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ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
New Caledonia's pro-independence groups meet to critisise Bougival Accord
New Caledonia's main independence coalition the Front de Libération Nationale Kanak et Socialiste, or the FLNKS, held an extraordinary Congress meeting over the weekend to debate the new agreement struck with France on the territory's political future. The Bougival accord as its become known allows for the creation of a New Caledonian state within France, a New Caledonian nationality and greater autonomy in areas like foreign affairs. While it appears to be supported by many, people are keen to move on from the uncertainty and tension that sparked deadly riots last year. The supporters of both pro-independence and French loyalist parties have criticised the agreement. It's also far from a done deal and has to clear several hurdles before becoming a reality including support by both houses of the French parliament and a referendum in New Caledonia, proposed for early next year.
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
Australia and Vanuatu close to signing Nakamal Agreement worth $500m
Australia and Vanuatu are close to signing an "ambitious" new strategic pact that will see the federal government plough about half a billion dollars into the Pacific island country over the next decade. Vanuatu's Council of Ministers is widely expected to endorse the Nakamal Agreement later today after months of negotiations between the two countries. Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Defence Minister Richard Marles and Pacific Minister Pat Conroy will then join Vanuatu's Prime Minister Jotham Napat and other senior leaders on the island of Tanna tomorrow to give their initial agreement to the pact, ahead of a formal signing next month. Mr Napat's office said in a statement the development and security agreement would "cover a wide range of bilateral issues, including infrastructure planning, economic development, and climate resilience initiatives in light of the devastating December 17 earthquake of 2024". "The partnership between Vanuatu and Australia remains strong, especially as Vanuatu continues its recovery efforts," it said. One Australian government source said Vanuatu had driven "quite a hard bargain", but insisted the pact would boost Vanuatu's development while buttressing Australia's strategic position in the country — which is also being energetically courted by China. Under the pact, Australia is expected to make substantial commitments worth up to $500 million over a decade — or $50 million a year. For example, Australia would provide approximately $120 million to help Vanuatu deliver its plan to build two "large data centres" in both Port Vila and Santo. Australia is also expected to deliver around $100 million in security assistance and budget support worth $55 million, and more than $110 million to help Vanuatu deal with the impacts of climate change. The federal government is also expected to make smaller financial contributions to boosting labour mobility, fostering cultural connections and improving digital connectivity. But several details in the agreement remain under wraps. For example, it is not yet clear whether Australia will offer any concessions to Vanuatu on travel and migration, which is an issue likely to be closely watched by other Pacific nations. Last month Mr Napat declared he would not sign the Nakamal Agreement unless Australia agreed to offer "visa-free" travel to his country, saying the pact had to be "win-win" for both countries. Successive Australian governments have been unwilling to relax visa and travel rules for Pacific nationals, partly due to fears a large proportion would remain in Australia illegally. Relaxing travel restrictions for the Pacific could also be politically contentious. Australian officials have previously raised deep concerns about Vanuatu's contentious "Citizenship By Investment" scheme — sometimes called the Golden Passport program — which critics say has drawn oligarchs and criminals seeking to evade foreign law enforcement. It is not yet clear what commitments Vanuatu has made to Australia on the security front. The Pacific island nations of Tuvalu and Nauru have effectively handed Australia the right to veto security agreements with third nations under sweeping treaties they signed with Canberra in 2023 and 2024 respectively. But Vanuatu has long maintained a fierce commitment to non-alignment — or "friends to all, enemies to none" — and is very unlikely to make a similar commitment to Australia. In 2022, Vanuatu's then-Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau signed a contentious security agreement with Ms Wong that labelled Australia as Vanuatu's "principal security partner" and said both countries would "consult" with each other on any "common security interests." But Mr Kalsakau's cabinet rebelled in the wake of that agreement, accusing the prime minister of going above the heads of his ministers and parliament — and the security agreement was never ratified by either Australia or Vanuatu. The statement from Mr Napat's office suggested the Nakamal Agreement will supersede the 2022 security pact. "It is important to note that a security agreement signed in late 2022 between Australia and the former Government of then Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau was never approved by COM, let alone parliament!" it said. A spokesperson for the Foreign Minister Penny Wong said discussions on the Nakamal Agreement were "progressing" but "there is still work to do on both sides." "We look forward to continuing our constructive conversations on the ground as we work towards reaching an agreement that delivers shared objectives," they said. "Our visit to Vanuatu highlights the respect, shared values, and cultural and religious connections that are the platform for deepening the partnership between our countries." "As we have shown through our Pacific partnerships, Australia is open to ambitious agreements where they advance the prosperity and security of our region."
News.com.au
2 days ago
- News.com.au
US missile in Australia sparks fierce China response
China has accused Australia of being a 'tool' after hosting a secret prototype United States hypersonic missile system during recent war-games. 'Australia has not only already been a tool of the US Indo-Pacific strategy, but is increasingly becoming both a strategic and tactical weapon for Washington across multiple aspects,' East China Normal University Australia analyst Chen Hong told the Beijing-controlled South China Morning Post. The accusation comes after the US Army deployed its experimental new Dark Eagle Long Range Hypersonic Weapon outside the continental US for the first time. Two mobile missile launchers were carried by heavy lift aircraft to the Northern Territory and then moved to undisclosed locations by road as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025 manoeuvres in recent weeks. Shanghai Fudan University strategist Xin Qiang told the SCMP the missile's deployment to the multinational exercise was a 'flexing of military muscle'. 'I think China will certainly maintain a high level of alertness and attention to this,' Mr Xin said. 'The military and security rivalry or competition between China and the US in the Indo-Pacific is likely to further intensify.' Australia's Talisman Sabre exercise is a biennial event. This year, it drew together 40,000 soldiers, sailors and aircrew from 19 nations in a range of exercises designed to improve interoperability and military preparedness. It kicked off on July 13, while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was visiting China. 'Mines bigger than yours' Retired People's Liberation Army senior colonel and prolific media commentator Zhou Bo told the SCMP that the symbolic presence of the new Dark Eagle LRHW missile in Australia had not been missed by Beijing. The missile is capable of reaching Chinese-occupied territory from the Northern Territory. A June US Congressional Research Service report published last month says the truck-trailer-based system has a range of 2800km and can travel faster than Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound, or 6170km/h). That means it could reach Beijing's illegal South China Sea island fortresses from Australia in less than 30 minutes. But Mr Zhou, now part of Tsinghua University's Centre for International Security and Strategy, dismissed the missile's significance. He told the SCMP that China has had better hypersonic missiles for longer. 'In terms of weapons comparison, it's not a case of them having something we don't,' he said. 'What we have may even be better than theirs.' He pointed to the DF-17 hypersonic missile as having similar performance to the Dark Eagle. It has been in service since 2019. Mr Zhou added that the newer DF-27 could fly three times as far. Dark Eagle is expected to formally enter US Army service by the end of this year. It's one of the first operational outcomes of a decades-long race to catch up with Beijing's and Russia's hypersonic advances. A US Army Dark Eagle unit, called a battery, is made up of four launchers carrying a total of eight missiles. These are supported by command and engineering vehicles. The high speed of the missiles is hoped to make them capable of evading the heavy missile, gun and laser defences on China's island fortress stepping stones between Vietnam and the Philippines. Dark Eagle is already three years late after a series of cost blowouts, testing delays and technical difficulties. But the US Army said in a recent press release that the Talisman Sabre deployment had 'validated' its capabilities, including that of communicating with its command centre while travelling over the horizon at hypersonic speeds. 'The Dark Eagle is truly ready to go,' Dark Eagle Bravo Battery commander Captain Jennifer Lee said in an army statement. Wedge diplomacy The deployment of Dark Eagle to Australia during the Prime Minister's visit to Beijing has drawn the Chinese Communist Party's ire. 'What makes us alert and concerned is that there seems to be an increasingly evident rift or divergence between Canberra's diplomatic and military spheres,' Mr Chen told the SCMP. The Albanese Government says it is pursuing a policy of engagement with China, while at the same time addressing increasing security tensions in South East Asia. 'I'm afraid that … the main intention of the US (is) to exert a certain deterrence against China, to demonstrate the unity and interoperability of its alliances, as well as the credibility of its stated security commitment to the region – to project this posture and attitude,' Mr Xin said. Several participants in the Talisman Sabre exercise are concerned for their own security in the face of Beijing's aggressive territorial claims. Japan is experiencing increasingly frequent Chinese military and civil incursions into the waters around its Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. And the Philippines is engaged in an almost daily struggle to maintain its sovereignty and access to parts of the Spratly Islands, a few hundred kilometres off its shores. And Australia, which has been part of an international policing effort in the South China Sea since the end of World War II, has had several dangerous encounters with Chinese aircraft and warships there in recent years. Beijing claims ownership of the entire East and South China Seas, despite UN treaties dividing the waters according to agreed formulas between their coastal states. China now has the world's largest navy, a modern and growing air force, and an arsenal of advanced missiles designed to attack US aircraft carrier battle groups. In response, the US has been responding to calls by its allies – Japan, the Philippines and Australia – to strengthen its own defensive posture along what is dubbed the First Island Chain. This string of islands between Japan and Papua New Guinea is what Beijing has declared to be its primary sphere of influence. Beijing reacted angrily earlier this year when the Philippines invited US anti-ship missile batteries to exercise on its shores. Japan's plans to buy similar missiles have also been met with ire. It will conduct a joint war game with the US in September, designed to test allied abilities to defend its remote Sakishima Islands from air and sea attack.
