Papua New Guinea

China’s missile test exposes lack of unity among Pacific island nations

22 Jul 2026 - 10:00AM

Taiwan

Taiwan reviews PNG LNG imports after forced closure of economic office

20 Jul 2026 - 8:00PMvideocam

Commodities

China’s resources deals turn gold mines into – gold mines

Chinese gold producers, after a buying spree for mines abroad, are cashing in as the metal’s price goes sky-high.

18 Jul 2026 - 4:21AMvideocam

Gold prices remain highly elevated despite a recent sell-off, boosting the earnings of Chinese gold mining firms. Photo: AFP

Australia, Fiji and now New Zealand: a new Pacific alliance takes shape

Wellington’s bid to join the pact flags a hard-security pivot, but analysts ask if such treaties serve Pacific societies’ best interests.

15 Jul 2026 - 3:45PM

China's military weapons

China submarine fires long-range missile ahead of Nato summit

An unprecedented missile launch by a PLA nuclear submarine will prompt Nato leaders to focus more on the Asia-Pacific region.

7 Jul 2026 - 5:00PM

Australia, Fiji sign mutual defence pact to boost Pacific security

Australia has greatly upped its diplomatic efforts in the region following China’s secretive security deal with the Solomon Islands in 2022.

6 Jul 2026 - 10:34AM

Prime ministers of Australia, Anthony Albanese (left), and Fiji, Sitiveni Rabuka, shake hands after signing a treaty in Suva on Monday. Photo: EPA

Zijin Mining

China’s largest mining company poised for global top 3 status by 2028, says S&P

Ratings agency highlights Zijin’s project pipeline and cost discipline as the miner accelerates global expansion in copper and gold.

26 May 2026 - 9:41PM

Pacific Islanders skip food, medicine amid global fuel shortage from Iran war

Pacific nations are the most reliant on diesel for power generation worldwide. They imported about 2.2 million tonnes of fuel in 2025.

22 Apr 2026 - 9:37AM

Indonesian rights body, military clash over reports of Papua civilian killings

The National Human Rights Commission said 12 people had been ‌shot dead during an operation against separatists in central Papua.

20 Apr 2026 - 2:19PM

Papuan separatist rebels pose with Phillip Mark Mehrtens, whom they took hostage in February 2023. Photo: West Papua Liberation Army/AP

Australia pledges US$1.7 million in aid after Cyclone Maila kills 11 in Pacific

Entire villages were destroyed in the storm, was briefly classified as a Category 5 cyclone.

13 Apr 2026 - 1:26PM

A truck is engulfed by floodwaters brought on by heavy rains from tropical cyclone Maila in the Tinputz district of Northern Bougainville. Photo: AFP

Indonesia earthquake kills 1, triggers tsunami waves

The 7.4-magnitude quake hit at a depth of 35km in the Northern Maluku Sea off ⁠Indonesia’s Ternate island.

2 Apr 2026 - 6:11PMvideocam

Australia, Indonesia sign security deal in ‘watershed moment’

Canberra has signed a series of defence, police and aid deals across the Pacific region to try to boost its influence and limit China’s.

6 Feb 2026 - 12:55PM

China-Australia relations

World’s oldest cave art discovered in Indonesia

A handprint dating back at least 67,800 years is over a thousand years older than hand stencils in Spain that are attributed to Neanderthals.

22 Jan 2026 - 7:51AM

Handprints with sharpened fingertips are seen in the Maros region of Sulawesi, Indonesia. Photo: Ahdi Agus Oktaviana/Maxime Aubert via AP

US-China relations

US denies Indo-Pacific retreat, says aid is being recalibrated to counter China

Washington argues that targeted assistance and partnerships will deepen regional ties and deliver longer-term economic and security gains.

16 Dec 2025 - 6:24AM

A toll booth at the Clark Freeport Zone in the Philippines, a sprawling managed economic zone that has received significant US backing through development initiatives. Photo: Handout

Call for ‘Pacific Eyes’ intelligence body to offset China’s growing presence

Think tank proposes dedicated alliance – initially with Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Fiji – to avoid being ‘blindsided’.

21 Oct 2025 - 10:08PMvideocam

Pope Leo XIV

Nuns, teen influencer and ex-Satanic priest among 7 new saints

Pope Leo XIV created the new saints, including the first from Papua New Guinea and an archbishop killed in the Armenian genocide.

19 Oct 2025 - 9:57PM

What Australia’s ‘Pukpuk’ pact with Papua New Guinea means for the Pacific

While China has voiced misgivings, the pact is seen as necessary by some – even if it could draw Australia into PNG’s domestic conflicts.

7 Oct 2025 - 5:25PMvideocam

Will Australia’s defence pact with Papua New Guinea curb China’s Pacific sway?

The defence treaty strengthens ties, counters China’s influence, and offers PNG citizens a path to Australian citizenship.

2 Oct 2025 - 5:52PM

Diplomacy

Opinion | Apec offers a stage for China, US and two Koreas to make peace

With Trump and Xi set to attend, it could pave the way for a US-North Korea summit and mend China-South Korea ties.

27 Sep 2025 - 5:30AMvideocam

Australia to ‘upgrade’ defence ties with PNG as China’s Pacific influence grows

The deal will allow the nations’ citizens to serve in either military, with Australia offering citizenship as an incentive.

15 Sep 2025 - 1:31PM

Australian soldiers talk to Papua New Guineas defence minister and other officials during a visit to Brisbane earlier this year. Photo: Australian Defence Force/AFP

Indonesia, US start 13-nation ‘Super Garuda Shield’ military drills

More than 4,100 Indonesian and 1,300 American troops will take part in this year’s ‘largest ever’ drills, aimed at boosting deterrence.

25 Aug 2025 - 4:12PM

Military chiefs from the US, Indonesia and Canada at the opening ceremony of the “Super Garuda Shield” drills on Monday. Photo:AP

Australia, US push Pacific deterrence amid China’s security overtures

Analysts note the significance of Papua New Guinea and Fiji’s unprecedented involvement in this year’s ‘Olympics of war games’.

23 Jul 2025 - 2:52PM

Australia’s largest-ever military drill under way, Chinese spy ships expected

Chinese military have observed these biennial exercises since 2017, but this year’s drills coincide with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to China.

14 Jul 2025 - 11:59AM

‘Glassman’ jailed: PNG hopes ruling can curb tribal sorcery violence

After a horrific machete killing, a landmark ruling in Papua New Guinea aims to curb deadly sorcery accusations driven by jealousy and greed.

31 Mar 2025 - 3:18PM

Neighbours gather near the home of a 55-year-old mother of two in the Tsak Valley in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea after she was accused of sorcery and tortured. Photo: AFP

Pacific nation’s Facebook blackout tied to content ‘control’ experiment

Meta’s Facebook and Messenger remained inaccessible to users in Papua New Guinea on Tuesday, over 24 hours after mysteriously going offline.

25 Mar 2025 - 12:47PM

PNG did not provide details of how the police tested “control systems” to regulate use of content on Facebook. Photo: Zuma Press Wire/dpa

Will Australia use PNG defence deal as a ‘watchtower’ to track Chinese navy?

While the pact aims to strengthen Canberra’s regional leadership, it could also be utilised to monitor Chinese naval activity in the Pacific.

28 Feb 2025 - 12:34PMvideocam