Battle Lines: Australia boosts anti-China defences
Myanmar is reeling from a major earthquake that has hit residents who are already struggling to survive amid a brutal four-year civil war. Venetia Rainey speaks to Asia correspondent Sarah Newey about her recent reporting trip from inside the country about how this will affect the junta's grip on power and why things are likely to go from bad to worse.
Plus, we look at a major debate underway in Australia about the growing risk posed by China after Beijing sent an unprecedented naval flotilla to circle the country. With snap elections now called for May, Sam Roggeveen, Director of the Lowy Institute's International Security Program, explains why there is a tussle over the defence budget and how well equipped the Australian Defence Force is.
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Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Daily Mail
Australia to deploy 100 soldiers to help Ukraine in its bloody war against Russian aggression
Australia will deploy up to 100 soldiers and a military aircraft to Europe in an effort to support Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia. Defence Minister Richard Marles announced the contributions at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) leaders summit in the Netherlands on Wednesday. At the request of NATO and Poland, Australia will deploy a Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail aircraft in August along with 100 Australian Defence Force personnel. Part of Operation Kudu, the deployment is designed to protect an international gateway for humanitarian and military assistance into Ukraine and will not be direct combat roles. The deployment is expected to conclude by November and will compliment Australia's more than $1.5b in support to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022. 'Australia is proud of its longstanding operational partnership with NATO,' Mr Marles said in announcing the commitments on Wednesday. 'The deployment of an E-7A Wedgetail aircraft will again showcase our ability to operate from Europe, alongside NATO and partners, in support of Ukraine and international peace and security.' Leaders of the defensive alliance descended on The Hague on Tuesday for two days of talks on the conflict and Washington's uncertain commitment to NATO. Representatives of the member states, including many European nations, the UK, the US and Canada, are expected to commit five per cent of their national outputs to defence and related spending. Australia is not a NATO member but is considered one of its Indo-Pacific partners alongside Japan, the Republic of Korea and New Zealand. During the summit, Australia also imposed a fresh wave of financial sanctions and travel bans on 37 individuals and financial sanctions on seven entities. Mr Marles said the sanctions will target Russia's defence, energy, transport, insurance, electronic and finance sectors and proponents of disinformation and propaganda. Foreign Minister Penny Wong welcomed the sanctions as a sign of Australia's deep ties with NATO member states. 'Our targeted sanctions reflect our close coordination with key NATO partners, including the UK, Canada and the European Union. 'Australia has now imposed more than 1,500 sanctions in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. We will continue to work with partners to disrupt Russia's ability to fund its illegal and immoral war.'
Daily Mail
21-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Aussie reporter describes fleeing from Iranian missiles to a bunker that 'did not exist'
An Australian reporter has shared the terrifying moment she had to run for cover from a missile strike in Israel while reporting on escalating tensions in the Middle East. Channel 7's Europe Correspondent Jacquelin Robson told Sunrise she was reporting with her camera crew on Friday when she received an urgent alert to seek shelter. The group rushed towards what they believed to be a safe haven only to discover it was nonexistent. 'Some locals called us over to a bunker, but we soon discovered that bunker didn't exist,' Robson said on Saturday. 'When the final siren sounded, we had no choice but to run and find shelter. 'We managed to squeeze between a few buildings.' Robson said Israel successfully intercepted a missile fired from Iran during the incident. 'Two direct hits were reported during this wave of attacks,' she said. There were no fatalities, though several injuries were reported, along with significant damage to buildings. The strike occurred amid heightened tensions between Israel and Iran, as the Australian Government works to evacuate citizens stranded in both nations. The Australian Defence Force has deployed personnel to bring overseas citizens home with the support of the Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Registrations are now open for Australian citizens and permanent residents seeking assistance from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). So far over 3000 people have registered for evacuation support. The department has announced Australians in Israel are being offered evacuation to Jordan via private bus. Options for land departures from Iran are also being explored. DFAT's current travel advisory for Israel, Iran, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories is 'Do Not Travel '. Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong announced on Friday the Embassy in Iran had been evacuated due to security concerns. 'The Australian Government has directed the departure of all Australian officials and dependents and suspended operations at our Embassy in Tehran, based on advice about the deteriorating security environment in Iran,' she said. 'The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is deploying consular staff to Azerbaijan, including at border crossings, to assist Australians leaving Iran.' Wong has also held discussions with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding the ongoing conflict.
The Guardian
15-06-2025
- The Guardian
Majority of Australians think China will be world's most powerful country by 2035, poll finds
A majority of Australians expect China will be the most powerful country in the world by 2035 as trust in the US tumbles, new research has found. Just over one in three Australians (36%) trusted the US to act responsibly on the world stage, representing a 20-point fall from 2024 and the smallest proportion since the Lowy Institute began polling in 2005. The thinktank's 2025 report found only one in four respondents had any confidence in president Donald Trump's approach to world affairs – less than half of the 46% who expressed faith in Joe Biden the previous year. Confidence in the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, rose four points to 16%, and Australians were evenly split on whether Xi or Trump was a more reliable partner. Australians were just as likely to view China as an economic partner than as a security threat for the first time since 2020 – though a high proportion of voters still distrust China and believe it will become a military threat to Australia in the next 20 years. 'There's slightly more trust, slightly less threat perceptions, [but] it's still a pretty bleak picture for how Australians look at China,' said Ryan Neelam, the poll author and a director at the Lowy Institute. A majority of respondents believed the US would come to Australia's defence if it were attacked, with 63% agreeing, a drop from the 75% agreement recorded in similar questions in recent years. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email But Australians nonetheless continued to support the strong military relationship, despite a loss of trust likely inspired by Trump's 'shocking' and 'norm-breaking' foreign policy, according to Neelam. 'It's almost as if the Australian public are separating those two things in their minds: the instability and unpredictability of Trump's approach to world affairs, from the institution of the alliance.' Since the 2024 survey, the gap between Australians' trust in the US compared with China has more than halved, as perceptions of China continued to improve from their nadir in 2022, Neelam said. 'That's quite remarkable for Australia's key security ally to have such a low level of trust,' he said. 'The weight of expectation is that China will be more powerful and more predominant in the global system.' Just over one in four respondents believed the US would be the most important and powerful nation in 10 years' time, with more than half expecting China to take the lead. Four in five voters said the alliance with the US was important for Australia's security, similar to the support observed in 2023 and 2024. Support for the Aukus nuclear-powered submarine deal was also steady with two-thirds of those polled in favour, similar to the level observed since 2022. Coalition voters and residents of Queensland and Western Australia were especially supportive, each recording about four in five people in favour, while Victorians and Labor voters were more lukewarm, at three in five. Respondents were polled in March, prior to the US defence department's announcement of a review of the Aukus deal, which Anthony Albanese described as 'appropriate' ahead of a possible meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in Canada. Three in five people expressed confidence in Albanese's approach to world affairs in the Lowy poll, putting the prime minister just behind France's Emmanuel Macron and New Zealand's Christopher Luxon. Luxon was the most trusted world leader, though nearly a quarter of those polled expressed no view, most of whom saying they did not know who he was.
