Iluka CEO backs efforts to loosen China's rare earths stranglehold
The chief executive of taxpayer-backed Iluka Resources has praised Western governments' efforts to loosen China's grip over rare earths, which include Australia's proposed creation of a $1.2 billion critical minerals stockpile.
Iluka Resources managing director Tom O'Leary said Western governments had acknowledged 'China's monopoly' over rare earths - a position that allows Beijing to control pricing and supply of the critical minerals, harming global rivals.
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AU Financial Review
an hour ago
- AU Financial Review
The year's hottest trade has rocketed this ETF to a 50pc return
As the Albanese government faces mounting pressure from US President Donald Trump to increase Australia's defence budget, local investors have been busy riding this year's hottest trade: war stocks. ASX-listed global defence exchange-traded funds have been among this year's best performing ETFs, boosted by Trump administration's push for its Western allies to shoulder more of the military bill. That has benefited global defence companies which have experienced a wave of new orders and government contracts from nations around the world.
The Age
14 hours ago
- The Age
‘Prisoner's dilemma': How China is using the West to try and rule the skies
For example, China's strategy has been to require Western companies to set up co-production facilities within China, where technical knowledge can either be shared or acquired legally or illegally. Airbus, active in China since 1994, operates a final assembly line facility in Tianjin, as well as an R&D Centre and Airbus China Innovation Centre. It will soon open a second assembly line in Tianjin. 'All Airbus sites around the world have robust systems in place to protect intellectual property rights and data,' a company spokesman said. Should COMAC eventually succeed in producing cheaper, competitive jets at scale, the competitive landscape for Boeing and Airbus will change dramatically. 'Airbus welcomes competition, and the entry of COMAC in the market will not affect our commitment to continue working with our customers, partners and suppliers in China,' the company said. The people who are most willing to talk about China's aggressive technology acquisition are not COMAC or Boeing, but the people concerned about the relative power of democracies in the face of China. Emily de La Bruyère, a senior fellow at the US-based Foundation for Defence of Democracies, believes Western aerospace companies are mistaken for partnering with China in their commercial aerospace programs. They are 'incredibly short-termist and blind for ignoring the consequences of their action', de La Bruyère told this masthead. (Airbus rejects the claim of being 'short-term' focused, pointing to its history in China dating back to 1994.) De La Bruyère believes Western aerospace companies face a 'prisoner's dilemma' in China. If any single aerospace company pulls out of China over intellectual property theft fears, they will get punished financially, she says. But their individual action won't stop the larger trend of China's forced technology transfers, industrial espionage and hacking. So the Western companies are 'sowing the seeds of China destroying their [the companies'] markets all over the world for the sake of what is a very short window of access to the Chinese market'. Engine-makers GE Aerospace and Safran were contacted for comment. A market looms Although the price of the C919 has reportedly come in higher than expected, expectations are that if it can be built at enough scale, it would eventually undercut the price of giants Airbus and Boeing. As Michael O'Leary, chief executive of the ultra-low cost Irish carrier Ryanair, put it recently: 'The Chinese are basically building a f---ing A320. So if it was cheap enough – 10 or 20 per cent cheaper than an Airbus aircraft – then we'd order it,' he told aviation publication Skift in May. To eventually establish a large position in the market, COMAC must have a customer base. COMAC has successfully sold a smaller, 80-seat regional jet, the C909, to airlines in South-East Asia: Lao Airline, VietJet, TransNusa (of Indonesia) and soon GallopAir of Brunei. Alton Aviation Consultancy's Beijing-based Jiang Shuai notes: 'If C919 can be successfully operated in Asia, the track record will support COMAC's C919 future sales outside of Asia.' Focus on Asia As for the continued technological development of COMAC's aircraft, China's experience in other industries is instructive. When Western bans on telco equipment-maker Huawei hobbled its exports into developed markets in 2018, the company pivoted to the Global South, where governments were less fussed by the prospect of security concerns. CSIS's Kennedy notes that regulators in most of the world still only consider purchasing aircraft certified by the FAA or the EASA. As for the Huawei example, 'there is no comparable Western-based regulator of telecom equipment'. 'Neither [the FAA nor EASA] has certified or is likely to certify the C919 any time soon because of concerns over safety,' Kennedy says. Yet demand for new jets is real. After years of supply disruptions, difficulty in sourcing parts, and the impact of COVID, the backlog to be delivered to airlines exceeds 17,000 planes, says the International Air Transport Association. Boeing is still contending with the aftermath of two 737 Max jetliner crashes that killed 346 people, blamed on the botched rollout of a software system. Production restrictions have slowed Boeing's all-important 737 further. Alton Aviation's Shuai says: 'Given Boeing's and Airbus' supply chain issues and delayed deliveries, we expect Chinese airlines to continue to demand and take deliveries of C909 and C919 aircraft. 'Domestic demand is sufficient to fill COMAC's production rates for the next few years.' Efficiency matters The economics of aviation are not just the upfront costs of planes. Earnings in commercial aviation are underpinned by ever more inexpensive planes to operate in fleets. Each new plane model must be a full 20-30 per cent more efficient than the last to stay profitable over its lifetime. If COMAC produces a structurally less efficient and more costly plane, it will saddle buyers with more expenses, making the plane less competitive. Yet China is determined to achieve what Aboulafia refers to as 'autonomous (or autarkic) aviation power', autarky being complete economic self-sufficiency. Aboulafia has testified that China hopes to introduce a fully Chinese version of the C919, which includes the hardest part, 'all-Chinese engines', around 2035. With this trajectory, China will be closer to its goal, aided deeply by Western aerospace companies, says Foundation for Defence of Democracy's de La Bruyère. 'Early on, maybe it was harder to see a future in which China would be able to develop real, competitive technology in the field,' she said, so the logic of engaging in China 'maybe made a little more sense'. Loading 'But the fact that the partnerships continue despite China's proven and advancing capabilities, proven intention to disrupt the incumbents and methods of doing all that, is fundamentally destructive for them.' Asked what's wrong with China succeeding in the commercial aerospace, de La Bruyère said Western businesses fundamentally misunderstand the concept of success to the Chinese Communist Party. 'The CCP has a different vision for what industrial and technological success means. 'It's not profit, it's control.'
The Advertiser
17 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Russia in biggest overnight drone strike of war: Kyiv
Russia has launched 479 drones at Ukraine in the biggest overnight drone bombardment of the three-year war, the Ukrainian air force says, as the Kremlin presses its offensive against the backdrop of direct peace talks. As well as drones, 20 missiles of various types were fired at different parts of Ukraine, according to the air force, which said the barrage targeted mainly central and western areas of Ukraine. Ukraine's air force said its air defences destroyed 277 drones and 19 missiles in mid-flight on Sunday night, claiming that only 10 drones or missiles hit their target. Officials said one person was injured. It was not possible to independently verify the claims. A recent escalation in aerial attacks has coincided with a renewed Russian battlefield push in east and northeast parts of the roughly 1000km front line. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said late Sunday that in some of those areas "the situation is very difficult" but did not provide details. Ukraine is short-handed on the front line against its larger enemy and needs further military support from its Western partners, especially air defences. But uncertainty about the US policy on the war has fuelled doubts about how much help Kyiv can count on. Two recent rounds of direct peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul have yielded no significant breakthroughs beyond pledges to swap prisoners as well as thousands of their dead and seriously wounded troops. Russia's aerial attacks usually start late in the evening and end in the morning, because drones are harder to spot in the dark. Russia has targeted civilian areas of Ukraine with Shahed drones during the war. The attacks have killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations. Russia says it targets only military targets. Ukraine has developed long-range drones that continue to strike deep inside Russia. Russia's Ministry of Defense said on Monday that it shot down 49 Ukrainian drones overnight over seven Russian regions. Two drones hit a plant specialising in electronic warfare equipment in the Chuvashia region, more than 600km east of Moscow, local officials reported. Alexander Gusev, head of Russia's Voronezh region, said 25 drones had been shot down there overnight, damaging a gas pipeline and sparking a small fire. The Ukrainian General Staff claimed special operations forces struck two Russian fighter jets stationed at the Savasleyka airfield in Russia's Novgorod region, some 650km from the Ukrainian border. The statement did not say how the planes were struck. Russia has launched 479 drones at Ukraine in the biggest overnight drone bombardment of the three-year war, the Ukrainian air force says, as the Kremlin presses its offensive against the backdrop of direct peace talks. As well as drones, 20 missiles of various types were fired at different parts of Ukraine, according to the air force, which said the barrage targeted mainly central and western areas of Ukraine. Ukraine's air force said its air defences destroyed 277 drones and 19 missiles in mid-flight on Sunday night, claiming that only 10 drones or missiles hit their target. Officials said one person was injured. It was not possible to independently verify the claims. A recent escalation in aerial attacks has coincided with a renewed Russian battlefield push in east and northeast parts of the roughly 1000km front line. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said late Sunday that in some of those areas "the situation is very difficult" but did not provide details. Ukraine is short-handed on the front line against its larger enemy and needs further military support from its Western partners, especially air defences. But uncertainty about the US policy on the war has fuelled doubts about how much help Kyiv can count on. Two recent rounds of direct peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul have yielded no significant breakthroughs beyond pledges to swap prisoners as well as thousands of their dead and seriously wounded troops. Russia's aerial attacks usually start late in the evening and end in the morning, because drones are harder to spot in the dark. Russia has targeted civilian areas of Ukraine with Shahed drones during the war. The attacks have killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations. Russia says it targets only military targets. Ukraine has developed long-range drones that continue to strike deep inside Russia. Russia's Ministry of Defense said on Monday that it shot down 49 Ukrainian drones overnight over seven Russian regions. Two drones hit a plant specialising in electronic warfare equipment in the Chuvashia region, more than 600km east of Moscow, local officials reported. Alexander Gusev, head of Russia's Voronezh region, said 25 drones had been shot down there overnight, damaging a gas pipeline and sparking a small fire. The Ukrainian General Staff claimed special operations forces struck two Russian fighter jets stationed at the Savasleyka airfield in Russia's Novgorod region, some 650km from the Ukrainian border. The statement did not say how the planes were struck. Russia has launched 479 drones at Ukraine in the biggest overnight drone bombardment of the three-year war, the Ukrainian air force says, as the Kremlin presses its offensive against the backdrop of direct peace talks. As well as drones, 20 missiles of various types were fired at different parts of Ukraine, according to the air force, which said the barrage targeted mainly central and western areas of Ukraine. Ukraine's air force said its air defences destroyed 277 drones and 19 missiles in mid-flight on Sunday night, claiming that only 10 drones or missiles hit their target. Officials said one person was injured. It was not possible to independently verify the claims. A recent escalation in aerial attacks has coincided with a renewed Russian battlefield push in east and northeast parts of the roughly 1000km front line. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said late Sunday that in some of those areas "the situation is very difficult" but did not provide details. Ukraine is short-handed on the front line against its larger enemy and needs further military support from its Western partners, especially air defences. But uncertainty about the US policy on the war has fuelled doubts about how much help Kyiv can count on. Two recent rounds of direct peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul have yielded no significant breakthroughs beyond pledges to swap prisoners as well as thousands of their dead and seriously wounded troops. Russia's aerial attacks usually start late in the evening and end in the morning, because drones are harder to spot in the dark. Russia has targeted civilian areas of Ukraine with Shahed drones during the war. The attacks have killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations. Russia says it targets only military targets. Ukraine has developed long-range drones that continue to strike deep inside Russia. Russia's Ministry of Defense said on Monday that it shot down 49 Ukrainian drones overnight over seven Russian regions. Two drones hit a plant specialising in electronic warfare equipment in the Chuvashia region, more than 600km east of Moscow, local officials reported. Alexander Gusev, head of Russia's Voronezh region, said 25 drones had been shot down there overnight, damaging a gas pipeline and sparking a small fire. The Ukrainian General Staff claimed special operations forces struck two Russian fighter jets stationed at the Savasleyka airfield in Russia's Novgorod region, some 650km from the Ukrainian border. The statement did not say how the planes were struck. Russia has launched 479 drones at Ukraine in the biggest overnight drone bombardment of the three-year war, the Ukrainian air force says, as the Kremlin presses its offensive against the backdrop of direct peace talks. As well as drones, 20 missiles of various types were fired at different parts of Ukraine, according to the air force, which said the barrage targeted mainly central and western areas of Ukraine. Ukraine's air force said its air defences destroyed 277 drones and 19 missiles in mid-flight on Sunday night, claiming that only 10 drones or missiles hit their target. Officials said one person was injured. It was not possible to independently verify the claims. A recent escalation in aerial attacks has coincided with a renewed Russian battlefield push in east and northeast parts of the roughly 1000km front line. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said late Sunday that in some of those areas "the situation is very difficult" but did not provide details. Ukraine is short-handed on the front line against its larger enemy and needs further military support from its Western partners, especially air defences. But uncertainty about the US policy on the war has fuelled doubts about how much help Kyiv can count on. Two recent rounds of direct peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul have yielded no significant breakthroughs beyond pledges to swap prisoners as well as thousands of their dead and seriously wounded troops. Russia's aerial attacks usually start late in the evening and end in the morning, because drones are harder to spot in the dark. Russia has targeted civilian areas of Ukraine with Shahed drones during the war. The attacks have killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations. Russia says it targets only military targets. Ukraine has developed long-range drones that continue to strike deep inside Russia. Russia's Ministry of Defense said on Monday that it shot down 49 Ukrainian drones overnight over seven Russian regions. Two drones hit a plant specialising in electronic warfare equipment in the Chuvashia region, more than 600km east of Moscow, local officials reported. Alexander Gusev, head of Russia's Voronezh region, said 25 drones had been shot down there overnight, damaging a gas pipeline and sparking a small fire. The Ukrainian General Staff claimed special operations forces struck two Russian fighter jets stationed at the Savasleyka airfield in Russia's Novgorod region, some 650km from the Ukrainian border. The statement did not say how the planes were struck.
