Oceania

New Zealanders and traditional allies alike are looking for a strong stance from the Ardern government.

Australia’s birth rates have been declining since the 1960s with several factors at play, not the least of which is ballooning housing costs.

Pro-independence groups boycotted the vote, COVID-19 further limited participation in the third referendum on the question of independence from France.

China strategy dominated New Zealand’s foreign policy year, but the government has yet to find a consistent position.

Australia's development engagement with Cambodia and Myanmar offers an object lesson in how not to do aid.

PM Scott Morrison said the decision stemmed from China’s human rights abuses as well as generally strained ties.

The Solomons is a tinderbox of complex ethnic tensions, corruption, and competing local interests, meaning interference from Beijing or Taipei can have disastrous consequences.

The Pacific Islands have not been overlooked by the White House, although the region’s democracies face challenges, too.

The protests began on Wednesday, when hundreds of protestors marched on the parliamentary precinct in the capital Honiara.

Resentment against Chinese business people is longstanding and has fueled violence in Honiara’s Chinatown.

Sogavare’s decision to switch diplomatic ties from Taiwan to China is among the reasons for the current unrest in Solomon Islands.

Magnitsky-styled reform is predicated on targeting human rights abusers abroad. The Morrison government’s plans go further, to touch on cyberattacks and other modern threats.