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Down Under
Australia battles to stop TEN Pacific islands signing security deals with China after Samoa and the Solomons both form partnerships with Beijing
2022-05-29
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news]
  • Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi started a 10-day tour of the Pacific this week

  • China and Australia are battling for diplomatic ties across the region

  • Australia is trying to stop as many as 10 nations from signing pacts with China

  • Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong this week visited officials in Fiji

  • Australia pledged to send ADF troops to Papua New Guinea for election aid
Posted by:Skidmark

#11  So they're going to side with the people whose labs made the virus?
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain   2022-05-29 22:45  

#10  Fuck the Australian GOVERNMENT! We all saw how they did and are still treating their own people over the covid bullshit. Can't blame the Island nations taking up for themselves.
Posted by: Chris   2022-05-29 20:48  

#9  Same backyard problems we have.
Posted by: Dale   2022-05-29 18:16  

#8  While I like the average Aussie there is some Past History from the Colonial Days. I read some books on WW2 in the SE Pacific and they noted in passing some of the "charming" behavior of Aussie/British planters in Papua New Guinea and the islands. A full day of hard labor in the copra plantations (well, as far as what a 'hard day' meant there *cough*) would be paid for by a few tobacco cigarettes. When the American GIs blew through and gave cigarettes away it made a lasting impression... (The Cargo Cult movement was a side effect).

TL/DR: There is some cynicism and ill will left from the Colonial years among the natives...
Posted by: magpie   2022-05-29 13:47  

#7  Absolutely zero sympathy for AUS. The hypocrisy is sickening. Only "we" can sign security deals, not any other country.

FVEY gang...each country is completely filthy, and they reared their ugly heads during the covid.
Posted by: DooDahMan   2022-05-29 12:43  

#6  /\ Just the honest mention and legislation of such action would signal an immediate economic turning point. Hope for the future vs despair.

With reference to #3; could we begin with the CEO of Orbis Business Intelligence, Ltd. ?
Posted by: Besoeker   2022-05-29 12:18  

#5  If we re-industrialize, stop foreign ownership of agricultural assets, return to energy independence and secure the borders, American prosperity returns and since its mostly a zero-sum game, The Middle Kingdom diminishes. Long term, the impact on the Pacific will effectively reduce these issues to regional, not strategic, level. Its Western Money that feeds the PLA/PLAN/PLAAF and PLA-whatever. When it dries up, the corruption eats itself there first.
Posted by: NoMoreBS   2022-05-29 11:09  

#4  *Shrug* The Sons of Chin bribing barbarian tribes -- how novel!
Posted by: magpie   2022-05-29 10:36  

#3  I lost all respect for Australia when their diplomats and spooks got involved in the conspiracy against Trump. At least two of the "Five Eyes" (UK and Australia,) need to be gouged out.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2022-05-29 10:34  

#2  Heaven forfend nations make decisions that are in their own national interest. Remember the public freakouts when we Americans tried it?

For those who don't know, Australia has a long history of shoddy and high-handed treatment of these ocean nations.
Posted by: Bertie Lumumba1577   2022-05-29 10:23  

#1  China's bold move in Australia's backyard that could create MAJOR security issues – after striking controversial pact with the Solomon Islands
Posted by: Skidmark   2022-05-29 07:37  

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