Global Pulse

分类： politics

  • Former Qatari emir Sheikh Hamad dies at 74

    Former Qatari emir Sheikh Hamad dies at 74

    Qatar’s royal court announced Sunday the passing of former Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the transformative leader who turned a small Gulf state into a consequential global player across energy, diplomacy, and media. He was 74 years old, and no official cause of death has been released to the public.

    In an official statement, the Amiri Diwan expressed: “With hearts steadfast in faith in God’s decree and destiny, the Amiri Diwan mourns the great loss to the nation of the late – may God have mercy on him – His Highness the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who passed away this morning.”

    Sheikh Hamad held power from 1995, when he rose to the position via a bloodless palace coup that ousted his father Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, until 2013. In a move that shocked observers across the Middle East and beyond, he made the unprecedented choice to voluntarily abdicate the throne in favor of his son, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. This peaceful handover of power marked a first in modern Arab history, a rare departure from a regional pattern where leadership transitions only follow the death of a ruler or violent political upheaval. At the time of his resignation, Sheikh Hamad framed the shift as a new chapter for the nation, saying: “The future lies ahead of you, the children of this homeland, as you usher in a new era where young leadership hoists the banner.”

    Over his 18-year tenure, Sheikh Hamad engineered a radical transformation of Qatar’s global and domestic standing. He guided the small state to become the world’s top exporter of liquefied natural gas, turning its vast energy reserves into outsized geopolitical influence that stretched far beyond the country’s tiny borders. Domestically, his administration oversaw a series of landmark changes: the launch of influential global media network Al Jazeera in 1996, the adoption of Qatar’s first permanent constitution in 2004, and the introduction of municipal elections that extended voting and candidacy rights to women, a progressive step for the region.

    Sheikh Hamad also built Qatar’s reputation as a trusted regional mediator, with the country playing key diplomatic roles to resolve conflicts spanning Lebanon, Sudan, Afghanistan, and the Palestinian territories. For the Gaza Strip, his government committed hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure investment, including major coastal road projects, and a hospital in Gaza City still carries his name in recognition of his contributions.

    Beyond diplomacy and energy, Sheikh Hamad’s administration pursued aggressive international investments across aviation, infrastructure, business, and sports. These long-term investments laid the critical groundwork for Qatar’s successful hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, an event that cemented the country’s status on the global stage. Even after stepping back from official rule, Sheikh Hamad remained a widely respected public figure in Qatar, and received a warm welcome during the opening ceremony of the 2022 tournament in Doha.

    Following the announcement of his death, tributes quickly poured in from leaders across the Middle East and beyond. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi offered condolences to Qatar’s ruling family and public, while Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari commended Sheikh Hamad’s “visionary leadership” and his far-reaching contributions to Qatar’s development and cross-regional cooperation. United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan also shared his respects, writing on X: “I extend my sincere condolences and sympathy to my brother Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and his family on the passing of his father, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.”

    Sheikh Hamad is survived by Sheikh Tamim and his extended family. Today, the Qatar that his family governs is a country whose enormous influence across global energy markets, international diplomacy, and global affairs is almost entirely the product of the vision and policies Sheikh Hamad put in place during his rule. For context, Qatar is one of the smallest Arab states, with a total population of roughly 3 million, the majority of whom are migrant workers. It was a British protectorate for 55 years until gaining independence in 1971, and has been governed by the Al Thani royal family since the mid-19th century.

  • Macron warns of resurgent demons of antisemitism as France honors Alfred Dreyfus

    Macron warns of resurgent demons of antisemitism as France honors Alfred Dreyfus

    PARIS – On the 120th anniversary of Alfred Dreyfus’s full exoneration, French President Emmanuel Macron used a landmark inauguration Sunday to sound the alarm over a dangerous resurgence of antisemitic sentiment that has haunted the nation for centuries. The event, held outside France’s highest court where Dreyfus was cleared of false treason charges in 1906, honored the Jewish army captain whose wrongful conviction laid bare the deep-seated anti-Jewish prejudice embedded in 19th-century French institutions.

    The somber commemoration came hours after authorities disrupted a potential terror threat targeting France’s Jewish community: police evacuated roughly 300 residents from the Paris suburb of Sarcelles, a neighborhood with a large Jewish population, after intelligence flagged a suspicious vehicle holding a military-grade long weapon near a local synagogue. French prosecutors have launched a full terrorism investigation into the incident, and Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told reporters that authorities have not yet confirmed whether the weapon was intended to attack Jewish community sites.

    France is home to the largest Jewish population in Europe, and the country has recorded a sharp spike in antisemitic incidents—including threats, property vandalism, and physical assaults—since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel and the outbreak of the Gaza war. The ceremony also comes amid ongoing international criticism of Macron’s 2024 decision to recognize Palestinian statehood: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Kushner have both argued that the move has emboldened antisemitic attitudes across France.

    Speaking to the assembled crowd that included Dreyfus’s 99-year-old grandson Charles, Macron stressed that the “old demons of antisemitism” have never fully been eradicated from French society. “We need constant vigilance to stop acts that target people simply because of who they are,” the president said, announcing that starting this year, July 12 will be recognized as a national day of commemoration for Dreyfus’s exoneration.

    The Dreyfus affair remains one of the most defining episodes of injustice in modern French history. In 1894, the Jewish captain was falsely accused of passing French military secrets to Germany, wrongfully convicted of treason, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Prominent writer Emile Zola and a cohort of leading intellectuals rallied to his defense, exposing that the French military had scapegoated Dreyfus because of his Jewish identity. After 12 years of public campaigning and legal battles, the Court of Cassation—France’s highest judicial body—cleared Dreyfus of all charges on July 12, 1906. He later rejoined the French army, served with distinction in World War I, and died in 1935.

    Charles Dreyfus, who attended Sunday’s inauguration of the bronze statue depicting his grandfather holding a broken sword, a symbol of his overturned conviction, reflected on the unsettling parallels between the 19th-century affair and 2024. “I must sadly admit that I would not have imagined, at my age, seeing antisemitism resurface with such virulence in our country,” he said. That sorrow, he added, was balanced by “deep joy” at seeing his grandfather’s legacy honored at the site of his exoneration.

  • US senator and Trump ally Lindsey Graham dies aged 71

    US senator and Trump ally Lindsey Graham dies aged 71

    Veteran Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a polarizing but deeply influential figure in American politics whose career shifted from fierce critic to close ally of former President and current President-elect Donald Trump, has died suddenly at the age of 71 following a brief unanticipated illness, his office confirmed. Emergency response records obtained by major U.S. media outlets including NBC News indicate first responders were called to Graham’s Capitol Hill residence Saturday night for a reported cardiac arrest.

    Graham’s four-decade political career began with his election to the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1994 Republican wave, before he moved to the Senate in 2002. A lifelong foreign policy hawk shaped by his service as an Air Force military lawyer (where he retired with the rank of colonel), Graham built his reputation as an unapologetic interventionist. He backed the 2002 invasion of Iraq, supported a long-term U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, and was a leading voice pushing for robust U.S. military backing for Ukraine following Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion, a cause he championed through both the Trump and Biden administrations. He was also one of the most vocal proponents of a hardline stance against Iran and a staunch lifelong ally of Israel, repeatedly pushing for expanded U.S. military and diplomatic support for the Jewish state.

    Graham’s political trajectory with Donald Trump remains one of the most notable chapters of his later career. A decade ago, Graham emerged as one of Trump’s most outspoken Republican critics during the 2016 presidential primary, where he launched his own unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination and infamously labeled Trump a “race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot.” Following Trump’s election, however, Graham gradually aligned with the former president, ultimately becoming one of his most reliable and high-profile allies in Congress. Even after the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot – where a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol, forcing lawmakers to evacuate for their safety – Graham initially condemned the violence, saying “enough is enough” and saying he would break with Trump. But he ultimately reversed course, voting against convicting Trump in his second impeachment trial, reconciling with the former president, and endorsing his 2024 re-election bid. Just months before his death, Graham won the Republican primary to seek a fourth Senate term in the upcoming November general election.

    World leaders have been quick to pay tribute to the senator following the news of his passing. President Trump honored Graham in a post on his Truth Social platform, calling him “one of the greatest people” and “a true American Patriot.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Graham as “a great friend of Israel and a cherished friend of mine,” adding that the senator “understood that the security of Israel and America are inseparable. He devoted his life to defending America, strengthening our alliance and standing up for the free world.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who met Graham in Kyiv just this past Friday, expressed deep sorrow over the loss, noting that Graham had visited Ukraine 10 times since Russia launched its full-scale invasion, always arriving when Ukraine needed international support most. “America and the world have lost a determined leader,” Zelenskyy said in a statement.

    Graham’s sudden death comes at a tense moment for Senate Republicans, who already hold a narrow 53-47 majority in the chamber and have been without long-time leader Mitch McConnell, who has been hospitalized for weeks and has not cast a vote since June 11. To fill Graham’s seat for the remainder of his current term, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster will appoint an interim successor, and a new primary will be held to determine the Republican nominee for the open seat in November.

    Raised in a working-class family in Central, South Carolina, where his parents owned and operated a local restaurant and pool hall, Graham was the first member of his family to attend college, according to his official Senate biography. At the time of his death, he was serving as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, and had previously held a number of key committee assignments throughout his Senate tenure.

  • Ukraine’s Zelensky orders government reshuffle, new PM

    Ukraine’s Zelensky orders government reshuffle, new PM

    In a surprise announcement made public on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed plans for a sweeping restructuring of his national government, including a proposal to replace incumbent Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and shake up leadership at several top law enforcement agencies.

    As of the announcement, Zelensky has not disclosed the identity of Svyrydenko’s successor nor provided detailed public reasoning for the planned leadership changes. In a post on the social platform X, the Ukrainian leader expressed public gratitude for Svyrydenko’s tenure in office, praising her for what he called clear, steady, and effective leadership as prime minister and years of productive work as part of Ukraine’s governing team.

    Zelensky added that he has offered Svyrydenko a new, high-stakes position leading diplomatic relations with a key international partner, though he did not specify which partner or the exact title of the new role. Nominated to the prime minister post by Zelensky only last year, Svyrydenko has overseen Ukrainian governance through a period of ongoing wartime challenge and growing alignment with Western European institutions.

    “I expect that, together with MPs, we will make the corresponding changes in the Government of Ukraine. There will also be changes among the heads of law enforcement agencies,” Zelensky added in his post. Outlining the core priorities that drove the decision to restructure his cabinet, Zelensky cited pressing national goals: advancing Ukraine’s accession negotiations for European Union membership, shoring up security along the country’s vulnerable border regions, and reorganizing management of different strands of Ukraine’s foreign policy to better meet these goals.

    “We determined that these changes require a renewal of the Cabinet of Ministers,” Zelensky said, offering no further details on the timing or full scope of the upcoming leadership shakeup.

    Per Ukrainian constitutional procedure, all cabinet-level changes require formal approval from the country’s parliament. However, since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, legislative lawmakers have overwhelmingly united behind Zelensky’s policy and leadership agenda, and major cabinet changes proposed by the president are rarely blocked.

  • Digital passenger cards to be rolled out at all Australian international airports

    Digital passenger cards to be rolled out at all Australian international airports

    Australia is set to revolutionize its international arrival process, phasing out long-used paper passenger declaration cards in favor of a fully digital system designed to modernize processing at the country’s busiest ports of entry. The shift will require all incoming passengers – both returning Australian citizens and international tourists – to complete a single digital form that combines mandatory customs declarations, contact details, and travel history before arriving at Australian borders.

    The transition has already been in a testing phase since October 2024, with more than 450,000 passengers on Qantas international flights arriving at Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane airports participating in the trial. Government officials describe early results as “significantly successful” based on feedback from participants and airport staff. The rollout will proceed in stages: by the end of 2026, the digital system will expand to Qantas flights arriving at Perth and Adelaide airports, followed by full deployment across all Australian international airports and seaports within 12 to 18 months after that. Initially, the digital form will be hosted on a dedicated public webpage, with future in-app functionality planned through co-design with travel and border industry partners.

    The four-year rollout of the scheme is backed by a $56.1 million federal government investment, which will also fund upgrades to airport and cruise ship departure processes in preparation for the projected surge in international travelers ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games.

    Tourism Minister Don Farrell framed the shift as a major win for Australia’s $100 billion tourism sector. “Making arrivals simpler and quicker means visitors can spend less time filling out forms and more time enjoying everything Australia has to offer,” Farrell said. “This is a win for tourists and a win for our tourism operators, helping make Australia an even easier and more welcoming place to visit.”

    Beyond convenience, federal ministers from multiple portfolios highlighted the broader public good and security benefits of the digital overhaul. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke called the border modernization “essential to Australia’s prosperity and national security.” He noted that the new system will integrate seamlessly into modern digital life, giving all travelers a more seamless arrival experience.

    Agriculture Minister Julie Collins added that the digital system will strengthen Australia’s world-leading biosecurity framework, a top government priority for protecting domestic industries and natural ecosystems. The system will allow border officials to collect complete passenger and travel information before any vessel or plane reaches Australian shores, enabling faster, more targeted risk assessments. “Australia’s strong biosecurity system protects our farmers, environment, food security and economy, and modernizing our border is an important part of maintaining that protection,” Collins said, noting the government has already invested more than $2 billion in additional biosecurity resources since 2022.

    Officials also outlined broader functional advantages of the digital system: it will cut down on time-consuming manual processing for border staff, improve the accuracy of collected data for risk assessments, allow for rapid updates to entry requirements in response to global public health or security events, and enable pre-arrival processing that reduces wait times after passengers land. The shift marks the biggest change to Australia’s international arrival process in decades, aligning the country’s border infrastructure with digital systems already adopted by many other developed nations.

  • Lindsey Graham draws tributes for his support of Ukraine, trans-Atlantic ties and Israel

    Lindsey Graham draws tributes for his support of Ukraine, trans-Atlantic ties and Israel

    Following the sudden passing of longtime Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham after a brief, unexpected illness, leaders from across the globe — including NATO allies, Ukrainian officials, and Israeli leadership — have united to honor his decades of unwavering advocacy for transatlantic cooperation, support for freedom, and commitment to collective global security.

    Graham, who cut a prominent figure in U.S. foreign policy for years across administrations, remained an active voice in international affairs right up until his death. Just one week before his passing, he completed his 10th visit to Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, and on the Friday before his death, he announced a finalized agreement with the Trump administration to advance a new round of sanctions targeting Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who met with Graham twice during that final visit, emphasized that the senator showed up for the Ukrainian people at their most vulnerable moment. “Lindsey was a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer,” Zelenskyy noted, praising his consistent commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty.

    Graham’s staunch support for NATO’s eastern flank, where nations have remained deeply alarmed by Russian expansionist aims, earned him enduring respect across the Baltic region. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna remembered Graham as a “steadfast friend” and unyielding backer of both NATO’s eastern border and Ukraine’s fight against aggression. His Latvian counterpart Baiba Braže echoed that sentiment, calling Graham one of the strongest advocates for transatlantic alliance unity and military assistance for Kyiv. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys added that Graham’s lifelong dedication to democratic values, collective security, and international partnership earned him admiration across the European continent. “His voice will be missed, but his legacy will endure,” Budrys said. Finnish President Alexander Stubb also honored Graham, describing him as a personal friend, committed transatlanticist, and unwavering supporter of both NATO and Ukraine.

    Beyond Europe, Graham earned deep respect from Israeli leadership for his consistent support of the U.S.-Israel alliance and his hardline stance on Iran. A former critic of former President Donald Trump who eventually became one of his closest foreign policy allies, Graham advised the Trump administration on issues ranging from Russia to Iran, and long backed policies to isolate Tehran, curb its nuclear and missile programs, and supported U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites last year. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Graham a great friend of both Israel and his own personal friend, noting that the senator understood the interconnected security of the U.S. and Israel and dedicated his career to defending democratic values across the globe. “Israel has lost one of its greatest friends. America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend,” Netanyahu said.

    Not all reactions to Graham’s passing were positive, however. Iranian state television announced his death in openly hostile terms during a live broadcast. “I congratulate the great nation of Iran on Lindsey Graham, the warmongering and anti-Iranian U.S. senator, having gone to hell,” the anchor stated, reflecting the long-running animosity between Graham and the Iranian regime.

    Back in Washington, Senate Majority Leader John Thune reflected on Graham’s decades of public service, which included time in the U.S. Air Force followed by years in Congress that took him to every corner of the globe. “He was a strong advocate for the United States and a strong ally to freedom-loving countries across the globe,” Thune said. “He believed in the might of America to achieve good in the world and dedicated his life to advancing that cause.”

  • US Senator Lindsey Graham dies after ‘brief and sudden illness’, his office says

    US Senator Lindsey Graham dies after ‘brief and sudden illness’, his office says

    Veteran Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a towering figure in U.S. defense and foreign policy circles and a close ally of former President Donald Trump, has passed away at the end of last week following a sudden, short illness, his office confirmed in an official statement.

    The statement, released shortly after his passing, noted that Graham died on Saturday evening. In the midst of their grief, the senator’s family requested privacy while asking for the public’s thoughts and prayers during this extraordinarily challenging time.

    First elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002, Graham built a decades-long career marked by outsized influence in Washington. Over his tenure, he rose to chair the Senate Budget Committee, and emerged as one of the most prominent and frequently cited voices on national security and international affairs across Capitol Hill. Long a fixture in bipartisan and Republican policy debates, he maintained a close political alliance with Trump that shaped many GOP policy positions through multiple presidential cycles.

    In what would be his final public overseas trip before his death, Graham had just returned to the U.S. from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the Friday before his passing. A lifelong and outspoken advocate for robust U.S. military and diplomatic support for Ukraine in its war against Russian invasion, Graham repeatedly warned of the broader geopolitical consequences of Russian victory. In a 2023 interview with the BBC, he argued that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not limit his expansionist ambitions to Ukraine, adding that a faltering Western commitment to Kyiv would ultimately threaten security in the Indo-Pacific, specifically the status of Taiwan.

    News of his sudden passing has already drawn reactions across political circles in Washington, closing out a decades-long career that shaped U.S. foreign and domestic policy for more than two decades.

  • Germany moves to criminalise denial of Israel’s existence while refusing to recognise Palestine

    Germany moves to criminalise denial of Israel’s existence while refusing to recognise Palestine

    Germany’s federal legislative upper chamber, the Bundesrat, has given its formal approval to a contentious draft law that would impose criminal penalties including up to five years of prison time or substantial fines for anyone who publicly denies Israel’s right to exist or calls for the abolition of the Israeli state. The proposal, which was initially put forward by lawmakers from the German state of Hesse, cleared the upper house in a vote held Friday. It will now head to the Bundestag, Germany’s lower parliamentary body, for deliberation following the body’s upcoming summer recess.

    A key point of contention around the legislation is the unequal legal status it creates between Israel and Palestine: the draft extends unprecedented legal protections to Israel that the German government has repeatedly refused to grant to a Palestinian state. Berlin has maintained a longstanding policy of rejecting formal recognition of Palestinian statehood, continued to ship large volumes of weapons to Israel throughout its ongoing military campaign in Gaza that global observers have labeled genocide, and kept uninterrupted bilateral trade ties despite widespread international condemnation of Israel’s apartheid policies and accelerating ethnic cleansing practices in the occupied West Bank.

    The new criminal law is just one part of a broader nationwide crackdown on pro-Palestine solidarity activism across Germany. German authorities have moved to restrict peaceful demonstrations, academic conferences, and cultural events organized in support of Palestinian human rights, a pattern that drew formal rebuke from United Nations independent experts last October. Four UN special rapporteurs and two independent legal experts issued a statement at the time accusing German institutions of systematically criminalizing, penalizing, and suppressing completely legitimate activism in solidarity with the Palestinian people. The experts noted that protesters were only advancing widely recognized legitimate demands: halting German arms exports to Israel, ending the Israeli military campaign in Gaza and illegal occupation of Palestinian territories, guaranteeing unimpeded access for humanitarian aid to Gaza, securing formal international recognition of a Palestinian state, and holding perpetrators of documented international crimes accountable.

    Even independent German institutional assessments have raised red flags about the legality of the proposal. The Bundestag’s own in-house research service warned in a May analysis that the Hesse-backed draft is very likely incompatible with Germany’s post-WWII constitution. The assessment concluded the law would effectively create a legally protected special status for one specific viewpoint, directly contradicting the protections for freedom of expression enshrined in Article 5 of Germany’s Basic Law.

    The research service report explained that both denying Israel’s right to exist and calling for the elimination of the state generally qualify as subjective value judgments, not unprotected incitement. Extending the narrow constitutional exception that bans Nazi propaganda to cover this type of political speech about Israel would be extremely difficult to justify under existing German legal principles, the report added. If that extension cannot be legally justified, the resulting restriction on freedom of expression has no basis in Germany’s constitution.

    Global human rights organization Amnesty International has also publicly opposed the legislation. While the group emphasized that the protection of Jewish life in Germany carries unique historical and moral weight, it noted that this proposed initiative poses a massive threat to fundamental freedom of expression across the country. Left Party Member of Parliament Luke Hoß echoed those criticisms, describing the proposal as an obviously unconstitutional act of symbolic politics that will weaken rather than strengthen efforts to combat antisemitism in Germany.

  • US, UK and 12 other nations reaffirm 2016 ruling invalidating China’s claims in South China Sea

    US, UK and 12 other nations reaffirm 2016 ruling invalidating China’s claims in South China Sea

    On Sunday, a coalition of 14 nations led by the United States and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement from Manila reaffirming that China’s sweeping territorial claims over the South China Sea lack any legal foundation, in a public backing of the landmark 2016 international arbitration ruling.

    The statement was timed to mark the anniversary of the July 12, 2016, decision handed down by a permanent arbitration tribunal based in The Hague. The tribunal was convened under the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the global treaty that governs all maritime activity. The joint statement describes the arbitration outcome as a definitive, final and legally binding milestone that settles core legal questions around competing claims in the strategic waterway.

    The arbitration case was first launched by the Philippines in 2013, one year after a tense months-long standoff at a contested shoal ended with China taking effective control of the feature. China declined to participate in the proceedings, and has refused to acknowledge the ruling ever since it was issued. Beijing continues to assert sovereignty over nearly the entire South China Sea, a critical global shipping chokepoint that has been labeled one of the most dangerous potential conflict flashpoints in East Asia.

    The waterway is claimed in whole or in part by multiple governments: China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. Repeated territorial standoffs between claimant states have played out in the region for decades, with confrontations growing more frequent and high-risk in recent years.

    Beyond the U.S. and UK, the other signatories to Sunday’s statement are the Philippines, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Italy, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovenia. In the text, the coalition explicitly rejected “China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, including those based on ‘historic rights,’” echoing the core finding of the 2016 tribunal.

    The 2016 ruling sided overwhelmingly with the Philippines’ legal arguments, concluding that UNCLOS provides no legal support for China’s claims to historic resource rights in areas of the South China Sea beyond its internationally recognized territorial boundaries. UNCLOS, which entered into force in 1994, has been ratified by more than 170 countries and regions including both China and the Philippines.

    The 14-nation statement condemned destabilizing unilateral actions across the disputed waters, singling out the use of coast guard vessels, military assets and maritime militia to intimidate and obstruct lawful maritime and air operations conducted by other states. “Such actions endanger the safety of personnel and fishermen and seriously degrade regional peace and security,” the statement read.

    The coalition stressed that freedom of navigation and overflight, as enshrined in UNCLOS, must be protected and preserved, and called for all territorial disputes to be resolved through peaceful diplomatic means consistent with the 1982 UNCLOS framework.

    China had not issued a public response to Sunday’s joint statement as of press time. But in recent public comments through its embassy in Manila, Beijing has repeatedly made clear it will never recognize the 2016 ruling, which it labels “illegal, null and void.” “The award will not alter the historical and factual basis for China’s sovereignty over the islands of the South China Sea and their adjacent waters,” the embassy said in a previous statement, adding that the outcome “will not weaken China’s resolve and determination to safeguard its sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.”

    Territorial tensions in the South China Sea have spiked in recent years, most frequently involving Chinese forces and vessels alongside Philippine and Vietnamese fishing fleets and government vessels. Chinese coast guard vessels have been documented using high-powered water cannons, military-grade laser dazzlers, and dangerous blocking maneuvers against Philippine vessels and fishermen from other claimant states. These actions have led to high-seas collisions and multiple high-risk near encounters between aircraft and vessels in the area.

    Washington has repeatedly pressured Beijing to comply with the 2016 arbitration ruling. Both the current Biden administration and previous Trump administration have reaffirmed that as part of the long-standing mutual defense treaty between the U.S. and the Philippines — America’s oldest treaty ally in Asia — Washington is legally obligated to come to the Philippines’ defense if Filipino forces, civilian or military vessels, or aircraft come under armed attack in the South China Sea.

  • China’s Pacific ‘backyard’ missile test not making friends: Education Minister Jason Clare

    China’s Pacific ‘backyard’ missile test not making friends: Education Minister Jason Clare

    Growing international and regional condemnation has followed China’s recent unprecedented ballistic missile test in the South Pacific, with senior Australian government ministers arguing the provocative move will not win Beijing any goodwill among regional neighbors.

    The test, which saw a ballistic missile fired to a location roughly 1,000 kilometers northeast of the Solomon Islands, took place just hours before Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was scheduled to arrive in Honiara for an official visit. Notably, the launch also occurred mere hours after Albanese signed Australia’s fourth bilateral security alliance with Fiji during a stop in Suva, a timing that has sparked widespread scrutiny across Australian political circles.

    Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, Australian Education Minister Jason Clare emphasized the unneighborly nature of the launch, stating, “Good neighbours don’t shoot stuff over someone else’s house.” Clare doubled down on the criticism, noting China would not “make any friends” by conducting missile tests over what he framed as other nations’ backyard territory. He did, however, push back against suggestions that the test was intentionally scheduled to coincide with Albanese’s regional visit.

    For its part, China has defended the exercise, framing it as a routine military test carried out in line with international law. Notably, Australia was not given the standard 48-hour advance notification that typically accompanies such tests.

    Australian Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy, who recently represented Australia at the NATO summit, warned that the Indo-Pacific is currently experiencing the most rapid military buildup and arms race the region has seen since 1945. “That is occurring without any transparency or strategic reassurance. That is the context that we face,” Conroy explained. He called a direct regional conflict the ultimate “nightmare scenario,” stressing that any major conflict in the Indo-Pacific would have catastrophic global consequences, not just impacts for the immediate region. “We must do all we can to prevent that,” he added.

    Conroy used the controversy to promote the Australian government’s expanded defense investment plans, including acquisitions of advanced SM-6 missile systems and Aegis combat systems. When asked whether Australia would have the capability to intercept a Chinese ballistic missile similar to the recent test in the event of a conflict, Conroy declined to give a direct confirmation, instead noting that the Australian Defence Force already holds a range of active capabilities. He emphasized that stagnation in defense modernization is not an option, justifying the government’s largest peacetime increase in defense funding in Australian history: “This is a race where we need to make sure that the Australian Defence Force has the best possible equipment, and that’s why we’re providing the biggest peacetime increase in defence funding ever.”

    When pressed on the risk of conflict over Taiwan, Conroy stated that Australia maintains preparedness for any regional conflict while all global parties work to avoid escalation. He also told NATO leaders that modern security conflicts are no longer contained to local regions, but have ripple effects across the entire globe.

    The missile test has also drawn sharp condemnation from Pacific regional leaders, including Solomon Islands opposition Prime Minister Matthew Wale, who has been pushing for a region-wide Pacific security pact. The recently signed Australia-Fiji Ocean of Peace agreement includes provisions that allow additional Pacific nations to join the pact in the future, though Albanese ruled out immediate moves to expand the alliance during remarks in Suva on Monday. Clare rejected claims that the missile test would discourage other Pacific nations from entering security partnerships with Australia.

    When asked about Australia’s stance on Wale’s call for a full regional security pact, Conroy confirmed that Australia supports the initiative, but emphasized that any agreement must be led by the Pacific region itself, as Wale currently holds the chairmanship of the Pacific Islands Forum. Conroy declined to share details of confidential discussions with Wale, noting that negotiating and finalizing such a wide-ranging agreement would likely take several years. “Ultimately, it’s a decision of all the Pacific leaders. We act on a consensus approach,” he said. When pressed directly whether Australia would sign on to a region-led pact, Conroy responded clearly: “absolutely.” He added that the initiative aligns with Australia’s existing approach to bilateral partnerships with Pacific nations, saying, “We’re proud to be the security partner of choice for the Pacific, just as we are the development partner of choice. This is all about peace and stability in our region.”