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Kirsty Needham
U.S. and Philippine soldiers participate in a live fire exercise at Laoag, Ilocos Norte, Philippines, on May 6. The Philippine Air Force embarked on its first overseas deployment in six decades on Wednesday alongside U.S. and Australian fighter jets.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 11, 2024
Philippines air force joins multination war games in Australia
Four Philippine FA-50 fighter jets and 162 personnel are taking part in the Pitch Black war games.
China's Premier Li Qiang visits Western Australia's only operating lithium hydroxide plant Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia (TLEA) in Kwinana, on the outskirts of Perth, on June 18.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 18, 2024
Chinese premier's Western Australia tour spotlights global race for critical minerals
Western Australia supplies more than half of the world's seaborne iron ore, with China its top customer.
Ambassador of Australia to the U.S. Kevin Rudd attends the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 17.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 7, 2024
War over Taiwan would change world, says Australia ambassador to U.S.
If Chinese President Xi Jinping, who turns 71 this month, wanted to achieve "final national unification" with Taiwan, he would likely act before he reaches his 80s.
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a meeting with New Caledonia's elected officials and local representatives at French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc's residence in Noumea, New Caledonia on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
May 23, 2024
Macron arrives in riot-hit New Caledonia for high-stakes talks
Local group warns things may take a turn for the worse if the French president does withdraw an electoral bill that protesters fear will dilute Indigenous votes.
Smoke rises in the distance as a burnt vehicle blocks a road near the Montravel area of Noumea, New Caledonia, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 21, 2024
Australia and New Zealand send evacuation flights to New Caledonia
Australia and New Zealand said they will send government planes to New Caledonia on Tuesday to evacuate nationals from the French territory, which has experienced a week of deadly riots sparked by electoral changes by the French government in Paris.
A white flag residents displayed to express their intention to peacefully keep watch over the neighborhood, is seen on a temporary roadblock residents set up in the Magenta district of Noumea, New Caledonia, on Thursday.
WORLD
May 16, 2024
Four dead in New Caledonia riots; France declares state of emergency
Rioting broke out over a new bill lawmakers adopted in Paris that will let French residents who have lived in New Caledonia for 10 years vote there.
Former U.S. Marines Corp pilot Daniel Duggan, who is facing extradition to the United States for allegedly breaking U.S. arms control law after he trained Chinese pilots, poses for a picture in this undated handout picture.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 13, 2024
Former U.S. Marine pilot held in Australia 'worked with Chinese hacker'
But the hacking case had nothing to do with him and there is no evidence that the pilots he trained in China were members of the military, his lawyer says.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (right) gives an address to the Leaders’ Plenary during the 2024 ASEAN-Australia Special Summit at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Center in Melbourne, on March 6.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 7, 2024
Australian PM Albanese calls Chinese military air incident 'unacceptable'
A Chinese fighter jet dropped flares above and ahead of an Australian helicopter above the Yellow Sea during an operation to enforce North Korea sanctions.
The U.S. Coast Guard Legend-class maritime security cutter USCGC Bertholf pulls into Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii in June 2012.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 10, 2024
U.S. Coast Guard rebuts China's criticism of South Pacific vessel boardings
Last month six Chinese fishing boats were found to be violating Vanuatu's fisheries law by local police on board a U.S. Coast Guard boat.
The United States has cautioned Pacific Islands nations against assistance from China after reports surfaced that Chinese police are working in Kiribati.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 28, 2024
U.S. cautions after Hawaii neighbor Kiribati gets Chinese police
The news comes as Beijing renews a push to expand security ties in the Pacific Islands in an intensifying rivalry with the United States.
U.S. President Joe Biden chats with Kiribati President Taneti Maamau as Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown looks on during a summit at the White House in Washington in September.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 23, 2024
Chinese police are working in Kiribati, Hawaii's Pacific neighbor
Kiribati has not publicly announced the policing deal, which comes as Beijing renews a push to expand security ties in the Pacific islands.
A Beijing court heard Yang Hengjun's trial in secret in May 2021 and the case against him has never been publicly disclosed. He has denied working as a spy for Australia or the United States.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 5, 2024
Beijing court gives Australian writer suspended death sentence
Yang Hengjun had been accused of spying for a country China has not identified and the details of the case against him have not been made public.
Flags of Solomon Islands and China flutter near the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing on July 11, 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 17, 2024
China helps Pacific Islands with policing, not defense: ambassador
Solomon Islands and Kiribati switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 2019, with Nauru joining just after Taiwan's election.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks at Parliament House in Canberra on Saturday following the defeat of the Voice referendum.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 15, 2023
Australia referendum failure may mean more divisive politics
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese misread the public mood, analysts said, as he took responsibility for the referendum result.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi with Ramos-Horta during a meeting in Dili, East Timor, in June 2022
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 29, 2023
Timor president says China military cooperation 'never discussed'
China's increased efforts to form security ties with developing countries in close proximity to Australia have raised alarm bells in Canberra.
U.S. President Joe Biden and other leaders during the U.S.-Pacific Island Country Summit at the White House in Washington last September.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 19, 2023
No clear winner in U.S.-China contest in the South Pacific
The vast ocean region, pivotal in World War II, is in the spotlight again amid tensions over Taiwan.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 6, 2023
China leads tech race, highlighting need for AUKUS sharing, think tank says
An analysis of 2 million science papers showed Beijing had a commanding lead in both hypersonics research and the technology to counter it, electronic warfare and key undersea capabilities.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 24, 2023
After cyclones leave many homeless, Vanuatu takes climate plea to world stage
More than 3,000 people are still in evacuation centers three weeks after two category-four cyclones hit Vanuatu, which has a population of 319,000 spread across 80 islands.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 10, 2023
Pacific's Micronesia in talks to switch ties from Beijing to Taiwan
Beijing and Taiwan have a history of competing in the Pacific islands, where four of Taiwan's 14 diplomatic allies are located.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 5, 2022
Unpredictable Solomon Islands fuels U.S. concern as China's influence grows
Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare's unpredictable diplomacy will make it hard for Washington to make up lost ground with the island nation as Beijing seeks to expand its security presence.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals