people who questioned why China was actively helping the South Pacific nations, Wang urged them not to be over anxious and nervous about it, as the common development and prosperity of China and other developing countries will make the world fairer, more harmonious and more stable.

On Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a written speech at the meeting, in which he said China remains committed to the equality of all countries regardless of size, and will always be a good friend, a good brother and a good partner of Pacific Island countries no matter how the international landscape evolves.

Chinese analysts said that the meeting showed China's assistance to and cooperation with the regional countries are truly for the benefit of local people, as China's help has never been interrupted even after changes in local governments.

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 that the second meeting, which was held in Fiji, went further than the first virtual one on deepening existing cooperation and exploring new fields, and the holding of the meeting was a success for the two sides.

Fiji is the fourth leg of Wang's tour to the South Pacific island nations, which will also take him to Tonga, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea, as well as Timor-Leste. Before arriving in Suva, Wang visited the Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Samoa.

(continued)

>>16372962

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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at Monday's media briefing that the foreign ministers' meeting was held successfully, with representatives reaching new consensus on deepening cooperation. While some foreign media reported that China and the regional countries did not sign a planned joint agreement covering security and trade cooperation at Monday's meeting, Zhao said the joint document is under continued discussion and all parties reached a new consensus, marking an important step toward the final agreement.

Chinese analysts said that the fact the two sides have yet to sign the agreement due to different opinions actually reflected China's sincere diplomatic attitude of respecting local countries, and it was a normal process for bilateral relations.

Meanwhile, they warned that opposition to the agreement may also be a deliberate move carried out by a few politicians of some regional countries who are willing to be used by the US at the cost of the interests of the country and people.

Behind the different voices

In reporting that China and Pacific Island countries were unable to sign a sweeping agreement, several Western media outlets cited the previous opposition from President of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) David Panuelo, who said the draft of the agreement should be rejected as it essentially binds all Pacific Island countries to China and would affect the sovereignty of Pacific Island countries.

It's not known which country voiced concerns over the joint agreement, but analysts said that all concerns will be taken seriously.

Yang Honglian, a Fiji-based senior researcher at the Pacific Islands Research Center of Liaocheng University, told the Global Times on Monday that voicing concerns is the legitimate right of regional countries, but it is worth deep study on whether the concerns are from the majority or just a few politicians.

If it was a few politicians making irresponsible remarks by kidnapping the will of the people, all regional countries should condemn such selfish actions, Yang said.

A regional pact is difficult by nature and time-consuming, and may last for a decade, which is acknowledged internationally, Yu Lei, chief research fellow at the research center for Pacific Island countries of Liaocheng University in East China's Shandong Province, told the Global Times.

For instance, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was overwhelmingly supported by most countries, but some Western countries represented by the US rejected it out of their own selfish interests. This kind of behavior severely obstructs the worldwide marine pact from being implemented, Yu said.

As for the remarks from FSM, Yu said that in the face of pressure and personal interests, a few people are willing to be led by the US, which would undermine the interests of the country and the people.

Yu said FSM is one of three free associates of the US in the region and home to the world's largest and most advanced strategic missile testing site, adding that it is obvious to all which country is threatening FSM's survival and development.

According to the Pacific Island Times, the US and FSM in 2021 agreed on a plan to build a military base in the Pacific Island nation to serve the Pentagon's strategic ambition of increasing its footprint in the Indo-Pacific region and contain China.

The US and Australia have been smearing China's normal cooperation with regional countries since China and the Solomon Islands signed a security cooperation deal.

Actually, as well as the Solomon Islands, many other regional countries need to improve their police's law enforcement abilities, and lacking national infrastructure and inadequate policing equipment makes it difficult to rely on their own police forces to do the job, Yang said, noting that police security cooperation is urgently needed in the region.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202205/1266949.shtml

>>16343917

China's foreign minister visits Tonga after Pacific islands delay regional pact

Kirsty Needham - May 31, 2022

May 31 (Reuters) - China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday signed agreements in Tonga for police equipment and fisheries cooperation on a tour through the Pacific islands region where Beijing's ambitions for wider security ties has caused concern among U.S. allies.

Pacific island nations were unable to reach consensus in a meeting with Wang a day earlier over a sweeping regional trade and security pact China has proposed.

In Tonga, Wang signed several bilateral agreements with Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni and also visited King Tupou VI at the Royal Palace, Tonga's government said in a statement.

"Both meetings focused on mutual respect and the common interest of the people of China and Tonga," it said.

Agreements between the two countries' disaster management agencies and for China to provide a police laboratory and customs inspection equipment as well as a memorandum on the "blue economy" would assist Tonga's long-term development, it said.

Sovaleni "conveyed Tonga’s gratitude to China with the relief assistances offered after the volcanic eruption … and tsunami".

Tonga, which was hit by a volcanic eruption and tsunami in January, owes two-thirds of its external debt of $195 million to China's Export-Import Bank, its budget shows.

Australia and New Zealand are its biggest donor nations, highlighting the squeeze some Pacific islands face as geopolitical tensions between China and U.S. allies ratchet up.

In the aftermath of the eruption, Australia and New Zealand coordinated allies in a relief operation involving defence flights and naval vessels. China also sent aid and equipment on commercial and naval vessels in a highly publicised relief effort.

Tonga appointed the first Australian as police commissioner this month, and has declined to comment on whether it supports a regional policing pact with China.

On Monday, a virtual meeting hosted by Wang in Fiji with counterparts from 10 island nations deferred consideration of a sweeping agreement spanning policing, security, fisheries, data and a free trade zone, proposed by China.

A draft communique and five-year action plan was leaked ahead of the meeting, amid criticism the deal would bind the nations closely to China, and raise geopolitical tensions with the United States.

Despite their small populations and economies, each Pacific state represents a vote at international forums such as the United Nations. They also control vast swathes of resource-rich ocean and access to a region with strategic military significance.

Samoa's Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa was among the island nation leaders who called for a delay, and wants major decisions on the region to go through the Pacific Islands Forum group, Samoan media reported on Tuesday.

"We have not made a decision as we did not have enough time to look at it," Samoan news service Talamua quoted Fiame as saying, in a speech also released by her office on social media.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/chinas-foreign-minister-visits-tonga-after-pacific-islands-delay-regional-pact-2022-05-31/

>>16372987

China, Tonga are examples of ‘building a community with shared future’, long-term Chinese investments dwarf US, Australia

Long-term Chinese investments dwarf US, Australia

Li Xuanmin - May 30, 2022

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Chinese enterprises' humanitarian aid to South Pacific island nation Tonga in the face of natural disasters and the pandemic has demonstrated the genuine friendship between China and South Pacific countries and given the world an example of building a community with a shared future for mankind, Chinese businesses said, amid Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi's ongoing visit to the region.

Such aid, coming in an active and timely manner and manifested not only in medicine and food but also in long-term personnel and resources, dwarfs offerings from Australia and the US, which deemed the region as their "backyards" and a battlefield for influence, with their investment largely driven by geopolitical factors rather than addressing the interests of local communities, observers said.

"When a volcano erupted in January, our South Pacific subsidiary quickly communicated with local staffers in Tonga, and mobilized our teams in Fiji and Vanuatu to purchase relief supplies. We consulted with and expanded material transport channels to the Tongan government to ensure that supplies were sent to the island country as quickly as possible," recalled a spokesperson of China Civil Engineering Construction Corp (CCECC).

In addition to CCECC, other Chinese state-owned enterprises and local Chinese chambers - in line with the aid from the Chinese government - were also offering humanitarian help to the best of their capacities at that time.

Immediately after the volcanic disaster, the Red Cross Society of China provided $100,000 in humanitarian aid to Tonga, and the Chinese government gathered emergency supplies, including drinking water and food, through the Chinese Embassy in Tonga. It was the first batch of relief supplies the island country received after the natural disaster.

"When the disaster-relief assistance arrived at the Tongan port, our staffers helped Tongan government officials, quickly completing unloading, secondary packaging, and transporting within two days despite stormy weather and adverse sea conditions," a spokesperson from CCECC told the Global Times over the weekend.

He added that Chinese enterprises "always stand in the frontline with local community," as also exemplified by aid after Tonga's encountering two hurricanes in 2015 and 2020, when Chinese firms actively helped in reconstruction and relief efforts, sharing the fate of the local community and solidifying friendship between the two countries.

The 14th Bureau of China Railway Construction Corp, which has dozens of infrastructure projects in South Pacific countries, also donated emergency aid including drinking water, food, tents, electric generators and life-saving equipment to Tonga after the volcanic disaster, a spokesperson of the company told the Global Times.

"Extreme situations such as disasters and the pandemic show the importance of 'building a community with a shared future for mankind,' which corresponds with the global mainstream consensus of peaceful development and win-win cooperation between countries," the spokesperson said, adding that the firm donated anti-virus supplies worth more than1 million yuan ($150,200) to a number of South Pacific nations.

(continued)

>>16373021

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Chinese enterprises also invested in key infrastructure projects that are vitally important to the Tongan people's wellbeing. For example, CCECC built a key water supply project for Tonga's capital Nuku'alofa and neighboring areas, which addressed the water supply issue for locals.

On Monday, the second China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' Meeting was held in Fiji, and a sweeping cooperation agreement between China and Pacific island nations is under continued discussion and all parties have reached new consensus on the documents, Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

Chinese enterprises are in South Pacific nations for the long term, which is in stark contrast to certain Western countries like Australia, which is driven by its geopolitical calculus without respecting individual countries' genuine needs and interests, Chinese observers said.

While Foreign Minister Wang Yi toured the Pacific island countries, Penny Wong, the new Australian foreign minister, made a trip to Fiji on Thursday where she claimed that Australia will maintain its influence in the Pacific, helping "build a stronger Pacific family".

Observers said Wong's remarks laid bare a "parental" role Australia attempted to play to enforce its will on many South Pacific nations, excluding China from Canberra's claimed sphere of influence.

"China and South Pacific island nations such as Tonga have a solid foundation for cooperation in sectors like agriculture, medicine, fishing, climate change and environmental protection. Their friendship, which is also within the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation framework, is an example for the world of building a community of shared future," Yu Lei, chief research fellow at the Research Center for Pacific Island Countries of Liaocheng University, told the Global Times on Monday.

In 2018, the education ministries of China and Tonga signed a memorandum on communication and cooperation in education to support the establishment of the Tonga College of Liaocheng University, which has helped Tonga cultivate high-level talent in applied science, and conduct joint research in marine studies. Tonga also signed a memorandum to join the BRI in 2018.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202205/1266930.shtml

https://twitter.com/ConsulateKoT/status/1531539031003123712

Child and sex charges rock swimming

JESSICA HALLORAN - MAY 31, 2022

A former Swimming Australia employee has been charged with sexual assault and indecent treatment of children.

The man, who is understood to have worked at the Queensland Academy of Sport and oversaw a number of Olympic swimmers in his time, was charged with three counts of indecent treatment of children under 16 and one count of sexual assault over incidents that allegedly occurred between 2002 and 2010.

“Swimming Australia is aware of the investigation. However, as it is an ongoing police matter, we are unable to comment any further at this stage,” a Swimming Australia spokesman said.

The man was arrested last week following a search warrant being executed at a business. He is expected to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on June 9.

The news comes as the Australian swimming team is preparing for the World Championships in Budapest and then the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Over the past year, Swimming Australia has embarked on a cultural review and its new president, Tracy Stockwell, has vowed to make Australian swimming a safe place for all athletes. In December 2021, Swimming Australia offered a historic and unreserved apology for the way female swimmers had been treated in the sport after an independent review delivered a scathing assessment.

“Certainly, we acknowledge that there have been some negative experiences for people in the past, and particularly some females, and we’re truly sorry for that,” Ms Stockwell told The Australian earlier this year. “But we welcomed the independent panel report and their findings and believe that the recommendations will provide a strong road map for our commitment to continually improve our sport.”

The review was triggered after Olympic silver medallist Maddie Groves quit the Tokyo team swim trials stating “let this be a lesson to all misogynistic perverts in sport and their boot lickers”.

Groves, who won two silver medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics, has repeatedly claimed a sexist and “misogynistic” culture exists in the sport. “You can no longer exploit young women and girls, body shame or medically gaslight them and then expect them to represent you so you can earn your annual bonus. Time’s UP” Groves wrote on Twitter, referencing her withdrawal from the trials in Adelaide.

Several other swimmers also spoke up about the pressures around body image and shaming.

In the past, Swimming Australia had been accused of turning a blind eye to the growing number of complaints from female swimmers. Then last year it finally relented and agreed to an independent investigation into the sport as the allegations piled up.

In a six-month review, the independent panel of Chris Ronalds, Katherine Bates and Alex Parker heard from more than 150 participants, including former and current swimmers, parents, coaches, technical officials, volunteers and administrators.

The report also addressed the complaints process, recommending it adopt a “character test” for selecting coaches and support staff for teams.

The report also indicated a wide range of problems, including the way some elite female swimmers were treated, and made 46 recommendations.

Some of the recommendations to the organisation included dropping skinfold tests and the term “physique”, and to adopt a quota for female coaches.

Ms Stockwell vowed to work through the recommendations and make the changes required.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/child-and-sex-charges-rock-swimming/news-story/d7e0fbd6d6b0ef4886910e17edb8485a

Crown Resorts hit with $80m fine by VGCCC over use of China Union Pay cards

JARED LYNCH - MAY 30, 2022

Crown Resorts has been slapped with a record $80m fine from the Victorian gaming regulator over the use of Union Pay cards to illegally transfer funds from China.

But the blockbuster fine – on top of separate action from the financial crimes regulator, Austrac, which alleged Crown broke money laundering laws more than 500 times – could have been higher.

The new Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission knocked $20m off the maximum penalty of $100m, citing good behaviour. But VGCCC chair Fran Thorn warned the group could face further penalties over casino law breaches.

It comes as Crown shareholders overwhelmingly backed an $8.9bn takeover from Blackstone, despite the US private equity giant yet to gain approvals from casino regulators in three states.

Rival Star Entertainment has been accused of similar conduct, with the NSW Bell inquiry hearing that the company disguised almost $1bn in gambling transactions as hotel charges.

Gambling is illegal in China and Union Pay (CUP) cards cannot be used for that purpose. Furthermore, individuals in China can only exchange $US50,000 worth of currency a year.

Ms Thorn said: “While Crown deserved some credit for its cooperative approach to the disciplinary proceedings, the record $80 million fine was appropriate and necessary because of the seriousness of Crown’s illegal conduct.

“Crown’s CUP process was a clandestine, deliberate process, which not only breached the Casino Control Act but was also devised to assist patrons to breach China’s foreign currency exchange restrictions.

“Crown was aware of the risk that the CUP process could be illegal but decided to run that risk. In doing so, it showed no regard for upholding its regulatory obligations. Indeed, it went to some lengths to hide what it was doing.

“Crown benefited handsomely from its illegal conduct. The fine will ensure that Crown is stripped of the revenue it derived from the CUP process and will send a clear message that it must comply with its regulatory obligations.”

Section 68 of the Casino Control Act bans Crown from using debit or credit cards to obtain gambling chips. This aims both to avoid gambling derived from criminal funds, and to support responsible gambling and minimise harm.”

“During these disciplinary proceedings it became apparent that, in addition to the CUP process, there were other mechanisms that persisted after 2016 that enabled cards to be used to access cash at Crown Hotels, which was then potentially used for gambling,” Ms Thorn said.

“Consideration of these transactions did not form part of the current disciplinary proceedings, and Crown Melbourne considers these transactions do not contravene the Casino Control Act. The VGCCC has decided to undertake its own investigation into these transactions and form its own view about whether further breaches have occurred in the period after 2016.

“The VGCCC is also considering further disciplinary proceedings against Crown related to the other findings of the Royal Commission, which may each attract a fine of up to $100m.”

In a statement, Crown said it acknowledged “its historical failing”.

“The China UnionPay process ceased in 2016. Upon becoming aware of this historical conduct, Crown’s Board immediately commissioned an independent investigation and shared the findings with the Victorian Royal Commission, the (VGCCC’s predecessor) and other regulators,” the company told shareholders.

“Crown’s Board and senior management are committed to the delivery of a comprehensive reform and remediation program to ensure Crown delivers a safe and responsible gaming environment and continues to co-operate with the VGCCC on all matters arising from the Victorian Royal Commission Report.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/companies/crown-resorts-hit-with-80m-fine-by-vgccc-over-use-of-china-union-pay-cards/news-story/4720369e1669ae2477b989959fda5d14

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Star not suitable to hold casino licence, say lawyers for inquiry

Lucy Cormack - May 31, 2022

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The Star Entertainment Group is not suitable to hold a casino licence, lawyers for an inquiry say, arguing the embattled group is yet to fully grasp what went wrong across its organisations.

More than seven weeks of hearings probing Star’s Sydney casino licence have exposed serious failures in risk management and governance that touched the highest echelons of the company and its board.

The NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority launched the review before Adam Bell, SC, last year following revelations by The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and 60 Minutes of alleged money laundering, links to organised crime and fraud at the Pyrmont casino.

In her closing submission to the review on Tuesday, counsel assisting the inquiry Naomi Sharp, SC, claimed the revelations raised serious concerns about Star’s susceptibility to criminal influence and exploitation.

“We submit that the evidence in the public hearing establishes that The Star is not suitable to hold the casino licence and that its close associate Star Entertainment is not suitable either,” she said.

“The casino licence is a privilege. And it is a privilege, which confers upon the holder of that licence an ability to earn very substantial revenues”.

She said a casino operator must ensure gaming is conducted honestly, with control over its potential to cause harm to the public interest, individuals and families.

The inquiry follows that of former Supreme Court judge Patricia Bergin last year, which found Crown Resorts unfit to hold a casino licence in NSW, blocking it from opening gaming floors in its $2.2 billion Barangaroo resort.

Bergin’s inquiry triggered a Victorian royal commission into Crown’s Melbourne casino licence, which it retained under strict conditions.

The Star inquiry has examined allegations it gave free rein to its major “junket” VIP tour partners and disregarded anti-money laundering procedures to avoid China’s strict capital flight and anti-gambling laws.

The casino also refused to hand over to the financial crimes watchdog AUSTRAC a damning 2018 KPMG audit that found it was failing to tackle money laundering.

In 2013 international VIP gaming revenue at The Star was about 30 per cent of overall gaming revenue, growing to 33 per cent by 2018 before declining.

The inquiry heard Star’s attempt to gain a share of the international VIP market was a reaction to the competitive threat of Crown obtaining a licence for Barangaroo in 2014.