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AUKUS submarines need rare earths and can't rely on China, envoy warns

AUKUS submarines need rare earths and can't rely on China, envoy warns

Nikkei Asia4 hours ago
Australian Ambassador to the U.S. Kevin Rudd speaks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Aug. 20. (Australian Embassy)
KEN MORIYASU
August 21, 2025 04:59 JST
WASHINGTON -- Australia and the U.S. are committed to reducing reliance on China for critical minerals, Australian Ambassador to the U.S. Kevin Rudd said Wednesday, noting that advanced military hardware, such as submarines and stealth fighters, depend heavily on rare-earth elements.
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AUKUS submarines need rare earths and can't rely on China, envoy warns
AUKUS submarines need rare earths and can't rely on China, envoy warns

Nikkei Asia

time4 hours ago

  • Nikkei Asia

AUKUS submarines need rare earths and can't rely on China, envoy warns

Australian Ambassador to the U.S. Kevin Rudd speaks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Aug. 20. (Australian Embassy) KEN MORIYASU August 21, 2025 04:59 JST WASHINGTON -- Australia and the U.S. are committed to reducing reliance on China for critical minerals, Australian Ambassador to the U.S. Kevin Rudd said Wednesday, noting that advanced military hardware, such as submarines and stealth fighters, depend heavily on rare-earth elements.

Australia's Albanese downplays Netanyahu's criticism as ties sour
Australia's Albanese downplays Netanyahu's criticism as ties sour

Japan Today

time17 hours ago

  • Japan Today

Australia's Albanese downplays Netanyahu's criticism as ties sour

FILE PHOTO: Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks during a press conference with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto (not pictured) at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia May 15, 2025. REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/File Photo Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday that he treats leaders of other countries with respect after his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu attacked him over his decision to recognize a Palestinian state. "I don't take these things personally, I engage with people diplomatically. He has had similar things to say about other leaders," Albanese said during a media briefing. Netanyahu's personal attack on Albanese has further strained relations between the two countries. Ties soured after Australia decided last week to conditionally recogniz a Palestinian state at the U.N. General Assembly in September. "History will remember Albanese for what he is: A weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia's Jews," Netanyahu said in a post on X on Tuesday. Albanese told reporters that he had informed Netanyahu about Australia's decision to support a Palestinian state before his centre-left government formally announced the plan. "At that time, I gave Prime Minister Netanyahu a clear indication of my view and Australia's view going forward but also a clear indication of the direction in which we were headed," Albanese said. "I gave him the opportunity to outline what political solution there was and gave him that opportunity." Israel this week revoked the visas of Australian diplomats to the Palestinian Authority after Albanese's Labor government cancelled the visa of an Israeli lawmaker over remarks the Australian government considered controversial and inflammatory. Israel has been facing increasing international pressure over its military offensive in the Gaza Strip that has killed thousands of civilians and plunged Gaza into a humanitarian crisis, displacing most of its population. The offensive began nearly two years ago after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 more hostage. © Thomson Reuters 2025.

New Zealand soldier admits attempted espionage in country's first spying conviction
New Zealand soldier admits attempted espionage in country's first spying conviction

Japan Today

timea day ago

  • Japan Today

New Zealand soldier admits attempted espionage in country's first spying conviction

New Zealand army officer cadets move on exercise in the Waiouru training area in the central North Island of New Zealand, May 6, 2022. (Corporal Naomi James/NZDF via AP) By CHARLOTTE GRAHAM-McLAY A New Zealand soldier who tried to spy for a foreign power has admitted to attempted espionage in a military court. Monday's conviction was the first for spying in New Zealand's history. The soldier's name was suppressed, as was what country he sought to pass secrets to. Military court documents said the man believed he was engaged with a foreign agent in 2019 when he tried to communicate military information including base telephone directories and maps, assessments of security weaknesses, his own identity card and log-in details for a military network. The wording of the charge said his actions were 'likely to prejudice the security or defense of New Zealand.' He wasn't speaking to a foreign agent, but an undercover New Zealand police officer collecting intelligence on alleged right-wing extremist groups, documents supplied by the military court showed. The soldier came to law enforcement attention as part of an operation that was established after a March 2019 terrorist attack on two mosques in the city of Christchurch, when an Australian white supremacist opened fire on Muslim worshipers, killing 51. Officers spoke to the man twice about his involvement in a group, court documents showed, and after the government became aware he had expressed a desire to defect he was contacted by the undercover officer. When the soldier's hard drive was searched, investigators found a copy of Christchurch gunman Brenton Tarrant's livestreamed video of his massacre and a manifesto document he published online before the killings. Possession of either without permission is a criminal offense in New Zealand and the soldier, who admitted that charge too, joins several others convicted in New Zealand of having or sharing the terrorist's banned material. In a statement read to the court by his lawyer, the man said the two nationalist groups with which he was involved were 'no more than groups of friends with similar points of view to my own,' according to Radio New Zealand. The laywer, Steve Winter, added that his client denied supporting the Christchurch shooter's ideology, RNZ reported. The soldier — who was based at Linton Military Camp near the city of Palmerston North — also pleaded guilty to accessing a military computer system for dishonest purposes. The amended suite of three charges replaced 17 counts levelled against him earlier in the proceedings. Each of the three charges he admitted carries a maximum prison term of either seven or 10 years in New Zealand. His sentence was expected to be delivered by a military panel within days after Monday's conviction. The man was due to stand trial by court martial on the charges before he admitted the offenses. His was the first charge in a New Zealand military court for espionage or attempted spying. The last time such a case reached the civilian courts before was in 1975, when a public servant was acquitted on charges alleging he had passed information to Russian agents. A spokesperson for New Zealand's military said they would not comment until the proceedings against the soldier finished. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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