Category: deal

  • BANGKOK—The company at the vanguard of plans to mine deep sea metals used in electric vehicle batteries has surrendered a third of its Pacific Ocean exploration area after a breakdown in cooperation with the island nation of Kiribati, paving the way for China to add to its regional foothold in the contentious industry.

    The Nasdaq-traded The Metals Company, or TMC, said in a U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission filing it terminated, effective mid-January, an agreement with a Kiribati state-owned company that gave it exploration rights to a 74,990 square kilometer (28,950 square mile) area of seabed in the northeastern Pacific.

    The termination appears to be at the instigation of Kiribati, one of the 19 countries exercising rights over sea bed in a vast area of international waters in the Pacific regulated by the International Seabed Authority, or ISA, a U.N. body.

    Kiribati’s Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources said on Monday it held talks last week with China’s ambassador to “explore potential collaboration for the sustainable exploration of the deep ocean resources.”

    Mining of the potato-sized metallic nodules that carpet swathes of the sea bed is touted as a source of minerals needed for green technologies, such as electric vehicles, that would reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

    Skeptics say such minerals are already abundant on land and warn that mining the sea bed could cause irreparable damage to an ocean environment that is still poorly understood by science.

    It has been a divisive issue in the Pacific, where some economically lagging island nations see deep sea mining as a potential financial windfall that could lift living standards and reduce reliance on foreign aid while other island states are strongly opposed.

    A polymetallic nodule from the seabed is displayed at a mining convention in Toronto, Canada on Mar. 4, 2019.
    A polymetallic nodule from the seabed is displayed at a mining convention in Toronto, Canada on Mar. 4, 2019.
    (Chris Helgren/Reuters)

    Kiribati told the ISA in June last year that exploration of its area hadn’t progressed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and “operational difficulties with its technical partner,” DeepGreen Engineering, a subsidiary of TMC.

    An ISA report on Kiribati’s progress toward deep sea mining said it had indicated it was looking for a new partner.

    Industry in trouble?

    The new path for Kiribati comes as environmental groups raise fresh questions about the viability of an industry that has long promoted a renewable energy narrative to deflect criticism.

    Amid a general retreat by large corporations from commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, TMC and other deep sea mining companies have shifted to emphasizing national security, defense and mineral supply security as benefits of the industry, said Greenpeace deep sea mining campaigner, Louisa Casson.

    The shift has come, she said, after some battery and car manufacturers said they didn’t want to use deep sea minerals and as an evolution in battery technology could reduce the need for some of the minerals in deep sea nodules.

    Casson said this was clouding the outlook for deep sea miners and TMC’s surrender of a third of its exploration area was “another sign of a stuttering industry.”

    “The self-styled industry frontrunner is crumbling. The last weeks have repeatedly shown that the deep sea mining industry is failing to live up to its hype and downsizing plans before it’s even started,” Casson said.

    “There’s never been a better time for governments to take decisive action to protect the ocean from this faltering, risky industry.”

    TMC’s chief executive, Gerard Barron, did not respond to a request for comment.

    Other signs of the industry’s troubles, Casson said, include a Norwegian deep sea mining company halving its small workforce due to lack of financing and another miner, Impossible Metals, delaying mining trials planned for early 2026.

    Closer China ties

    A presentation TMC gave to investors in February said preliminary results of its research into the environmental effects of deep sea mining were “encouraging.”

    Based on mining tests TMC conducted, marine life returns to the seabed after a year and sediment plumes generated by the giant machines that hoover up the nodules are released at depths deeper than tuna fisheries, it said.

    Research not linked to the industry, meanwhile, has shown that the site of a deep sea mining test in 1979 has not recovered more than 40 years later.

    China's President Xi Jinping and Kiribati's President Taneti Maamau (left) attend a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China Jan. 6, 2020.
    China’s President Xi Jinping and Kiribati’s President Taneti Maamau (left) attend a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China Jan. 6, 2020.
    (Jason Lee/Reuters)

    The permanent secretary of Kiribati’s ocean resources ministry, Riibeta Abeta, didn’t respond to questions.

    The low-lying atoll nation of some 120,000 people in Micronesia has cultivated closer ties to China in the past decade while its relations with traditional donors New Zealand and Australia have become strained. It’s part of a tectonic shift in the region as China uses infrastructure and aid to challenge U.S. dominance.

    China last month signed agreements including cooperation on deep sea mining with the semiautonomous Cook Islands in the South Pacific, angering its traditional benefactor New Zealand.

    The Cook Islands has an abundance of polymetallic nodules within its exclusive economic zone and doesn’t require ISA approval to exploit them.

    The Cook Islands hopes for an economic windfall but some of its citizens are concerned about environmental damage and the mining industry’s influence in their country including public relations efforts in schools and funding for community organizations.

    Aside from Kiribati, The Metals Company has agreements with Tonga and Nauru to explore and eventually mine their areas in the Clarion Clipperton Zone—the ISA-administered seafloor in the northeastern Pacific.

    Its work with Nauru appears to be the furthest advanced. This month, TMC said it was finalizing an application to the ISA for approval to begin mining in the area allocated to Nauru, a 21-square kilometer island home to 10,000 people.

    Edited by Mike Firn.


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  • Indonesia is expected to ratify an agreement with Vietnam on the demarcation of their exclusive economic zones next month, settling a decade-long dispute in overlapping waters, Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto said.

    Jakarta and Hanoi reached an agreement on the boundaries of the zones, called EEZs, in December 2022 after 12 years of negotiations. They had been locked in disputes over overlapping claims in waters surrounding the Natuna Islands in the South China Sea.

    For the agreement to take effect, it needs to be ratified by both of their parliaments.

    “We hope that our parliament will ratify it in April, after Eid al-Fitr, and their legislature is also expected to ratify it soon,” Prabowo told Vietnamese leader To Lam, who visited Jakarta this week.

    Vietnam and Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country by population, elevated bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership during Lam’s visit, reflecting their closer cooperation.

    Prabowo also said that he planned a reciprocal state visit to Vietnam soon, when he would sign an implementing agreement with his Vietnamese hosts, adding that he was confident that the deal would “bring prosperity to both our peoples.”

    Fishing boats and houses at Baruk Bay port on Natuna island, in Riau Islands province, on Sept. 22, 2023.
    Fishing boats and houses at Baruk Bay port on Natuna island, in Riau Islands province, on Sept. 22, 2023.
    (BAY ISMOYO/AFP)

    RELATED STORIES

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    Clear demarcation of maritime zones

    The shared waters north and east of Natuna Islands saw intense confrontations between the law enforcement agencies of both Vietnam and Indonesia over the activities of Vietnamese fishermen. Indonesia accused them of unlawful encroachment and illegal fishing, and it detained and destroyed dozens of Vietnam’s fishing boats.

    The two countries began negotiating on EEZ delimitation in 2010 and were engaged in more than a dozen rounds of talks before reaching an agreement.

    An EEZ gives a state exclusive access to the natural resources in the waters and seabed, and a clear demarcation would help avoid misunderstanding and mismanagement, said Vietnamese South China Sea researcher Dinh Kim Phuc.

    “The promised ratification of the agreement on EEZs sends a positive signal from both security and economic perspectives,” Phuc said. “Among the latest achievements in the bilateral relations, this in my opinion is the most important one.”

    “It will also serve as a valuable precedent for ASEAN countries to settle maritime disputes between them via peaceful means,” the researcher added.

    I Made Andi Arsana, a maritime law specialist at Gadjah Mada University, said the agreement clarifies fishing rights in the South China Sea.

    “With a clear EEZ boundary, cross-border management and law enforcement become more straightforward,” Arsana said. “Before this, both countries had their own claims, making it hard to determine whether a fishing vessel had crossed the line. Now, with a legally recognized boundary, it’s easier to enforce regulations and address violations.”

    He likened the situation to dealing with a neighbor without a fence.

    “It’s difficult to say whether they’ve trespassed or taken something from your property,” he said.

    “But once the boundary is set, we can confidently determine whether someone is fishing illegally in our waters.”

    China has yet to comment on the Indonesian president’s statement. Both Vietnam’s and Indonesia’s EEZs lie within the “nine-dash line” that Beijing prints on its maps to demarcate its “historical rights” over almost 90% of the South China Sea.

    Pizaro Gozali Idrus in Jakarta contributed to this article.

    Edited by Mike Firn.

    BenarNews is an online news outlet affiliated with Radio Free Asia.


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  • TAIPEI, Taiwan – Taiwan is in the process of negotiating a new arms deal worth billions of dollars with the United States, Reuters news agency reported, citing unidentified sources.

    Meanwhile, the top US military commander in the Indo-Pacific, Adm. Samuel Paparo, has warned that Chinese military drills around Taiwan were actually “rehearsals” for an attack on the island.

    Three sources familiar with the situation, who wished to stay anonymous due to the sensitivity of the topic, told Reuters that Taipei was “in talks with Washington” about an arms purchase worth between US$7 billion and US$10 billion and that the package could include coastal defense cruise missiles and high mobility artillery rocket systems, or HIMARS.

    Taiwan’s ministry of defense declined to confirm the news but said Taipei was committed to strengthening national defense.

    Defense ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang told reporters in Taipei that all defense budgets follow government policy and that plans would be disclosed to the public when they had been finalized.

    There was no confirmation from Washington either.

    There remains still a large backlog of arms sales from the U.S. to Taiwan. According to the Cato Institute think tank, the backlog is valued at US$21.95 billion, mostly of traditional weapons such as tanks and aircraft.

    At the annual Munich Security Conference on Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Japan Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and South Korea Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul “emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of security and prosperity for the international community,” they said in a joint statement.

    They said their countries supported Taiwan’s “meaningful participation” in appropriate international organizations, and encouraged the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues, and “opposed any attempts to unilaterally force or coerce changes to the status quo.”

    RELATED STORIES

    China condemns US ships in Taiwan transit, conducts drills

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    The top commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command warned at a security forum in Hawaii last week that China’s increased military activity around Taiwan were not exercises but “rehearsals for the forced unification of Taiwan to the mainland.”

    U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Admiral Samuel Paparo attends the International Military Law and Operations Conference, in the Philippines, Aug. 27, 2024. (REUTERS/Lisa Marie David)
    U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Admiral Samuel Paparo attends the International Military Law and Operations Conference, in the Philippines, Aug. 27, 2024. (REUTERS/Lisa Marie David)
    (Lisa Marie David/Reuters)

    “We’re very close to that [point] where on a daily basis the fig leaf of an exercise could very well hide operational warning,” Adm. Samuel Paparo said.

    The Chinese People’s Liberation Army, or PLA, has been conducting regular military drills around Taiwan, especially at the times of heightened tensions on the island such as major political events or during visits by senior U.S. officials.

    Between Jan. 28 and Feb. 12, the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command held so-called combat patrols with aircraft and warships around Taiwan, the same time as U.S. Navy destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and oceanographic survey ship USNS Bowditch made a north-to-south passage through the Taiwan Strait.

    Paparo said that the U.S. must move quickly to close military capability gaps with China.

    “Our magazines run low. Our maintenance backlogs grow longer each month … We operate on increasingly thin margins for error,” he said, calling for reforms of the Pentagon’s procurement system.

    The Taiwanese ministry of national defense, meanwhile, stated that the island’s army “will continue to work hard to build up the army and prepare for war, and enhance asymmetric deterrence capabilities.”

    The ministry said in a statement to the media that it would “use joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance methods to closely monitor the dynamics of the sea and airspace around the Taiwan Strait, and dispatch appropriate troops to respond, and have the ability, determination and confidence to ensure national defense security.”

    Edited by Mike Firn.


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  • By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist in Avarua, Rarotonga

    Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown hopes to have “an opportunity to talk” with the New Zealand government to “heal some of the rift”.

    Brown returned to Avarua on Sunday afternoon (Cook Islands Time) following his week-long state visit to China, where he signed a “comprehensive strategic partnership” to boost its relationship with Beijing.

    Prior to signing the deal, he said that there was “no need for New Zealand to sit in the room with us” after the New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister raised concerns about the agreement.

    Responding to reporters for the first time since signing the China deal, he said: “I haven’t met the New Zealand government as yet but I’m hoping that in the coming weeks we will have an opportunity to talk with them.

    “Because they will be able to share in this document that we’ve signed and for themselves see where there are areas that they have concerns with.

    “But I’m confident that there will be no areas of concern. And this is something that will benefit Cook Islanders and the Cook Islands people.”

    He said the agreement with Beijing would be made public “very shortly”.

    “I’m sure once the New Zealand government has a look at it there will be nothing for them to be concerned about.”

    Not concerned over consequences
    Brown said he was not concerned by any consequences the New Zealand government may impose.

    The Cook Islands leader is returning to a motion of no confidence filed against his government and protests against his leadership.

    “I’m confident that my statements in Parliament, and my returning comments that I will make to our people, will overcome some of the concerns that have been raised and the speculation that has been rife, particularly throughout the New Zealand media, about the purpose of this trip to China and the contents of our action plan that we’ve signed with China.”

    1News Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver was at the airport but was not allowed into the room where the press conference was held.

    The New Zealand government wanted to see the agreement prior to Brown going to China, which did not happen.

    A spokesperson for New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters said Brown had a requirement to share the contents of the agreement and anything else he signed under the 2001 Joint Centenary Declaration.

    ‘Healing some of the rift’
    Brown said the difference in opinion provides an opportunity for the two governments to get together and “heal some of the rift”.

    “We maintain that our relationship with New Zealand remains strong and we remain open to having conversations with the New Zealand government on issues of concern.

    “They’ve raised their concerns around security in the Pacific. We’ve raised our concerns around our priorities, which is economic development for our people.”

    Brown has previously said New Zealand did not consult the Cook Islands on its comprehensive strategic partnership with China in 2014, which they should have done if the Cook Islands had a requirement to do so.

    He hoped people would read New Zealand’s deal along with his and show him “where the differences are that causes concern”.

    Meanwhile, the leader of Cook Islands United Party, Teariki Heather, said Cook Islanders were sitting nervously with a question mark waiting for the agreement to be made public.

    Cook Islands United Party Leader, Teariki Heather stands by one of his trucks he's preparing to take on the protest.
    Cook Islands United Party leader Teariki Heather stands by one of his trucks he is preparing to take on the planned protest. Image: Caleb Fotheringham/RNZ Pacific

    “That’s the problem we have now, we haven’t been disclosed or told of anything about what has been signed,” he said.

    “Yes we hear about the marine seabed minerals exploration, talk about infrastructure, exchange of students and all that, but we haven’t seen what’s been signed.”

    However, Heather said he was not worried about what was signed but more about the damage that it could have created with New Zealand.

    Heather is responsible for filing the motion of no confidence against the Prime Minister and his cabinet.

    The opposition only makes up eight seats of 24 in the Cook Islands Parliament and the motion is about showing support to New Zealand, not about toppling the government.

    “It’s not about the numbers for this one, but purposely to show New Zealand, this is how far we will go if the vote of no confidence is not sort of accepted by both of the majority members, at least we’ve given the support of New Zealand.”

    Heather has also been the leader for a planned planned today local time (Tuesday NZ).

    “Protesters will be bringing their New Zealand passports as a badge of support for Aotearoa,” he said.

    “Our relationship [with New Zealand] — we want to keep that.”

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.


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  • Standardsplit

    We continue our coverage of the long-awaited Gaza ceasefire by going to Jerusalem to speak with Israeli activist Gershon Baskin, who has experience negotiating with Hamas, including during this latest conflict. Baskin says while it’s heartening to see captives returning home, the ceasefire agreement is “a bad deal” because of how fragile it is. “Hamas would not have agreed to enter into this two- or three-phase deal without having guarantees … that in fact the war would end,” says Baskin. “But we don’t know that, because Netanyahu has given alternative promises to members of the government that Israel reserves the right to return to war.”


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  • Seg gaza trio comments

    We host a roundtable on the planned Gaza ceasefire with former Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy of the U.S./Middle East Project, Gazan analyst Muhammad Shehada of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor and journalist Jeremy Scahill of Drop Site News. We discuss how incoming President Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff pressured Israel to accept the deal and what it reveals about the outgoing Biden administration’s refusal to use its own leverage for the same end. “Joe Biden could have ended this long ago,” and that he chose not to “exposes the utter moral rot that existed within the Biden White House,” says Scahill. Still, our guests say it’s unlikely that the ceasefire announcement signifies true relief for Palestinians beset by Israel’s genocidal violence. Levy says Netanyahu is already working to renege on the deal and continue a war that has helped him retain his political power, while Shehada warns that all signs point to the continued subjugation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories in conditions “more painful than the war.”


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  • Seg gaza trio comments

    We host a roundtable on the planned Gaza ceasefire with former Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy of the U.S./Middle East Project, Gazan analyst Muhammad Shehada of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor and journalist Jeremy Scahill of Drop Site News. We discuss how incoming President Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff pressured Israel to accept the deal and what it reveals about the outgoing Biden administration’s refusal to use its own leverage for the same end. “Joe Biden could have ended this long ago,” and that he chose not to “exposes the utter moral rot that existed within the Biden White House,” says Scahill. Still, our guests say it’s unlikely that the ceasefire announcement signifies true relief for Palestinians beset by Israel’s genocidal violence. Levy says Netanyahu is already working to renege on the deal and continue a war that has helped him retain his political power, while Shehada warns that all signs point to the continued subjugation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories in conditions “more painful than the war.”


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  • By Daniel Perese of Te Ao Māori News

    Māori politicians across the political spectrum in Aotearoa New Zealand have called for immediate aid to enter Gaza following a temporary ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel.

    The ceasefire, agreed yesterday, comes into effect on Sunday, January 19.

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters said New Zealand welcomed the deal and called for humanitarian aid for the strip.

    Māori Party co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer
    Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer … “This ceasefire must be accompanied by a global effort to rebuild Gaza.” Image: Te Pāti Māori

    “There now needs to be a massive, rapid, unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.“

    Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer echoed similar sentiments on behalf of her party, saying, “the destruction of vital infrastructure — homes, schools, hospitals — has decimated communities”.

    “This ceasefire must be accompanied by a global effort to rebuild Gaza,” she said.

    Teanau Tuiono, Green Party spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, specifically called on Aotearoa to increase its aid to Palestine.

    ‘Brutal, illegal Israeli occupation’
    “[We must] support the reconstruction of Gaza as determined by Palestinians. We owe it to Palestinians who for many years have lived under brutal and illegal occupation by Israeli forces, and are now entrenched in a humanitarian crisis of horrific proportions,” he said.

    “The genocide in Gaza, and the complicity of many governments in Israel’s campaign of merciless violence against the Palestinian people on their own land, has exposed serious flaws in the international community’s ability to uphold international law.

    “This means our country and others have work to do to rebuild trust in the international system that is meant to uphold human rights and prioritise peace,” said the Green MP.

    With tens of thousands of Palestinians killed in the 15 month war, negotiators reached a ceasefire deal yesterday in Gaza for six-weeks, after Hamas agreed to release hostages from the 7 October 2023 attacks in exchange for Palestinian prisoners — many held without charge — held in Israel.

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters said this deal would end the “incomprehensible human suffering”.

    “The terms of the deal must now be implemented fully. Protection of civilians and the release of hostages must be at the forefront of effort.

    “To achieve a durable and lasting peace, we call on the parties to take meaningful steps towards a two-state solution. Political will is the key to ensuring history does not repeat itself,” Peters said in a statement.

    Tuiono called it a victory for Palestinians and those within the solidarity movement.

    “However, it must be followed by efforts to establish justice and self-determination for Palestinians, and bring an end to Israeli apartheid and the illegal occupation of Palestine.

    “We must divest public funds from illegal settlements, recognise the State of Palestine, and join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, just as we joined Ukraine’s case against Russia.”

    Ngawera-Packer added that the ceasefire deal did not equal a free Palestine anytime soon.

    “We must not forget the larger reality of the ongoing conflict, which is rooted in decades of displacement, violence, and oppression.

    “Although the annihilation may be over for now, the apartheid continues. We will continue to call out our government who have done nothing to end the violence, and to end the apartheid.

    “We must also be vigilant over these next three days to ensure that Israel will not exploit this window to create more carnage,” Ngarewa-Packer said.

    Republished from Te Ao Māori News


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  • Seg2 baskinandnetanyahu

    Gaza is entering its second winter under attack from Israel, and talks to reach a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas appear to have stalled yet again. For more on efforts to end the war and secure the release of captives on both sides, we speak with veteran Israeli negotiator Gershon Baskin, who has acted as a backchannel to Hamas leaders in the current and previous conflicts. “We need to put the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the agenda again and make sure this is the last war we fight,” says Baskin.


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  • Read this story on BenarNews

    SYDNEY — The United States will spend more than $864 million on infrastructure and military training in Papua New Guinea over 10 years under a defense deal signed between the two nations in 2023, PNG’s foreign minister has said.

    No figure putting a value on the agreement has previously been publicly released.

    The size of the package reflects increasing U.S. security engagement with Pacific island nations as it seeks to counter China’s inroads in the vast ocean region.

    The proposed investment is part of a defense cooperation agreement, signed in May 2023, that gives the U.S. military “unimpeded access” to develop and deploy forces from six ports and airports, including the Lombrum Naval Base.

    Papua New Guinea's Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko, left, and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Port Moresby, April 20, 2024.
    Papua New Guinea’s Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko, left, and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Port Moresby, April 20, 2024.

    “The agreement is over 3.5 billion [kina] in investment in infrastructure development, training, equipment for the benefit of security in our region,” PNG Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko said in a speech on Monday in the Australian city of Sydney.

    “It shows you the commitment that the United States now has directly with PNG. Before they used to allow Australia, for example, to look after the region. Now, the United States has taken the lead itself to deal with our Pacific island countries.”

    A spokesperson from the U.S. Embassy Port Moresby said the agreement “does not have a dollar amount associated with it,” but was aimed at addressing shared defense and security challenges.

    In PNG’s 2025 national budget, released last month, 441.9 million kina (US$109.2 million) was set aside for defense spending, which is projected to fall to around 400 million kina in the coming years.

    Australia has for decades been PNG’s leading security partner under a bilateral program that contributed US$31.8 million in 2022–23, according to the Australia Army Research Center.

    The poor state of PNG defense forces has been a long-running concern for both the PNG and Australian governments.

    Mihai Sora, director of the Pacific islands program at the Lowy Institute, said the amount suggested by Tkatchenko was substantial, and would be “commensurate with PNG’s scale as by far the largest Pacific country” and the high level of external support needed for security and law enforcement.

    But he said it was important not to lose sight of the scope and scale of Australian assistance to PNG over the last few decades.

    “The U.S.’s recent contributions, though laudable, don’t really compare,” he told BenarNews. “And there’s the question of how much of what the U.S. has announced will it be able to actually get through Congress and will we see on the ground in PNG or elsewhere in the Pacific.

    “Given both Australia and the U.S. have security agreements with PNG, all three countries will be coordinating on national and regional security very closely into the future.”

    Although Donald Trump’s election victory has prompted questions around the world about whether the U.S. will be a less reliable ally, Tkatchenko said he was confident the defense relationship would endure.

    “We would like to ensure that the DCA continues because the work has already started,” he said. “Runways are being constructed, wharfs are being constructed. Fuel storage facilities are now being constructed as we speak, and many, many other programs.”

    PNG, the most populous Pacific island country, is rich in natural resources and strategically located with “one foot in Southeast Asia and one foot in the Pacific,” Tkatchenko said.

    Its proximity to Guam – the main U.S. military hub in the Western Pacific – and Australia also makes it a critical point from which American forces and material can be staged and deployed in the event of a regional conflict, including in East Asia.

    The 15-year defense cooperation agreement allows for the transit, maintenance and refueling of U.S. aircraft and vessels, and prepositioning of personnel and disaster relief materials. Some facilities identified in the deal, or parts of them, can be used exclusively by U.S. forces, which have permission to refurbish them.

    Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape shakes hands with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Port Moresby, July 27, 2023.
    Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape shakes hands with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Port Moresby, July 27, 2023.

    During a visit to Port Morseby last year, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Washington is not seeking a permanent military base in the country. But America’s security footprint is growing.

    Ann Marie Yastishock, the U.S. ambassador to PNG, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, said defense exercises in the Pacific nation had increased by 25% between 2023-24, from four to five.

    Visits by U.S. Navy and Coast Guard vessels to PNG’s waters had grown by 27% over the same period, from 11 to 14, she said at the same investment event in Sydney.

    The U.S. military had also finished building a bunkhouse at Igam Barracks, near Lae, and would award three more small-scale infrastructure projects this year, with work to begin in 2025.

    “We will continue to exercise with the Papua New Guinea Defense Force in bilateral and multilateral exercises,” she said. “We also have additional plans of small incremental increases in Department of Defense personnel in the country, as well as looking for additional training opportunities.”

    Following decades of neglect, U.S. interest in the Pacific was galvanized in early 2022 after Beijing and the Solomon Islands signed a security pact. Washington and allies such as Canberra feared it could lead to a Chinese military presence in a region they consider crucial to their defense and security.

    China has also emerged as a key development partner for many economically-lagging Pacific nations as it seeks to isolate Taiwan diplomatically and reshape global institutions in its favor.

    Beijing was “a friend of PNG” and an important economic partner, Tkatchenko said, but “at the end of the day … we keep to our traditional security partners.”

    BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Harry Pearl for BenarNews.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Indonesia’s foreign minister on Monday responded to concerned lawmakers that a recent joint maritime development deal with China did not recognize Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea, but analysts said his explanations were a weak justification for a serious error.

    A joint statement issued after a meeting last month in Beijing between new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Chinese President Xi Jinping said the two countries had reached an “important common understanding on joint development in areas of overlapping claims.”

    However, Jakarta had consistently rejected China’s sweeping claims in the contested South China Sea, which encroaches into Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) north of the Natuna islands.

    During a parliamentary hearing on Monday, Indonesian legislator Sukamta said these Chinese claims, which are represented on its maps by a so-called nine-dash line, are changed by Beijing as it pleases.

    “Previously it was nine dashes, now it’s 10,” said the legislator who goes by one name.

    “We must be firm in asserting our rights. … Without clear boundaries, we risk being manipulated by China,” he said.

    Sukamta called for more clarity on the geographical scope of the development agreement mentioned in the text of the joint statement issued after Prabowo met with Xi.

    China’s claims in the South China Sea overlap those of five Asian nations and Taiwan.

    And in what many analysts back then saw as a political message, Jakarta in 2017 renamed the southern reaches of the South China Sea the North Natuna Sea to emphasize its sovereignty over those waters encompassing natural gas fields.

    Another Indonesian lawmaker, Farah Puteri Nahlia, echoed Sukamta’s concerns.

    “We all understand that China is Indonesia’s key trading partner, but we should not become overly dependent,” Farah said.

    “What steps will the foreign ministry take to ensure we maintain our non-aligned stance? We must aim for not only free trade but fair trade, while safeguarding our EEZ amidst these tensions.”

    Indonesian Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla) patrol boat KN Tanjung Datu-301 (left) and Indonesian Navy corvette KRI Sutedi Senoputra (right) shadow the China Coast Guard (CCG) 5402 ship to expel it from the North Natuna Sea in Indonesia's exclusive economic zone, Oct. 21, 2024.
    Indonesian Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla) patrol boat KN Tanjung Datu-301 (left) and Indonesian Navy corvette KRI Sutedi Senoputra (right) shadow the China Coast Guard (CCG) 5402 ship to expel it from the North Natuna Sea in Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone, Oct. 21, 2024.

    Already, during the first week of Prabowo’s presidency in October, Indonesian naval and coast guard ships confronted and expelled a Chinese coast guard ship from its EEZ in the North Natuna Sea on three occasions.

    China has in recent years also opposed Indonesia’s oil and gas exploration activities in its EEZ.

    This agreement comes amid escalating tensions in the South China Sea region, a crucial maritime route for global commerce.

    ‘50% of nothing is still nothing’

    Foreign Minister Sugiono responded to lawmakers’ concerns saying that the joint statement did not recognize China’s nine-dash line.

    “The text itself is clear – it does not imply any such recognition,” Sugiono, who goes by one name, told lawmakers.

    “The specifics, including the locations and terms of the cooperation, have not yet been defined. This is merely a preliminary agreement and the details will be worked out later.”

    He also said joint cooperation was President Prabowo’s plan “as part of efforts to reduce tensions and maximize resource utilization,” and had been discussed with leaders of neighboring countries.

    “The core principle is that President Prabowo has directed us to enhance cooperation with our neighboring countries for mutual benefit, while upholding Indonesia’s sovereignty,” Sugiono said.

    He said Indonesia’s position on sovereignty remained unchanged, noting that the joint development agreement would be guided by international law and Indonesia’s interests.

    “Indonesia’s stance remains unchanged, as do the positions of its neighbors. However, the principle stands: 50% of nothing is still nothing,” Sugiono further said.

    “If there is no way to derive benefit from these resources for our nation’s interests, it is better to collaborate while strictly adhering to fundamental principles and maintaining sovereignty.”

    ‘Little room for multiple interpretations’

    For foreign policy analyst Mohamad Rosyidin, these explanations from Sugiono did not explain the crux of the problem – why the joint statement included the phrase “overlapping claims.”

    “The statement is merely an excuse for the blunder in the joint statement. It’s unlikely the government will admit to that mistake,” Rosyidin, of Diponegoro University, told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated news service.

    “Just because we want to collaborate with China in the South China Sea doesn’t mean Indonesia should shift from a rule-based approach to pragmatism.”

    The Indonesian government should remain consistent with the nation’s stance on the South China Sea, he said.

    “The real problem is that Chinese vessels frequently enter Natuna waters. However, this does not mean there is an overlapping claim; it is a violation of sovereignty by China.”

    Another international relations analyst, Muhammad Waffaa Kharisma, concurred.

    “I am among those who believe there is little room for multiple interpretations of the joint statement between President Prabowo and President Xi Jinping regarding overlapping claims,” he told BenarNews.

    “Regardless of how it is responded to or justified, I see the initial phrasing in the agreement as a concession by Indonesia, yielding or compromising with China.”

    He said the problematic text could have an effect on Indonesia, if not immediately then in the near future.

    “Whether intentional or not is a secondary matter. Intentional or not, there will be impacts on Indonesia’s sovereign rights. … especially if there are no serious efforts for reversal through follow-up measures or statements,” he said.

    Such a concession may ease any tensions between Indonesia and China, but it strengthens Beijing’s hand and gives the impression Jakarta is yielding to the major power, he said.

    “Currently, the foreign minister and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are in damage-control mode. The potential for conflict and unilateral claims are two sides of the same coin,” he said.

    “The only positive aspect is that the initiative has not yet materialized, as mentioned by the foreign minister.”

    BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news service.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Pizaro Gozali Idrus for BenarNews.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • You’ve made so much music with so many different people, including your new solo album. Is there a certain attitude you bring that is consistent throughout?

    I’m going to go with an Albini quote. At Electrical Audio, the studio in Chicago [founded by Albini], they have a no-asshole policy. I think that’s probably a creative philosophy. It’s the first thing that comes to mind, because it’s a good first policy to think about even before you begin to think about other creative aspects of [of a project].

    I think that’s a good policy no matter what you’re doing.

    Sure, but it’s easy. I can think, “Well, they’re probably having a bad day,” or “Yeah, they can be…” It’s a whole group of people up there at Electrical Audio. They have two studios running. Steve doesn’t do every session. The way they book the bands, anybody can come in—it’s cool. Nobody has to be uber-professional. I could see why it really does help to be able to say, “Okay, we can rein in these contacts and the people that we’re going to be interfacing with here. The first thing is just no assholes.” When you think of it like that, it’s just a really good policy. I like that.

    I used to go up there and say, “Oh my god, these people are so great. You know who’s great? This intern is so very cool.” Albini would say, “We have a no-asshole policy. That’s why.” It’s like, “Oh, yeah. Right.”

    You worked with Albini on your new record, and you’ve worked with him in many different contexts in the past. Sadly, he passed recently. Why was he your go-to guy over the decades?

    There’s an aesthetic, choices that he prefers and I prefer that work well together. If I go out and sing something in the studio and I want to come back and listen, there shouldn’t be reverb just put on it willy-nilly for no reason. If there is, I’ll say, “Can I hear it without reverb to see what’s there?” And it shouldn’t even be talked about like that. He knows that.

    It’s more of the ideal that I’m trying to focus on, not the “Some people do this, and I don’t like that.” There’s also something else that he does that is good, and it drives me nuts, because he’s right all the time. Well, not all the time, but most of the time. When I’m singing, I have a tendency to go, “Can I re-sing that? The word got caught it in my throat.” There are all these things that I hear that [affect my] expectation of what should have just happened.

    Of course, he doesn’t have that expectation. He’s just listening to it. It sounds fine to him. “Is it? I don’t think it’s in pitch.” He’ll say, “I don’t know what pitch is. I don’t know if it’s out of pitch or not. Sounds good to me.” I’ll say, “Can we punch this word in? It really drives me crazy, that smacking sound that I’ve just done. It’s just weird the way the word came out.” He does the punch, and now I didn’t have the right breath or the right closeness to the mic, so it just sounds different. I’ve made a black spot on the couch, and now we’re going to spend this much time trying to clean the black spot, and it wasn’t even that big of a deal to begin with. So, yeah—his ability to look at something and just appreciate that it was done. “You did it. That’s how it sounded, and it’s good.” That’s a good thing for me to hear.

    I know from talking with him that he was a no-nonsense, straight-to-business kind of person. He liked to get in there and get the job done. Are you that way as well, or do you like to experiment more?

    It’s not like I want to experiment, but in my mind’s ear I hear something, so that’s the direction I’m going for. Now, he can’t hear my mind’s ear. I can talk and I try to be transparent because if he’s not getting something or somebody’s not getting something, it’s because of my lack of communication. I need to explain it better, because most of the time, people just want to help out.

    I remember I wanted to get some feedback on an amp, and he was just being weird, not wanting to do it, or something. I ended up getting it, but you could tell he didn’t want to spend the time. He was better alone when I was doing solo stuff. As a solo person bringing stuff to him, he was more relaxed about it because it could be anything. I just drove up five hours from Dayton, and he’ll say, “What do you want to do today, Kim?” He has no idea. He’s a recording engineer. He’s not a producer. He has no idea what we’re doing.

    “I want to play drums.” “Okay, do you want [recording rooms] Alcatraz, Kentucky, or Center Field?” “I want Kentucky.” So, he opened up and he knew we were going to do all sorts of things, so he was willing to do more. I trained him to do it, because he knew I would never back off until we did it that way. But then when we did it, he really would say, “Oh, I see. That makes sense now when you put it all together like that.” On a weird song like “Spark,” on [the Breeders’ 2008 album] Mountain Battles, that’s just such a weird thing, and it’s hard to explain what I’m going to do. Then you just have to do it, whether you like it or not. Which I think he did, probably. It reminded him of something.

    John Cameron Mitchell of Hedwig and the Angry Inch fame wrote your bio for the new album. He’s such a talented guy, obviously, but why was he your choice for this?

    Back in the day, the East Los Breeders—that’s when we had Mando Lopez and José [Medeles] from East Los Angeles in the band—learned [the song] “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” We had the guitar player singing it, and we did that live at a Breeders show. I think John just heard that we did it and came to a Breeders show at the Bowery in New York City. He stage-dived, but nobody caught him, of course. He landed on the ground, and we became friends. There’s even a photograph of him about ready to hit the ground. We wanted to make t-shirts and sell them. We thought that would be fun, so we’ve been friends ever since. He comes to visit in Dayton. He’s a dear friend.

    You’ve put out solo material before, but Nobody Loves You More is your first official full-length album. Was that a daunting prospect for you at all? Obviously, you’ve made tons of albums. But this is the first one with your name on it.

    With my name on it, yeah. I mean, I’m from the Midwest. I like rock bands. Nazareth, Outlaws, UFO. I only liked bands, so I only wanted to do bands. It was weird. After [the Breeders’ 1993 album] Last Splash and the Amps, then I worked with the East Los Angeles guys, but I was also doing Pixies. I did one last Pixies tour called The Lost Cities Tour, the last tour we were to do, and then I had no band.

    José, the drummer for the East Los guys, moved to Portland, Oregon, and he started a gorgeous drum shop called Revival, and had a kid. In 2011, he said, “You want me to come out with the kid and rehearse for three weeks?” Then I went to Los Angeles and did some solo recording. José’s drumming on some of it. I met another drummer out there, and I started putting out these 7-inches. I think the gateway drug was the first 7-inch. At one point, I did a song and thought, “This should be an album track.” Then everything after that followed in that path.

    My favorite song on the album is “Crystal Breath,” which I understand was originally written as a theme song for the TV show Physical—and rejected. Rejection is pretty much built into the creative life, so I was hoping you could talk about that experience a little bit.

    It was an odd thing to be asked. I wasn’t really into it at first. TV theme? They don’t really do TV themes, do they? That’s weird. Then they said that Rose Byrne was the actress in it, and I’m like, “I’ll do anything you want me to do if she’s in it.” So, I tried. I didn’t take the rejection as that bad because they just went in a different direction. They started using material from the ’80s, from the time period of the show, so it’s not like they [hired somebody else] or anything. There’s been other rejections that were harder. That wasn’t that hard because it felt like they just declined, and they were going to go a different way. But I do talk about failure on this record.

    If the album had a theme, that would be it.

    I’m intrigued by it. There’s something about George Jones, Waylon Jennings, and those outlaw country guys where they were living in bravado and they’re just manly men. Then they’re aging and you see the toll that it’s taken on their existence spiritually and physically—the liver enzymes making their eyes a little yellow—and they’re on their third wife and they’re just older. There’s something so sweet about it and so endearing.

    I think maybe to try things, it’s worth the failure. To me, failure reads as: At least you fucking tried it, even if you got fucking beat up because you were in the fight to try something. There’s something really sweet and endearing about somebody who got their ass kicked. They were out there trying. I can relate to that in some capacity, because it’s speaking to me. I don’t know why. I can look at all the little failures of my life, but that’s not what I think about. I read it as, “Oh, you look so cool all beat up.”

    The album artwork was designed by Alex Da Corte, and it’s based on the story of another artist, Bas Jan Ader. [In 1975], Bas decided he’s going to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a small boat, in search of the miraculous. His wife takes this photograph of him, and he’s never seen again. They just find the washed-up sticks of his boat. I just think, “Wow, that’s some fucking committed shit right there.” The guy went for it and failed miserably. So, the album cover is me on the boat—the doomed voyage.

    You’ve used various pseudonyms over the years—”Mrs. John Murphy” on the first couple of Pixies releases, “Tammy Ampersand” with the Amps. Why did you do that, and how is it related to your artistic identity on those records?

    Back in the day—I’m talking like ‘87 or whatever—it’s super spandex and big looks, right? Just before that, you had bands like Asia and Styx. It just didn’t seem very tough or cool to me. With punk, there was John Doe [of X], Poison Ivy [of the Cramps] and, of course, Iggy. It’s like all the cool people, they didn’t need to put their name on it. Who gives a shit, right?

    I thought it was cool, so we started talking about it. I think [Pixies guitarist] Joe [Santiago] went with “Joey,” and we made fun like [drummer] David [Lovering] could be David Sticks Lover, but he didn’t do it. And then Charles was Black Francis. I was working at a doctor’s office at the time. Somebody called up for an appointment, and I said, “Okay, let me get your chart, Ethel.” She responded, “My name is not Ethel. My name is Mrs. David Smith.” So, I’m like, “Oh, god—fantastic.” She’s so old-school that her power and respect can only be conferred to her by her husband’s name. Using another person’s identity. But at the same time, I’m not showing her respect by talking to her as her own person. That’s when I was like, “I want to be Mrs. John Murphy on the record.”

    How much of that do you think was a form of ego death? Like you said, all these people didn’t feel the need to have their names on their records. They didn’t need the credit for their self-esteem.

    Yeah, that’s true. I think that’s probably one of the positives of that period of time. I’m not saying that all of those people in bands being played on college radio stations didn’t have egos. They had huge egos, just like any other fucking Asia guy. But [using fake names] was definitely the style of the time, anyway. It seemed cool. It seemed dumb to do it any other way, but then I think it became an actual style, and it became a trend. Bands were actually writing fake labels on the back of their records. They would be on Universal, but they would be like, “We’re on Blackmore Records. It’s a small indie,” because it was uncool for people to even be on major. All these huge record labels would start these smaller labels so the bands they signed could opt out of having the big-name label on the back of their records. Being on a major label meant you were selling out.

    You’ve worked in different contexts with your twin sister Kelley over the years. You often sing together, achieving what’s commonly referred to as a “blood harmony.” As you know, there’s nothing like it. I know what it sounds like, but what does it feel like?

    Yeah, yeah, yeah. It feels nice. The rich vibrato-ing and stuff like that, is very satisfying. It’s very nice in a room—especially acoustically. Unfortunately, it’s totally different once you’re in front of a microphone. But acoustically, yeah, it’s very good. My mother has a recording of us when we were four years old, and we’re singing together on it, doing harmonies. My mother sounds like a hillbilly because she’s from West Virginia. You can hear her in the background, going, “Sang into the microphone, Kimmy. Sang!”

    What do you see as the pros and cons of collaboration versus making music yourself and having total control?

    It’s nice to have people in the room to suggest things, even if you think it’s stuff that won’t work. Just the fact that they suggested it can be helpful. You might realize later on that it was a good idea. Or maybe even, “No, that won’t work, but you know what’s kind of like that and could be a thing?” To bounce ideas off each other or just having somebody in there talking about it can be helpful. Even if somebody’s saying, “Can I hear it again?” or “Can I hear it again with no vocals?” Then you sit there and listen to the track instrumentally because somebody else asked you to. All of a sudden, you hear something you didn’t hear before.

    I have a weird thing about cover art. I’m sort of ambivalent about it. I don’t care about what’s on the cover of a Breeders record because I know me and [bassist] Josephine [Wiggs] and Kelley are going to go at it. We love each other, so it’s okay, but Josephine’s going to have an idea, and I think it’s going to be stupid. But then Kelley’s going to think it could be good. Then Kelley’s going to have an idea that I think is stupid, but Josephine thinks it could be good. When I finally have an idea about it, both of them think it’s stupid. But when I’m just doing this on my own and nobody’s in the room, it’s like…

    Nobody’s going to tell me this sucks?

    Exactly. I appreciate that. I know there are some people who are passionate about album artwork. I’m not one of those people. I’m passionate about my microphones—my U47s, my C12s. I love them so much, and I want to talk about them. But album art? Meh. It’s hard for me to go, “You know what should it be? It should be a huge octopus with 16 rings on each tentacle, and it should be in a sea of red.” Somebody at the label suggested this album should have an image of me on the cover. I thought, “Oh, wouldn’t that be funny?”

    But it’s nice to be able to try things. I wouldn’t have been able to try this stuff with the Breeders, I’ve got to tell you. I had this little ukulele song I was working on. I don’t know how to play the ukelele, but I can play my song on it. I’ve got it sounding pretty good, and I decide to play it for the Breeders. Jim [Macpherson] and Kelley are standing there, but then Josephine sees the ukulele and says, “Absolutely not.” She didn’t even want to listen to it. She’s pure goth. So, it’s on my album now.

    Kim Deal Recommends:

    The Rest is History (podcast)

    Kim Gordon – The Collective (2024 album)

    Smile 2 (2024 film)

    Laura (1944 film)


    This content originally appeared on The Creative Independent and was authored by J Bennett.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.


  • This content originally appeared on Just Stop Oil and was authored by Just Stop Oil.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.


  • This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Seg1 protest

    On the final official day of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, it is still unclear if this year’s United Nations climate summit will lead to an agreement before the end of the official conference or if talks will extend into the weekend. The COP29 presidency has released a draft text that calls for a $1.3 trillion in annual climate financing by 2035, but it only obligates rich countries to provide $250 billion of that total. Climate justice activists and members of civil society who held a protest at COP29 on Friday say that amount falls far short of what’s needed, demanding “trillions, not billions.” Democracy Now! was there.


    This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.


  • This content originally appeared on The Grayzone and was authored by The Grayzone.

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