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September
Australian trade min seeks French meeting, confident subs row won't derail EU talks
Written by Nur Yasmin
Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan said on Monday he will seek a meeting with his French counterpart to ease tensions over Canberra's decision to scrap a $40 billion submarine deal.
Australia last week said it would end the deal with France's Naval Group to build a fleet of conventional submarines and would instead build at least eight nuclear-powered submarines with U.S. and British technology after striking a trilateral security partnership with those two countries. read more
France was infuriated and said its relationships with Australia and the United States are in crisis. It also recalled its ambassadors from both countries, stoking fears over Australia's bid for a free trade deal with Europe.
Tehan said he was confident the row would not spill over and impact trade but added he would seek a meeting with his French counterpart when he is in Paris for an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development meeting in October.
"I will be very keen to touch base with my French counterpart while I'm in France," Tehan told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio.
Australian and EU officials are scheduled to hold their next round of talks over a trade deal on Oct. 12.
The Australian-French bilateral tensions come as Prime Minister Scott Morrison travels to Washington for a meeting for the Quad group of countries - which includes India, Japan, the United States and Australia - later this week. read more
While France has been the most vocal critic of Australia's defence deal, China - which is seen as the catalyst for Australia's decision to build a new fleet of submarines - has also condemned the trilateral pact.
Australia's relations with China have deteriorated over the past two years after Australia banned Chinese tech giant Huawei from involvement in its nascent 5G broadband network and called for an enquiry into the origins of the novel coronavirus.
China has responded by impeding imports of Australian goods and it ceased all ministerial communications.
But Tehan said if China would like to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership trade bloc it would have to engage with Australia. (Reuters)
September
Philippines to launch pilot plan to resume face-to-face learning
Written by Nur Yasmin
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the resumption of face-to-face classes in areas deemed low risk for COVID-19, with up to 120 schools to join a two-month pilot reopening run, his education minister said on Monday.
The Philippines is among 17 countries globally where schools have been closed for the entirety of the pandemic, according to a report last week by the United Nations children's agency UNICEF, highlighting what it called "18 months of lost learning".
It said there were 39 countries where schools remained partially closed, as of this month.
Duterte has held off on reopening schools, sticking to a vow to keep them shut until a vaccine was available, warning that doing otherwise "spells disaster". The Philippines has been fighting one of Asia's worst COVID-19 epidemics.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones said face-to-face learning will be limited to 3-4 hours per session, with consent from parents and guardians required.
The pilot will cover 100 public schools and 20 private institutions, limiting class size to 12 learners in kindergarten, 16 in grades 1-3, and 20 at senior high school level.
"If there are changes in the risk assessment, then we will stop it," she said in a media briefing.
The pilot will begin as soon as possible, depending on the readiness of schools, she said.
The number of those enrolled in online learning in the school year that started last week rose to 28 million from about 26 million last year, Briones said. (Reuters)
September
N.Korea warns U.S. risks 'dangerous nuclear arms race' over Australia subs
Written by Nur Yasmin
North Korea warned on Monday that the United States risked a dangerous nuclear arms race by providing submarine technology to Australia, criticising its "double standards" and vowing counter-measures.
Last week, the United States clinched a new trilateral security partnership involving Britain to provide technological aid to Australia to build at least eight nuclear-powered submarines. read more
North Korea joined China in decrying the U.S. decision as an "irresponsible one" that destroys regional peace and stability and global non-proliferation efforts.
"These are extremely undesirable and dangerous acts which will upset the strategic balance in the Asia-Pacific region and trigger off a chain of nuclear arms race," the North's foreign ministry said in a comment carried by the official KCNA news agency.
The North criticised Washington's "double-dealing attitude," singling out White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki's remarks that it does not seek conflict with China but the decision was to shore up regional security.
Her comment "amounts to a stand that any country can spread nuclear technology if it is in its interests, and this shows that the U.S. is the chief culprit toppling the international nuclear non-proliferation system," the ministry said.
"We are closely looking into the background of the U.S. decision and will certainly take a corresponding counter-action in case it has even a little adverse impact on the security of our country."
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed to work toward denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and establish new relations at a summit with then U.S. President Donald Trump, but negotiations have stalled since 2019.
Pyongyang has slammed Washington for supporting its own and allies' weapons development while condemning the North's programmes as threats to regional peace and security.
The North's state media said on Friday that Washington's double standards and hostile policy hampered a reopening of denuclearisation talks. (Reuters)
September
Australia defends scrapping of French submarine deal, Macron and Biden to talk
Written by Nur Yasmin
Australia on Sunday defended its decision to ditch a multi-billion-dollar order for French submarines and opt instead for an alternative deal with the United States and Britain, saying it had flagged its concerns to Paris months ago.
Canberra's move enraged Paris, triggering an unprecedented diplomatic crisis that analysts say could do lasting damage to U.S. alliances with France and Europe. It has also riled China, the major rising power in the Indo-Pacific region.
The United States has sought to assuage the anger in France, a NATO ally, and the French government spokesman said on Sunday that President Emmanuel Macron would have a call with U.S. President Joe Biden "in the next few days". Paris has recalled its envoys to Washington and Canberra for consultations.
"I don't regret the decision to put Australia's national interest first," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday.
Morrison said he understood France's disappointment over the cancellation of the order - valued at $40 billion in 2016 and reckoned to cost much more today - but reiterated that Australia must always take decisions in its best interests.
"This is an issue that had been raised by me directly some months ago and we continued to talk those issues through, including by defence ministers and others," he told a briefing.
Under its new trilateral security partnership, Australia will build at least eight nuclear-powered submarines with U.S. and British technology. The scrapped deal, struck with France's Naval Group in 2016, was for a fleet of conventional submarines.
The new trilateral deal has cast into doubt the united front that Biden is seeking to forge against China's growing power.
'OPEN AND HONEST'
French government spokesman Gabriel Attal told BFM TV that Macron would seek "clarification" of the cancellation in his call with Biden. Discussions would then need to take place over contract clauses, notably compensation for the French side.
European Union leaders are certain to discuss the issue at talks in Slovenia on Oct. 5, said an EU diplomat, saying it had raised questions over the transatlantic relationship and Europe's own geopolitical ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region.
"I think the French... will milk it for all it's worth," the diplomat said, referring to Macron's long-standing support for greater European strategic autonomy, though many EU states are reluctant to weaken security ties with the United States.
Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton said Canberra was "upfront, open and honest" with France about its concerns. He declined to reveal costs of the new pact, saying only that "it's not going to be a cheap project".
Britain's role in the trilateral partnership demonstrates its readiness to be "hard-headed" in defending its interests post-Brexit, newly appointed Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in an article published on Sunday. read more
She said it also showed Britain's commitment to security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (Reuters)
September
Singapore reports 1,012 new COVID-19 cases, highest since April last year
Written by Nur Yasmin
Singapore's health ministry reported 1,012 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, the highest since April last year.
A recent rise in cases after the relaxation of some COVID-19 measures has prompted Singapore to pause further reopening. More than 80% of its population has been vaccinated against COVID-19. (reuters)
September
Boxer Manny Pacquiao to run for Philippine president in 2022
Written by Nur Yasmin
Boxing star Manny Pacquiao said on Sunday he will run for president of the Philippines next year, after railing against corruption in government and what he calls President Rodrigo Duterte's cozy relationship with China.
Pacquiao accepted the nomination of his political allies during the national assembly of the faction he leads in the ruling PDP-Laban Party, days after a rival faction nominated Duterte's long-time aide, Senator Christopher "Bong" Go, as its presidential candidate.
That faction nominated Duterte for vice president, a move that critics called a cynical ploy by Duterte to retain power.
Go declined the nomination, but the rift between the Pacquiao and Duterte factions has escalated.
"I am a fighter, and I will always be a fighter inside and outside the ring," Pacquiao, 42, a senator, said in a live-streamed speech during the assembly. "I am accepting your nomination as candidate for president of the Republic of the Philippines."
Pacquiao's faction has not expressed support for Duterte's vice-presidential bid. Duterte is prohibited by the constitution from running for a second six-year term as president.
One of the greatest boxers of all time and the only man to hold world titles in eight different divisions, Pacquiao was mum about his 26-year professional career.
Despite his popularity, Pacquiao trails the front-runners in opinion polls that have been topped consistently by Duterte's daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio.
In July, Pacquiao was voted out as PDP-Laban leader, weeks after challenging Duterte over his position on China and record on fighting corruption, but his ouster was rejected by his faction.
Pacquiao, once a close ally of Duterte, had said more than 10 billion pesos ($200 million) in pandemic aid intended for poor families was unaccounted for, adding this was just one discovery in his planned corruption investigation.
His anti-corruption crusade comes as the Senate has opened an investigation into alleged overpricing of medical supplies and equipment purchased under the government’s pandemic response programme.
Duterte challenged Pacquiao to name corrupt government offices to prove that the boxer was not just politicking ahead of the election.
Pacquiao countered by warning of jail for corrupt government officials: "Your time is up!" (Reuters)
September
Australia at centre of Indo-Pacific alliances to counter China
Written by Nur Yasmin
Australia finds itself as the common link in a new mesh of global alliances centred on the Indo-Pacific that are all but in name aimed at countering China's rising military power and economic clout.
Canberra's 70-year-old defence alliance with Washington already commits Australia to act in response to an attack on U.S. forces in the Pacific, analysts said.
A new defence partnership, AUKUS, with the United States and Britain to share nuclear-powered submarines is significant not only for increasing Australia's deterrence capabilities, but also focussing Britain on the region, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday.
The European Union's strategy to boost its Indo-Pacific presence, outlined on Thursday, will seek trade deals with Australia and Taiwan and closer maritime ties with Australia, Indonesia and Japan to keep open sea routes. read more
Morrison will travel to Washington on Monday for the first face-to-face meeting of leaders of the Quad, a grouping of India, Japan, Australia and the United States.
The scope of the talks, spanning freedom of navigation, critical technology and COVID-19 recovery, has grown swiftly since it was revived.
The Quad was put on ice a decade ago by Canberra because of the objections of China, its largest trading partner, to the group's naval exercises.
However, in 2021 Australia has become a case study for other nations of the potential for Chinese economic coercion. The treasurer recently advised exporters to diversify away from China because of Beijing's actions to target the Australian economy. read more
Head of the ANU National Security College, Rory Medcalf, said amid accelerating concerns about China: "Australia has crossed a strategic Rubicon, bitten the bullet, nailed its colours to the mast".
The AUKUS partnership and Quad will overlap as central to Australia's security, he said.
In radio interviews on Friday, Morrison said that contrary to China's objections, Australia's new security grouping was about ensuring stability in the region.
"We just want to ensure that right throughout the region there can be free movement of goods and services and maritime traffic and air traffic, and the rule of law applies," he said.
What happened in the Indo-Pacific was of concern to the rest of the world, he said.
"It isn't just the United States. It's the United Kingdom becoming a more significant partner with Australia on defence, one, but also, having their focus on this part of the world."
Australia and the United States agreed on Friday to increase the number of U.S. troops rotating through Australia, as well as aircraft and logistics support for U.S. naval vessels and submarines.
Director of Foreign Policy and Defence at the United States Studies Centre, Ashley Townshend, said the United States was leveraging Australia's strategic geography, and rotating U.S. submarines through Western Australia more regularly for maintenance would allow them to expand operations in the region.
Former prime minister Kevin Rudd said in a television interview the government needed to clarify whether the United States expected that Australia's nuclear-powered submarines would be deployed to support any conflict over Taiwan or the South China Sea.
The United States said on Friday there is no reciprocal requirement.
"There has already been an expectation that Australia would join the United States and others - especially Japan - in discouraging or facing future military adventurism from China, over Taiwan, the South China Sea, the East China Sea," said Medcalf.
The new announcements increased Australia's capability for deterrence, he said.
"Australia's geography will allow the alliance to disperse and gather its forces in a way that America's frontline island bases like Guam cannot," he said. (Reuters)
September
China enters Taiwan air defence zone a day after military budget boost
Written by Nur Yasmin
Taiwan's air force scrambled on Friday to warn away 10 Chinese aircraft that entered its air defence zone, Taiwan's defence ministry said, the day after the island announced a $9 billion boost to military spending to counter the threat from China.
Chinese-claimed Taiwan has complained for a year or more of repeated missions by China's air force near the democratically governed island, often in the southwestern part of its air defence zone close to the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands.
The latest Chinese mission involved 6 J-16 and 2 J-11 fighters plus one anti-submarine and one reconnaissance aircraft, the Taiwan ministry said.
Taiwan sent combat aircraft to warn away the Chinese aircraft, while missile systems were deployed to monitor them, the ministry said.
The Chinese fighters flew in an area close to the Pratas, while the anti-submarine and reconnaissance aircraft flew into the Bashi Channel that separates Taiwan from the Philippines, according to a map that the ministry issued.
There was no immediate comment from China.
The incident came a day after Taiwan proposed extra defence spending of $8.69 billion over the next five years, including on new missiles, warning of an urgent need to upgrade weapons in the face of a "severe threat" from China. read more
Speaking earlier on Friday, Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang said the government had to take the threat from China seriously.
"The Chinese Communists plot against us constantly," he said.
Taiwan's defence spending "is based on safeguarding national sovereignty, national security, and national security. We must not relax. We must have the best preparations so that no war will occur", he added.
China's government, for its part, criticised Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu on Friday for comments this week in which he said Taiwan was a "sea fortress" blocking China's expansion into the Pacific. read more
Wu's "aim is to deceive public opinion, to rope in and collude with anti-China foreign forces", China's Taiwan Affairs Office said in statement. (Reuters)
September
China's President Xi says Afghanistan should eradicate terrorism, promises more assistance- state media
Written by Nur Yasmin
China's President Xi Jinping said via video that "relevant parties" in Afghanistan should eradicate terrorism and that China will provide more help to the country within its capacity, according to a report on a regional summit by state media.
"Certain countries" should assume their due responsibilities for Afghanistan's future development as the "instigators" of the situation, he said, at a meeting of the leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Afghanistan should be guided to be more open and inclusive, and to pursue moderate domestic and foreign policies, he said. (Reuters)
September
Australia agrees to increased U.S. air deployments after sub deal
Written by Nur Yasmin
Australia and the United States announced expanded military cooperation on Thursday, including rotational deployments of all types of U.S. military aircraft to Australia, a day after announcing a submarine deal denounced by China as intensifying a regional arms race.
Speaking after meetings between the U.S. and Australian foreign and defense ministers, Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton said the two sides would be "significantly enhancing our force posture cooperation, increasing interoperability and deepening alliance activities in the Indo-Pacific."
"This will include greater air cooperation through rotational deployments of all types of U.S. military aircraft to Australia," Dutton told a joint news conference in Washington.
"We've also established combined logistics sustainment and capability for maintenance to support our enhanced activities, including logistics and sustainment capability for our submarines and surface combatants in Australia."
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the meeting had endorsed "major force-posture initiatives that will expand our access and presence in Australia."
On Wednesday, the United States and Britain said they would provide Australia with the technology and capability to deploy nuclear-powered submarines. read more
The United States and its allies are looking for ways to push back against China's growing power and influence, particularly its military buildup, pressure on Taiwan and deployments in the contested South China Sea.
China, in denouncing the new pact with Australia, said such partnerships should not target third countries. The United States, Britain and Australia were "severely damaging regional peace and stability, intensifying an arms race, and damaging international nuclear non-proliferation efforts," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said.
The White House defended the U.S. decision to provide Australia with advanced technology for nuclear-powered submarines, rejecting criticism from both China and France.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the agreement was not aimed at China, although the United States has mounting concerns about Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific and regional analysts said the deal is clearly a response to Beijing's growing strength.
"We do not seek conflict with China," Psaki told reporters.
The submarine agreement meant the scrapping of a $40 billion deal for conventional French-designed submarines, leading to an angry response from France, which called it a "stab in the back." read more
At the news conference U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called France a "vital partner" in the Indo-Pacific and said Washington would continue to cooperate with Paris, comments that appeared aimed at calming French anger.
"We cooperate incredibly closely with France on many shared priorities in the Indo-Pacific but also beyond around the world. We're going to continue to do so. We place fundamental value on that relationship, on that partnership," Blinken said.
Blinken said the United States had been in touch with French counterparts in the last 24-48 hours to discuss the new partnership with Australia.
Psaki said France was "aware in advance" of the deal.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian accused U.S. President Joe Biden of acting like former U.S. President Trump, and called the U.S. move "brutal, unilateral and unpredictable." read more "I am angry and bitter. This isn't done between allies," he told franceinfo radio.
The French embassy in Washington confirmed a New York Times report that in protest, it had canceled a gala event on Friday commemorating the “240th Anniversary of the Battle of the Capes,” and France’s top naval officer, who had traveled to Washington for the event celebrating French in America’s war of independence, would return early to Paris.
Ambassador Philippe Etienne told CNN "we were not informed until we saw the first news yesterday morning in Australia and also in the U.S."
The nuclear-powered submarines will allow Australia to operate throughout the region and for longer periods than those involved in the French deal, military analysts said.
Dutton said the nuclear-powered option France had was "not superior" to that operated by Britain and the United States.
"In the end, the decision that we've made is based on what is in the best interest of our national security, and ... security and peace within the Indo-Pacific," he said.
Dutton said there would be more bilateral exercises "and greater combined exercise engagement with partners in the region." (Reuters)