Posted inWorld News

Trump scales back joint military drills with South Korea, calling them ‘hostile’

In short: (ABC-Australia) US President Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to scale back planned joint military exercises with South Korea, saying the nation had declined to help denuclearise Iran. He said the exercises slated to begin this week were costly and sent a “totally inappropriate and hostile” signal to North Korea. What’s next? South […]

Posted inWorld News

Taiwan condemns planned Chinese and Indonesian military exercise off its coast

By foreign affairs reporter Stephen Dziedzic In short:  (ABC-Australia) Taiwan has condemned China’s plan to hold a “navigation exercise” with an Indonesian warship off the island’s east coast. It said it has requested Indonesia “provide further details” after China’s defence ministry announced it would hold the exercise with an Indonesian warship in mid-August. Beijing has […]

Posted inPacific News

Pacific Foreign Ministers back regional security plan as threats grow more complex

SUVA, 12 AUGUST 2206 (PACNEWS)—Pacific foreign ministers have endorsed a new regional peace and security action plan as the region faces an increasingly complex security environment, including illicit drugs, transnational crime, humanitarian emergencies and emerging non-traditional threats.  The 2026 Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting recognised the need for a more cohesive regional security architecture supported by […]

Posted inPacific News

Australia joins U.S-led rebuke of Chinese missile launch

CANBERRA/WASHINGTON, 12 AUGUST 2026 (AAP)—Australia has joined a US-led push for nations to provide advance notice of missile launches, in a direct rebuke of China’s test firing in the South Pacific.  Within hours of Australia’s signing of a mutual-defence pact with Fiji in July, China confirmed a nuclear-capable missile had been launched from a submarine […]

Posted inTop Stories

Taiwan VP Hsiao says U.S.-China engagement should not come at expense of regional security

By: L.N. Reklai KOROR, Palau — “We have the same belief as the United States — that peace is maintained through strength,” Taiwan Vice President Bi-khim Hsiao said, emphasizing that continued U.S. engagement with China does not signal a weakening of support for Taiwan, Palau or other partners in the Indo-Pacific. Speaking to Island Times […]

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