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The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Albanese and Luxon urge Israel to reconsider Gaza City takeover during ‘warm, generous' meeting
Australia's prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and his New Zealand counterpart, Christopher Luxon, have urged Israel to reconsider its plans to take over Gaza City and reaffirmed their intentions to deepen security ties, as they met in Queenstown on Saturday. Following a pōwhiri (formal Māori welcome) at Te Wharehuanui – a private retreat built by the billionaire Xero founder, Rod Drury – Luxon said the world had become uncertain and fractious, and that New Zealand 'has no greater friend than Australia'. 'The two of us being able to come together to advocate for our values and stand up in the world and go out into the world together is really important,' he said. Sign up: AU Breaking News email Albanese thanked Luxon and the local iwi (tribe) Ngāi Tahu for the 'warm, generous' welcome and similarly pointed to the importance of the trans-Tasman alliance and being part of the 'Pacific family' amid global upheaval. 'There is one thing that is certain … Australia and New Zealand stand together.' The welcome concluded with a boisterous hug between the two leaders. It is the pair's second annual meeting, following Luxon's visit to Canberra last year. Gaza and the topic of recognising Palestinian statehood loomed large, two days after the Israeli security cabinet approved a plan to take over Gaza City, prompting global condemnation. On Saturday, the foreign ministers of both countries alongside Germany, Italy and UK released a joint statement condemning Israel's latest offensive. Last month, New Zealand and Australia cosigned the New York Call – a declaration indicating the possible recognition of Palestinian statehood. Speaking to media after their formal meeting, neither Luxon nor Albanese would confirm when a declaration of statehood might happen but said Israel's latest plans were 'wrong'. 'Military action, as we've seen, is not the way to solve this problem,' Luxon said. 'The latest action from Israel we're seeing in the past 24 hours is wrong and risks violating international law.' Australians want to see a ceasefire, Albanese said. 'They want to see the killing stop. They want to see hostages released. They want to see peace in the region.' Both leaders rejected the idea that possible trade retaliation from the US president, Donald Trump, over recognising Palestinian statehood would affect their positions. Australian goods imported into the US have attracted Trump's baseline 10% tariff, while last week, New Zealand was hit with a surprise 15% tariff. 'We make our own assessments in … our own economic and our security interests,' Luxon said. 'Australia has exactly the same position,' Albanese said. 'As a sovereign nation, we make our decisions.' Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion The leaders also discussed deepening ties in defence and security, and fielded questions about their nations' relationships with China, which is the largest trading partner to both countries but whose growing influence and military exercises in the Pacific have caused discomfort. The leaders told the media they had each made successful visits to China recently. 'We cooperate where we can and disagree where we must,' Albanese said. Trade and economic growth was high on the agenda, with each committing to coordinate closely on economic reform. But while the leaders stressed their strong friendship, the countries are not without tensions, the thorniest of which arose in Saturday's talks. The deportations of New Zealanders – despite in some cases tenuous connections to New Zealand – has provoked long-running frustration in the relationship. After Albanese delivered an olive branch to New Zealand in 2023, announcing that the immigration department would have to pay greater attention to the strength, duration and nature of a person's connection to the Australian community, that was suddenly wound back in mid 2024. Responding to questions over whether Australia's U-turn was fair to New Zealand, Albanese said he had to do what was best for Australia, but he expected Luxon would bring up the issue. 'Our priority is safety in Australia but also a commonsense approach,' Albanese said.
South China Morning Post
18-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Philippines seeks economic strength as Marcos heads to US for Trump talks
The Philippines hopes to secure a trade agreement with the US when President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr discusses a planned US tariff during his meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington, according to a Manila official. Marcos will also seek to bolster US-Philippine security ties during his July 20-22 visit, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for American Affairs Raquel Solano said at a briefing on Friday. The trip by Marcos, set to be the first Southeast Asian leader to visit Trump during his second presidency, comes after the Trump administration increased the tariff on Philippine goods to the US to 20 per cent from 17 per cent starting in August, raising concern from its long-time ally. Ahead of Marcos, Philippine government officials including Trade Secretary Cristina Roque flew to Washington this week for tariff talks. 'We hope of course to arrive at a bilateral trade agreement or a deal on reciprocal trade that is mutually acceptable, mutually beneficial for both our countries,' Solano said. The Philippines initially held trade talks with the US in May in its bid to lower an earlier threatened 17 per cent levy in April. To secure that, Roque had said Manila plans to increase imports of US farm goods, including soybeans and frozen meat, and boost exports of semiconductors, coconut and mango products to the US. 09:23 History, money and military: why the South China Sea is so important to Beijing History, money and military: why the South China Sea is so important to Beijing 'We will continue to underscore that for the Philippines to be a truly strong partner for the United States, we need to be stronger economically as well,' Solano said. Trump and Marcos will discuss 'closer cooperation in economic, defence and security matters of common interest,' she added.
Japan Times
29-06-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Top Japanese official visits Australia as bid to build new frigate heats up
A top adviser to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has visited Australia for discussions on deepening security ties, as Japan looks to win a government contract to replace the quasi-ally's aging frigates. Akihisa Nagashima, special adviser to Ishiba, visited the cities of Canberra and Perth from Tuesday through Saturday, meeting with officials from Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the prime minister's office, as well as the country's director-general of national intelligence, according to the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo. The visit was also seen as another move by Japan to up its game in the race for the multibillion-dollar Australian frigate contract. Japan, together with Germany, are the finalists in the bid to jointly develop the new frigates with Australia. Canberra is expected to make a final decision on the matter by the end of the year. Nagashima said in a post Sunday to his X social media account that he had held discussions in Canberra 'with key members of the Australian government on deepening the Japan-Australia 'quasi-alliance' for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific,' adding that he had also traveled to Perth 'to give a final push for the Mogami-class multipurpose frigate joint production project.' Japan is pitching an as-of-yet unfielded upgraded version of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' Mogami-class frigates, which are operated by the Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF). The top adviser to the prime minister also said he had held informal talks with representatives from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' Canberra office, discussing defense-industrial cooperation between the two countries, while later visiting Perth's Henderson shipyard, where some of the new Australian frigates are expected to be built. If won, the contract would be the largest military export deal in Japan's postwar history, offering a major breakthrough for the country's defense industry. Akihisa Nagashima, special adviser to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, speaks during an interview in Tokyo in December. | BLOOMBERG Under the project — which has a budget of between 7 billion and 11 billion Australian dollars ($4.3 billion to $6.8 billion) over the next decade — Canberra is seeking seven to 11 general-purpose frigates optimized for undersea warfare to replace its Anzac-class warships. Japan has pulled out all the stops to win the contract, sending one of its Mogami-class vessels to Australia earlier this year for joint military exercises and making a port call earlier this month with another Mogami ship to the city of Darwin, where the MSDF hosted a reception for Royal Australian Navy officials on board the ship. Experts, however, say that German shipbuilder Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems has significantly increased its chances in the frigate competition by partnering with Saab — an entrenched supplier of crucial equipment for Australian warships — late last month. The German firm signed up Saab to 'explore opportunities for collaboration on the MEKO A-200, with a focus on enhancing naval capabilities through joint innovation and integration,' it said in a statement. Together with the Mogami-class vessel, Australia has also shortlisted Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems' MEKO A-200 design. 'This challenges widespread assumptions that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is the favorite,' analysts from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute wrote in an analysis earlier this month. 'A German victory, if it occurs, will be a serious blow to what has been a revitalised security relationship between Australia and Japan.'
Japan Times
15-06-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
South Korea's Lee open to trilateral meet with Ishiba and Trump at G7
New South Korean President Lee Jae-myung expressed an openness Sunday to holding a trilateral meeting with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Canada later this week. Any talks would be the first trilateral meeting for all three leaders since taking office, and would symbolize a commitment to continuing a trend of building closer security ties under their predecessors. 'President Lee has repeatedly said that the foundation of our diplomacy and security is the solid South Korea-U.S. alliance and the South Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperative relationship,' the Yonhap news agency quoted a Presidential Office official as saying. Lee was due to depart on Monday for the G7 summit for an expanded session, as well as bilateral talks that could include a one-on-one meeting with Ishiba, who was set to leave for Canada later Sunday. The summit, which runs through Tuesday, will be the first G7 meeting for both Ishiba and Lee, who took office June 4 after winning South Korea's presidential election following the ouster of his predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, over his short-lived martial law declaration in December. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington in February. | REUTERS Lee, who had been known for a seemingly hard-line stance toward Japan, told Ishiba over the phone last week that his government would continue Yoon's policy of strengthening bilateral and trilateral cooperation with Japan amid concerns in Tokyo that he might reverse agreements reached under his ousted predecessor that led to a thaw in ties. Ishiba and Lee — who are both grappling with onerous unilateral U.S. tariffs that could upend their economies — are also expected to hold bilateral talks with Trump. Japan's top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, spoke with his U.S. counterparts on Friday and Saturday in talks that explored the possibility of a trade deal — one that Tokyo hopes to seal at the G7, though it's unclear if negotiations are far enough along. Akazawa has said he may join Ishiba in Canada. The U.S. has slapped a 25% tariff on imported cars and auto parts and a 50% levy on steel and aluminum. A 10% across-the-board duty on other goods from Japan will rise to 24% on July 9 if a deal is not made. South Korea, meanwhile, is also facing similar tariffs, as well as security-related issues. Trump has demanded it to pay more for the 28,500 U.S. troops stationed there.
