This is good news because clearly the Chinese are trying to create strategic bases in the South Pacific where they could target Australia and New Zealand from. If a contingency was to happen in the South China Sea the fact that these two U.S. allies could be quickly targeted could influence future defense decisions:
The marker indicates the location of Tulagi Island in the Solomon Islands chain.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Friday lauded a legal decision in the Solomon Islands that prevents a Chinese company from leasing an entire island in the South Pacific nation.
“I want to applaud the decision of the Solomon Islands attorney general to invalidate the Chinese effort to lease the island of Tulagi for 75 years,” Esper said in a statement. “This is an important decision to reinforce sovereignty, transparency, and the rule of law.”
Details of the long-term lease between the Solomon Islands’ Central Province and the China Sam Enterprise Group were only recently made public. News of the deal followed soon after Solomon Island officials announced in September that the nation was switching its diplomatic ties from Taiwan to China.
You can read more at the link, but but do not think that the Chinese are not going to stop trying to create strategic bases in the South Pacific to pressure New Zealand and Australia with.
It will be interesting to see how eager this guy is going to be to go back to North Korea anytime soon:
Australian student Alex Sigley gestures as he arrives at the airport in Beijing on Thursday, July 4, 2019. The Australian student who vanished in North Korea more than a week ago arrived in Beijing on Thursday morning. (AP Photo/Emily Wang)
A 29-year-old Australian student detained in North Korea surfaced in Beijing airport on Thursday, saying he was in “very good” spirits after being released.
Alek Sigley ― one of a handful of Westerners living and studying in North Korea ― disappeared without a trace around June 23, prompting a week of deep concern and frantic speculation about his fate.
For days Sigley’s family received no word about his whereabouts or wellbeing, stoking fears he may be the latest in a long line of foreigners to become entangled in North Korea’s police state.
Then, with little warning, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday told lawmakers that Sigley had “been released from detention in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” and that “he is safe and well”.
You can read more at the link, but there has been speculation that his detention may have been linked to the Trump-Kim summit at the DMZ. The North Koreans may not have wanted word of the meeting to leak and took extreme precautions to include detaining this Australian man until after the summit was complete.
KCNA: "Australia is seeking to destroy the hard-won peaceful atmosphere of the Korean peninsula and the region. It has become clear that Australia is displeased with the trend of peace in the Korean peninsula and the region."
Royal Australian Air Force to conduct joint training exercise with Japan Air Self-Defense Force in Japan for the first time, coming September 10-30. https://t.co/kcBTYWKl90
A South Korean tourist visiting Australia is very lucky to be alive:
In this image taken from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation video, South Korean backpacker Han Joo-hee, 25, center, is assisted to a hospital after being rescued by helicopter, Thursday, in Tully, Queensland, Australia. Australian Broadcasting Corporation via AP
A South Korean tourist was found safe and “in good spirits” six days after falling into a deep ravine while taking photos from a mountaintop in northeastern Australia, officials said.
Rescuers said the chances of survival for 25-year-old Han Joo-hee had been “near zero” after spending nearly a week without food in the remote area.
Han disappeaered on June 1 after telling friends she was going to climb Mount Tyson, a peak in bushland south of Cairns in northern Queensland state, police said.
She was not reported missing until Wednesday, when police, soldiers and emergency crews launched a search, finally locating her Thursday stuck in a deep ravine near a waterfall.
She was winched to safety by helicopter and taken to a local hospital suffering only minor injuries. [Korea Times]
The islands of Vanuatu may appear as relative specks in the South Pacific Ocean, but for China’s military strategists, they could provide a significant boost in Beijing’s ability to project naval power.
The prospect of a Chinese military base in the heart of the South Pacific, reported by Australia’s Fairfax Media on Tuesday, will also complicate the strategic dominance of Western powers in an ocean area they have long effectively controlled, according to diplomats and experts monitoring developments.
Fairfax Media reported China has approached Vanuatu about establishing a permanent military presence there, saying the possibility of such a facility has already alarmed high level officials in Canberra and Washington.
Vanuatu’s foreign minister denied there had been any such discussion of a Chinese military base in the country. China’s defence ministry said the Fairfax report “completely did not accord with the facts” while a foreign ministry spokesman said the report was “fake news”. (…….)
While far from key shipping lanes and not as important as Indian Ocean ports, Vanuatu would put China close to the coast of Australia, a major U.S. ally, and give it a presence nearer the U.S. base of Guam beyond the Asian island chains that hem in Beijing.
Graeme Smith, a Pacific Affairs expert at the Australian National University, said a Chinese base on Vanuatu would send a strong message to Australia, the United States and their allies.
“It would be an incredibly aggressive signal to both the U.S. and Australia that ‘We’re here, get used to it’,” he told Reuters in a telephone interview. [Reuters]
You can read more at the link, but how long will it be before some Chinese scholar says Vanuatu was historically part of China?
Australian Ambassador to South Korea James Choi (L) poses for a photo during a publicity event at a department store in Seongnam, south of Seoul, on March 23, 2018, to promote Australian grapes. (Yonhap)
In my opinion Admiral Harris is a great pick for ambassador to such an important regional security ally as Australia:
US President Donald Trump meets with Admiral Harry B. Harris, Jr. in Hawaii on November 3, 2017
China is seeking to “undermine” the international order in the Asia Pacific, Adm. Harry Harris, US President Donald Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Australia, said in Washington on Wednesday.
Addressing the US Committee on Armed Services on the challenges facing the US military in the region, Adm. Harris, the highest commander of US forces in Asia Pacific region, said the Trump administration must work to counter Beijing’s influence in the region.
“China’s intent is crystal clear. We ignore it at our peril,” he said in public testimony. “I’m concerned China will now work to undermine the international rules-based order.”
Plain-spoken and well-known in the international community for his remarks on US policy in the Asia Pacific, Harris has often provoked a vitriolic reaction from Beijing, in particular for his passionate calls for action in the South China Sea.
His appointment would raise the stakes in the battle for influence in Asia, with experts saying Harris could push the Australian government to tighten military cooperation with its traditional ally. [CNN]
You can read more at the link, but Australia has very strong economic ties with China with their mining industry exporting massive amounts of resources to the Chinese mainland. Picking such a high profile US military figure that has been so outspoken about Chinese intentions, is a good counter to any influence the Chinese may try to use on Australia economically.
We have seen in the past how the Chinese used their economic leverage against South Korea in the ongoing THAAD dispute. If they try the same tactic against Australia, for example in a South China Sea dispute, the US will have a strong voice in Australia to speak out against it.
Hopefully we see more North Korean agents getting arrested to further constrict the money going to the Kim regime from overseas:
It is the first time anyone has been charged under Australia’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Act
A man has been arrested in Sydney for allegedly acting as an economic agent for North Korea, Australian Federal Police (AFP) have said.
Chan Han Choi, 59, has been charged with brokering illegal exports from the country and discussing the supply of weapons of mass destruction.
Police allege he has broken both UN and Australian sanctions.
The case against Mr Chan, who has lived in Australia for more than 30 years, is the first of its kind in the country.
It is the first time anyone has been charged under the country’s 1995 Weapons of Mass Destruction (Prevention of Proliferation) Act.
Police say there was evidence that Mr Chan had been in contact with “high ranking officials in North Korea”.
They allege he had brokered services related to North Korea’s weapons programme, including the sale of specialist services including ballistic missile technology to foreign entities, in order to generate income for the North Korean regime.
Mr Chan also was charged with brokering the sale of coal from North Korea to groups in Indonesia and Vietnam. He is facing six charges in total after being arrested at his home on Saturday night. [BBC]
