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Australia & Pacific
People gather ahead of a march to the parliament in protest of the Treaty Principles Bill, in Wellington, New Zealand, November 19, 2024.
Over the past few days you might have seen that viral clip of New Zealand lawmakers interrupting a legislative session with a haka -- the foot-stamping, tongue-wagging, eyes-bulging, loud-chanting ceremonial dance of the nation’s indigenous Maori communities.
What was that about? The haka was led by Maori lawmakers opposed to a new bill that would curtail certain special privileges for their community, which has historically suffered discrimination. Thousands of Kiwis have also marched to the capital, Wellington, as part of a broader protest against the bill.
The back story: Maori rights were first spelled out in a 19th century treaty with the British Crown. But it was never codified or properly translated, opening the way for exploitation of the Maori, who today make up about 18% of the population.
In recent decades, courts have brought the spirit of the treaty into various laws seeking to address that legacy of discrimination. Some have included quotas for Maori communities in public institutions.
The bill’s backers say that’s unfair. The small, rightwing ACT party, part of the governing center-right coalition, wants to codify Maori sovereignty but outlaw preferential treatment for any groups.
But critics from across the political spectrum say the bill would upend one of the world’s most successful experiments in equitable relations with indigenous communities, opening the way to fresh exploitation of Maori people and lands.
The bill won’t pass. Even the prime minister is opposed to it.
But it brings to New Zealand one of the most contentious culture war questions of the day: do communities that have suffered exploitation or discrimination have a right to preferential treatment in the name of social justice – or does that spotlight race and ethnicity in ways that deepen social divides?
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin poses with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr during a courtesy call at the Malacanang Palace in Manila, Philippines, November 18, 2024.
Manila’s top defense official Gilberto Teodorosigned a treaty with the US on Monday that will allow the Philippines to access more closely-held military intelligence and purchase more advanced technology to defend itself from China. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the agreement was meant to display Washington’s commitment, saying, “We are more than allies. We are family.”
Unlike some other US allies, Manila feels quite confident that its relationship with Washington will stay strong under incoming President Donald Trump. Trump and Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. spoke over the phone on Tuesday about strengthening the alliance, which Marcos said was “very productive.”
Trump is pledging a hawkish approach to China, and the Philippines is eager to upgrade its own defenses given ongoing conflicts over the South China Sea. The strong alignment on shared interests and Marcos’praise for Trump’s “robust leadership” seem promising, as long as he can make the case to Trump that the US is coming out ahead in the transaction.
How is China preparing for Trump? President Xi Jinping attempted to set boundaries in the relationship at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru over the weekend. He drew “four red lines” for Trump to avoid: undermining the Communist Party, pushing China toward democracy, stifling China’s economic rise, and encouraging Taiwanese independence.
“These are the most important guardrails and safety nets for China-US relations,” he said. But with Trump promising punitive tariffs up to 60% on Chinese goods, and appointing China hardliners like Marco Rubio and Mike Waltz, confrontation looks likely.
U.S. President Joe Biden, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi take part in a Quad leaders summit family photo in Claymont, Delaware, U.S., September 21, 2024.
In his final months in office, US President Joe Biden is looking to bolster the China-wary alliance known as “The Quad,” which brings together the US, Australia, Japan, and India. This weekend he hosted Quad leaders at his home in Wilmington, Delaware.
While the White House claimed the summit targeted no specific country, a joint statement condemned “coercive and intimidating maneuvers in the South China Sea,” a clear shot at Beijing. And in a so-called “hot mic” moment, Biden commented that “China continues to behave aggressively, testing us all across the region.”
Beijing, for its part, sees the Quad as a “threat and challenge to regional peace and security.”
The Quad summit announced expanded collaboration in maritime patrols, disaster relief, cervical cancer vaccines, tech fellowships, and clean energy projects.
The Quad hasn’t always been a top priority for its members – it lapsed almost entirely between 2008 and 2017. But when asked about the future of the group following the approaching departures of both Biden and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese predicted the Quad will endure, while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated “The Quad is here to stay.” To underscore that, he offered to host the group’s next gathering in 2025.Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin Wall on the Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 23, 2023.
180,000: Uncle Vladimir wants … more troops. The Russian president on Monday ordered that his country’s army be enlarged to 1.5 million active troops, an increase of 180,000 soldiers. If successful, the growth would make Russia’s military the second largest worldwide, with China in the No. 1 spot.
28: Canada’s Liberal Party lost another big byelection on Monday in Montreal’s LaSalle-Émard-Verdun riding. Between this loss to Bloc-Québécois and a June loss to Conservatives in Toronto-St. Paul’s, PM Justin Trudeau’s party has seen a summer bookended by major losses in so-called Liberal strongholds. Preliminary results from Monday’s vote show it was so close that the BQ beat the Liberals by less than a percentage point, 28% to 27.2%. But don’t expect Trudeau to step down: He said before the polls opened that he would stay on as party leader whatever the result.
18: On Sunday, Beijing releasedDavid Lin, an American pastor who had been wrongfully detained in China for 18 years, partially fulfilling the White House’s repeated requests to hand over detainees. Washington is also seeking the release of Kai Li and Mark Swidan, who have been detained in China since 2016 and 2012, respectively. Their detentions are scheduled for a congressional hearing on Wednesday.
50: Up to 50 people have died in ongoing fighting among illegal mine operators in Papua New Guinea’s Porgera Valley, the UN announced Monday. Security forces have reportedly started deploying in the valley, which was also the site of a landslide that killed up to 2,000 people in May, but violence, especially inter-tribal violence, is a growing problem that New Guinea has few resources to address.
90: UN health authorities in Gaza announced on Monday that they have vaccinated 90% of the 640,000 children with their first dose against polio, a major humanitarian accomplishment amid the ongoing fighting. UNRWA says it’s now focused on getting the vaccine to the remaining children and setting up for the second dose in about two months.
274: At least 274 inmates in a Nigerian prison in Borno state have escaped after major floods caused walls in the facility to collapse. Around 4 million Nigerians have been affected by the floods, and at least 1,000 people across West and Central Africa have died.Signage for The University of Melbourne is seen in Melbourne, Wednesday, November 2, 2022.
Australia this week became the latest country to take measures to restrict immigration, as the government announced a fresh cap on the number of foreign students it will admit for study at universities and vocational schools.
The measure comes amid broader, ongoing efforts to rein in immigration, which soared in recent years to help fill pandemic-related vacancies, but which has also put pressure on infrastructure and housing prices.
Next year, Australia will allow in only 275,000 foreign students. The country is currently the temporary home for nearly three times that number.
The government is aiming to bring the number of foreign students back to pre-pandemic levels, and to root out instances in which foreigners use study visas as an excuse to come to Australia for other purposes.
Currently, there are 10% more international students at Aussie state universities than there were before COVID-19. Among private vocational schools, the number is 50%.
Universities aren’t happy. Australia has historically been a major destination for foreign students, who constitute a $50 billion annual industry. They make up the second-largest economic sector for Australia after mining, according to Universities Australia, which warned Tuesday that “having fewer students here will only widen the funding gap at a time when universities need greater support.”
The logo of the Australian National University (ANU) is seen at the campus in Canberra, Wednesday, September 16, 2020. The Australian National University (ANU) says COVID-19 will force it to shed hundreds of jobs from its workforce. Estimates put the total job losses at 465, including 250 voluntary redundancies.
Next year, Australia will allow in only 275,000 foreign students. The country is currently the temporary home for nearly three times that number. The government is aiming to bring the number of foreign students back to pre-pandemic levels, and to root out instances in which foreigners use study visas as an excuse to come to Australia for other purposes. Currently, there are 10% more international students at Aussie state universities than there were before COVID-19. Among private vocational schools, the number is 50%.
Universities aren’t happy. Australia has historically been a major destination for foreign students, who constitute a $50 billion annual industry. They make up the second-largest economic sector for Australia after mining, according to Universities Australia, which warned Tuesday that “having fewer students here will only widen the funding gap at a time when universities need greater support.”A Philippine coast guard vessel and a Chinese coast guard vessel sail next to each other during an incident where the Philippines and China accused each other of ramming vessels and performing dangerous manoeuvres, at a location given as the South China Sea, in this screen grab obtained obtained from a handout video released August 19, 2024.
On Sunday, Filipino and Chinese vessels collided for the second time in a week at the Sabina Shoal, a disputed area of the South China Sea. This latest clash occurred less than a month after Manila and Beijing signed a deal meant to avoid confrontation and escalation risk around the South Thomas Shoal. Chinese forces also fired flares at an airplane from Manila’s fisheries regulation agency on Saturday, and a Chinese fighter jet buzzed the same plane on Aug. 19.
Why the flare-up? The proximate cause seems to be Manila’s deployment of a coast guard ship to the waters around Sabina Shoal, an uninhabitable reef well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. But Beijing still claims “indisputable” sovereignty there and may be worried about Manila attempting to set up some sort of semi-permanent base, as it did on the South Thomas Shoal by beaching an old ship on the rocks in 1999.
Beijing and Manila both recognize the risks of testing each other’s boundaries — and Washington has been clear it will back its longstanding ally if called upon to protect it from China. Even so, Eurasia Group’s Jeremy Chan says the likelihood of the invocation of the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty “is quite low, as the actions by the China coast guard vessels do not rise to the level of a ‘direct attack’ on a Philippine vessel and no injuries have been reported by either side.” It also means Beijing is “steering clear of the red lines established by Philippine President Marcos, and Manila has little interest in escalating tensions in the near term,” Chan adds.