
Australia expects Chinese spying during major war games, renews warning over Pacific military base
It also renewed a charge — denounced by Beijing as a 'false narrative' — that China wants to establish a military base in the South Pacific.
The comments by a government minister came as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a six-day visit to China to bolster recently repaired trade ties.
More than 30,000 military personnel from 19 nations are set to join in the annual Talisman Sabre exercise from Sunday across Australia and Papua New Guinea.
'The Chinese military have observed these exercises since 2017 and it would be very unusual if they didn't do that this time,' said Pat Conroy, Australia's minister for the defence industry and for Pacific Island affairs.
'We'll obviously observe their activities and monitor their presence around Australia,' he told Australian public broadcaster ABC.
'People observe these exercises to collect intelligence around procedures, around the electronic spectrum and the use of communications, and we'll adjust accordingly so that we manage that leakage.'
The strategically important South Pacific region is at the centre of a diplomatic scramble for influence pitting China against its Western rivals.
'We're seeing in my portfolio of the Pacific, China seeking to secure a military base in the region,' said Conroy, who has previously made the same assessment.
'We're working very hard to be the primary security partner of choice for the region, because we don't think that's a particularly optimal thing for Australia.'
China inked a secretive security pact with Pacific nation Solomon Islands in 2022.
Although the details have never been published, the United States and close ally Australia fear it may be the prelude to some kind of permanent Chinese base.
Australia wants 'a balanced region where no one is dominated and no one dominates', Conroy said.
China's embassy in Fiji this month insisted claims that it wanted to set up a military base in the region were 'false narratives' driven by 'ulterior motives'.
Beijing has spent hundreds of millions of dollars building sports stadiums, presidential palaces, hospitals and roads in Pacific island nations.
Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Nauru have in recent years severed longstanding diplomatic links with Taiwan in favour of China. — AFP
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New Straits Times
4 hours ago
- New Straits Times
EU-China talks test unity as tariffs and war frictions dominate
EXPECTATIONS are rock-bottom for a European Union-China summit today that will test European resolve and unity as the bloc faces intense trade pressure from Beijing and the United States, analysts say. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Antonio Costa plan to press Chinese leaders on rare earths and the war in Ukraine, both areas of tension, during the summit in Beijing. There is little hope for headway, at a time both sides face major challenges sustaining economic growth and Europe struggles to shore up support for Ukraine. Both sides may reach a modest joint statement on climate, a source familiar with the planning said, but no other tangible achievements are expected. In recent speeches, von der Leyen has revived hawkish China rhetoric, accusing China on July 8 of "enabling Russia's war economy" and flooding global markets with overcapacity. "We know that we don't see eye to eye with China on many issues, but we believe that it is essential to have this kind of very direct and open and constructive conversation," said one EU official. A spokesperson for the European Commission referred to a statement announcing the summit, which said leaders would discuss ways of ensuring "a more balanced, reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade relationship". In response to Reuters' questions, the Chinese Foreign Ministry referred to a spokesperson's statement on Monday. "Some people in Europe continue to ... exaggerate specific economic and trade issues and make groundless accusations against China on the Ukraine issue, causing unnecessary interference to China-EU relations," its spokesperson said. The 27-member European Union has also been negotiating hard with Washington after President Donald Trump threatened 30 per cent tariffs on most EU exports from Aug 1, with prospects for a broader trade deal fading. At the Beijing summit, China hopes to press the EU for a solution to its tariffs on China-built electric vehicles, for which Beijing claims price commitment negotiations are in the "final stages". Last week, China threatened to respond to EU sanctions on two Chinese banks and five firms over the Ukraine war. Its Commerce Ministry said on Monday the sanctions "seriously harmed trade, economic and financial ties". Other trade disputes are simmering in the background. China retaliated against EU restrictions on medical device procurement with its own curbs on July 6, and slapped duties on French cognac producers. China's exports to the EU grew in May while its US exports plunged 34.5 per cent in value terms the same month, sparking fears Chinese trade overcapacity is being diverted to the bloc due to US tariffs on Chinese goods. There is also a growing sense that EU firms are collateral damage for China's rare earth export controls that primarily targeted Washington but have disrupted European defence and automotive supply chains. In return for concessions on rare earths, China's asks could include reviving a long-stalled investment agreement after Beijing lifted sanctions on European Parliament members in May, and pushing back on US export curbs on Dutch firm ASML's chipmaking equipment. China has raised both in the weeks leading up to the summit, two sources familiar with the matter said. "The mood is extremely pessimistic in Europe regarding the summit," said Mathieu Duchatel, a director at the Institut Montaigne think tank in Paris. He said that Washington rejected previous EU proposals for coordination on China policy. "There is a sense that the gloves are completely off on the Chinese side. "They sense the transatlantic relationship has weakened and are trying to seize the opportunity." Diplomats and analysts also say that China is growing increasingly frustrated behind closed doors with European officials' repeated insistence on the war in Ukraine, which Beijing views as an obstacle in the relationship. There is little space for constructive dialogue on this, another EU official said, with Chinese counterparts denying evidence of Chinese firms' involvement in supplying dual-use goods to Russia.


Free Malaysia Today
6 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Bessent says US, China to discuss tariff deadline extension
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said today trade with China is in 'a very good place'. (EPA Images pic) WASHINGTON : US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said today that he will meet his Chinese counterpart next week in Stockholm and discuss what is likely to be an extension of an Aug 12 deadline for a deal to avert sharply higher tariffs. Bessent told Fox Business Network's Mornings With Maria programme that trade with China was in 'a very good place' and the meetings in Stockholm would take place next Monday and Tuesday. 'I think we've actually moved to a new level with China, where it's very constructive and… we're going to be able to get a lot of things done now that trade has kind of settled in at a good level,' Bessent said. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson confirmed in a post on X that Sweden will host the US-China trade talks early next week. 'It is positive that both countries wish to meet in Sweden to seek mutual understanding,' Kristersson said. China's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment to confirm the planned meetings and Chinese participants. Since mid-May, Bessent has met twice with Chinese vice-premier He Lifeng in Geneva and London to work out and refine a temporary trade truce that dialled back duelling triple-digit retaliatory tariffs that threatened to cut off all trade between the world's two largest economies. US trade representative Jamieson Greer, commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, China's commerce minister Wang Wentao and chief trade negotiator Li Chenggang also participated in those talks. In talks so far, China has agreed to end its export ban on rare earth metals and magnets to the US, while the US agreed to restart shipments of semiconductor design software and production materials, as well as commercial aircraft engines and other goods to China. But the two sides set a 90-day deadline to resolve deeper issues, including US complaints about China's state-led and subsidised export-driven economic model that has created excess manufacturing capacity in China that is flooding world markets with cheap goods. China denies that it subsidises its industries and attributes their export success to innovation. Tariffs could snap back to 145% on the US side and 125% on the Chinese side without a deal or negotiating extension. 'We'll be working out what is likely an extension' at the Stockholm talks, Bessent said, adding that US officials would discuss other issues, including reducing China's over-reliance on manufacturing and exports. 'Hopefully we can see the Chinese pull back on some of this glut of manufacturing that they're doing and concentrate on building a consumer economy,' Bessent said. Russian oil sanctions He said he also wants to issue warnings to China about continuing to buy sanctioned Russian and Iranian oil and China's efforts to aid Russia's war against Ukraine. Bessent said that there was bipartisan support in the US senate for legislation aimed at imposing tariffs of 100% on goods from countries that continue to buy Russian oil, namely China and India. 'I'm going to be in touch with my European counterparts. The Europeans that have talked a big game about sanctioning Russia, and it'll be very important for the Europeans to also be willing to put on these high level of secondary tariffs for sanctioned Russian oil.' He said that the US was poised to announce 'a rash of trade deals' with other countries, and Japan could be among these despite an election setback for Japan's ruling party and difficult negotiations. 'I wouldn't be surprised if we aren't able to iron out something with Japan pretty quickly,' Bessent said. Nonetheless, he said that for most countries, tariffs would 'boomerang' back towards April 2 levels from the current 10%, but negotiations on trade deals could continue.


Free Malaysia Today
7 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
India to resume issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens
Relations have gradually improved, including talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Russia. (EPA Images pic) HONG KONG : India will resume issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens from July 24 this year, its embassy in China said today, the first time in five years as both countries move to repair their rocky relationship. Tensions between the two countries escalated following a 2020 military clash along their disputed Himalayan border. In response, India imposed restrictions on Chinese investments, banned hundreds of popular Chinese apps and cut passenger routes. China suspended visas to Indian citizens and other foreigners around the same time due to the Covid-19 pandemic but lifted those restrictions in 2022, when it resumed issuing visas for students and business travellers. Tourist visas for Indian nationals remained restricted until March this year, when both countries agreed to resume direct air service. Relations have gradually improved, with several high-level meetings taking place last year, including talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Russia in October. China's foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said today that Beijing had noted the positive move. 'China is ready to maintain communication and consultation with India and constantly improve the level of personal exchanges between the two countries,' he said. India and China share a 3,800km border that has been disputed since the 1950s. The two countries fought a brief but brutal border war in 1962 and negotiations to settle the dispute have made slow progress. In July, India's foreign minister told his Chinese counterpart that both countries must resolve border friction, pull back troops and avoid 'restrictive trade measures' to normalise their relationship.