Category Archives: Asia Pacific

Police remove two Chinese defence attaches from Pacific Islands Forum meeting

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Fijian police escort the men from media space where US vice-president Kamala Harris was making virtual address

Two Chinese defence attaches have been kicked out by Fijian police from a Pacific Islands Forum meeting at which the US vice-president, Kamala Harris, was giving a virtual address.

The men were sitting in on a session of the forum’s fisheries agency at which Harris announced the step-up of US engagement in the region, believed to be in response to China’s growing influence.

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Power struggle with China and regional rift in focus as Anthony Albanese heads to Pacific Islands forum

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Absence of Kiribati from the meeting is ‘really devastating’ to the body’s long-term strategy, security expert says

When Anthony Albanese touches down in Suva on Wednesday to attend his first Pacific Islands Forum, he will be walking in to a regional meeting that is putting on a brave face.

While it had been thought that the forum would be focused on the growing influence of China and as an opportunity for Australia to showcase its new climate credentials, Albanese will arrive to a group wrestling with other problems.

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Dangerous heatwaves engulf parts of China, US and Europe

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At least 86 Chinese cities issue alerts, while temperatures soar in south-west and central US and Iberian peninsula

Dangerous heatwaves are engulfing parts of China, Europe, south-west and central US this week, as dozens of cities have found themselves dealing with soaring summer temperatures.

By Tuesday afternoon, at least 86 Chinese cities in eastern and southern parts of the country had issued heat alerts. Chinese meteorologists forecast temperatures in some cities would top 40C (104F) in the next 24 hours.

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Philippines mayor orders government workers to smile – or else

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Head of Mulanay municipality in Quezon threatens disciplinary action for failing to follow ‘smile policy’

A mayor in the Philippines has ordered all local government workers and officials to smile while serving the public – and threatened disciplinary action against those who fail to comply.

Aristotle “Aris” L Aguirre, the mayor of Mulanay municipality in Quezon, has sought to tackle an apparent problem of low spirits among staff by signing an executive order adopting a “smile policy”.

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US announces new embassies in major Pacific push as it jostles with China for influence in region

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Vice-president Kamala Harris has announced postings in Kiribati and Tonga as leaders gather in Fiji for the Pacific Islands Forum

The US has announced a major step-up in its engagement with the Pacific region, including the establishment of new embassies in Kiribati and Tonga, in moves that will be seen as attempts to counter China’s growing influence in the region.

The US vice-president, Kamala Harris, made the announcement on Tuesday, as Pacific leaders gathered in Suva, Fiji for the Pacific Islands Forum, the most significant regional meeting.

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Family and friends of Shinzo Abe attend private funeral in Tokyo

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Members of the public pay their respects to former prime minister outside Buddhist temple

Family and friends of Japan’s former prime minister, Shinzo Abe, have attended his funeral at a Buddhist temple in Tokyo while members of the public paid their respects outside, four days after he was shot dead while making a campaign speech.

Mourners in black suits and dresses gathered at Zojoji temple for the private funeral service, while police officers monitored onlookers, some holding bunches of flowers, who had braved the early afternoon heat.

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Maria Ressa: Amal Clooney condemns court after Nobel laureate’s conviction upheld

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Human rights lawyer’s team calls on new Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos Jr to ‘stop the rot’ and allow a free press

Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney has condemned a decision by a court in the Philippines to uphold the conviction of Nobel prize-winner Maria Ressa in a cyber libel case and her legal team has said the world is watching to see if newly elected president Ferdinand Marcos Jr will “stop the rot” or continue attacks on journalists.

Maria Ressa, co-founder of the website Rappler, lost her appeal last week against a conviction for cyber libel – just one of an onslaught of legal cases and investigations the journalist is battling.

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End of rapid Covid test and telehealth subsidies criticised – as it happened

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Payments extended to eight more local government areas and sped up to prioritise victims over auditing; free Covid rapid tests for concession card holders to end this month. This blog is now closed

A new campaign has launched today to tackle racism by the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Chin Tan, the race discrimination commissioner, was on ABC Radio this morning discussing the campaign he says calls on all Australians to reflect on the causes and impacts of racism, not only on its victims but Australia’s collective wellbeing as a society.

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Protest in China over frozen bank accounts ends in violence

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Authorities says some customers will start getting their money back after angry crowd in Henan was broken up by heavy-handed security guards

A rare large-scale protest in China’s central Henan province has been violently broken up by unidentified security personnel, amid outcry over a financial scandal that has exposed the fragility of the country’s banking system.

A crowd of more than 1,000 protesters, according to some estimates, had gathered on Sunday in front of the Zhengzhou sub-branch of the People’s Bank of China to attempt to recover frozen savings held in rural banks.

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China influenced Kiribati exit from Pacific Islands Forum, MP claims

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Opposition leader calls withdrawal from PIF an ‘extreme move’ and claims the reasons offered by Kiribati’s president were just excuses

Kiribati’s decision to withdraw from the Pacific Islands Forum on the eve of the event was an extreme move driven by pressure from China, the Micronesian nation’s opposition leader says.

Tessie Lambourne, a former top diplomat who was elected to Kiribati’s parliament in 2020, said she was “shocked and extremely disappointed” by the government’s move to withdraw from the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).

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Australia sees climate crisis as a national security issue, defence minister tells US

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Richard Marles delivers speech in US warning of increased militarisation in South China Sea and importance of climate action to Pacific allies

Australia’s defence minister, Richard Marles, has warned of the use of “force or coercion” in the South China Sea and “intensification of major power competition”, references to China’s rising power in the Indo-Pacific.

Marles made the comments in a speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies on his visit to the US, committing Australia to closer cooperation with the US, higher defence spending and to address the climate crisis in part as a national security issue.

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Australia a ‘trusted global partner’ on climate again, Albanese to tell energy forum

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Prime minister will open international forum in Sydney, saying the Indo-Pacific faces ‘enormous’ challenges but also opportunities

Anthony Albanese will declare Australia has now rejoined the ranks of “trusted global partner” on climate action while committing his government to finding common ground across the Indo-Pacific to address both the climate crisis and the emerging economic opportunity of the clean energy revolution.

The prime minister will open the Sydney Energy Forum on Tuesday before travelling to the Pacific Islands Forum in Fiji, where he hopes to progress Australia’s proposal to co-host a United Nations climate summit with Pacific neighbours.

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Shinzo Abe killing: ‘Moonies’ church confirms suspect’s mother is member

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Tetsuya Yamagami’s mother attends meetings, says Unification church, after he told investigators of grudge

The mother of the man accused of assassinating Shinzo Abe is a member of the Unification church, which the suspect has cited as a motive for his fatal shooting of the former Japanese prime minister last week.

The church, whose members are colloquially known as Moonies, confirmed at a press conference on Monday that the mother of Tetsuya Yamagami, who was detained moments after he shot Abe from behind during an election campaign speech on Friday, attends meetings about once a month.

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Australia ‘doesn’t respond to demands’, Anthony Albanese tells China

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PM reacts to Beijing’s four-point advice on improving relations following high-level G20 meeting between the two countries

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Anthony Albanese has said Australia “doesn’t respond to demands”, after China listed four ways the relationship between the two countries could be improved.

“We respond to our own national interest,” Australia’s prime minister said on Monday.

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Macau shuts all casinos in bid to contain worsening Covid outbreak

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More than 30 closed for a week – with extension thought likely – and dozens of city zones locked down in gambling hub

Macau has shut all its casinos for the first time in more than two years as authorities struggle to contain the worst coronavirus outbreak yet in the world’s biggest gambling hub.

The city’s 30-plus casinos, along with other non-essential businesses, will shut for one week from Monday and people have been ordered to stay at home. Police would monitor flows of people outside, the government said, and stringent punishments would be imposed for those who disobeyed.

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Shinzo Abe: Japanese voters back party of former PM amid shooting fallout

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Exit polls show LDP retaining power with comfortable election victory as country mourns

Japan’s ruling party has won a comfortable victory in elections overshadowed by the assassination of the former prime minister, Shinzo Abe.

Exit polls showed that the Liberal Democratic party (LDP), which Abe led until he resigned in 2020, had secured more than half the 125 seats being contested in the 248-seat upper house.

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Kiribati withdraws from Pacific Islands Forum in blow to regional body

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President says it will not be attending forum because of failure to address concerns of Micronesian countries

The key diplomatic body in the Pacific has been dealt a devastating blow on the eve of its first in-person meeting since the pandemic, as Kiribati announced it would be withdrawing from the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).

The Pacific has become a site of intense geostrategic competition, as a result of increased interest from China, and Kiribati’s withdrawal will weaken the forum at a time when Pacific regionalism in the face of fierce geopolitical attention has never been more important.

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China’s foreign minister says Coalition government was ‘root cause’ of hostility to Australia

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In meeting with Penny Wong after G20 summit, Wang Yi urged Australia to treat China as a partner, not a threat

The Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, has urged his Australian counterpart, Penny Wong, to treat China as a partner, accusing previous governments of treating it as an opponent or threat.

On the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers meeting in Bali on Friday, Wang expressed hope that Australia could “seize the opportunity, take concrete actions and come to a correct understanding of China” and accumulate “positive energy” towards it, according to a summary published late on Saturday by China’s foreign ministry.

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Shinzo Abe: police admit security ‘problems’ for former PM as election vote begins

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Police pledge thorough investigation into security flaws as polls open for upper house elections amid increased police presence

Police in Japan have admitted there were “problems” with security for Shinzo Abe, as voters went to the polls for upper house elections two days after the former prime minister was assassinated on the campaign trail.

The head of police in the Nara region where Abe was killed admitted on Saturday that there were “undeniable” flaws in security for the former leader.

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Shinzo Abe assassination: Japanese head to polls in grief and disbelief

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Prime minister Fumio Kishida warns violence will not be tolerated in defiant speech after the murder of former leader

Many Japanese voters will go to the polls on Sunday with a heavy heart, but also with a sense of quiet defiance, as they cast their ballots just two days after Shinzo Abe, the country’s most influential politician of modern times, was shot dead while making a campaign speech.

As the country struggled to come to terms with the first assassination of a current or former leader for almost 90 years, officials in the Liberal Democratic party (LDP), which Abe dominated for a decade, insisted his death would not derail the democratic process.

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