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Link to original content: http://asia.nikkei.com/Location/Oceania
Oceania: News & Insights - Nikkei Asia
Australian mineral sands miner Iluka Resources is building a rare earths refinery in Western Australia. (Iluka Resources)
Commodities

Australia ups funding for key rare earths project as profit doubts linger

Miner Iluka describes development as 'strategic infrastructure'

10 December 2024
Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni speaks at a regional forum in Nuku'alofa, Tonga, in August 2024: Sovaleni stepped down on Dec. 9 ahead of a no-confidence vote.
Politics

Tonga PM Sovaleni quits ahead of no-confidence motion

Move caps period of fraught relations between his government, king

9 December 2024
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, left, and Nauru President David Adeang seal an economic and security pact at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra on Dec. 9. (AAP Image)
International relations

Australia seals Nauru aid deal to counter China's influence

Canberra offers budget, security funding in return for veto over third-country pacts

9 December 2024
Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te, center, arrives in the Marshall Islands on Dec. 3, during a tour that also took him to Tuvalu and Palau as well as the U.S. territories of Hawaii and Guam. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP)
Taiwan tensions

Taiwan's Lai wraps up Pacific tour as region eyes China's next move

Military drills seen as possibility after president tightens ties with islands and U.S.

6 December 2024
The remote island of Nauru is working with The Metals Company (TMC), owner of the seabed minerals collector vehicle pictured on the left, on an application for what would be the world's first commercial deep-sea mining license. (Photo from AFP/Jiji and TMC website)
Policy Asia

Pacific islands split on deep-sea mining as first license application nears

Nauru's project targets vast seabed mineral reserves, but environment alarm grows

6 December 2024
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong spoke with Nikkei Asia during her visit to Shah Alam, Malaysia, on Dec. 4. (Photo by Norman Goh)
Interview

As Trump looms, Australia urges 'free and predictable trade'

Foreign Minister Wong stresses collaboration amid raised China-U.S. rivalry

5 December 2024
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te visits a market during his stay in the Marshall Islands on Dec. 3. (Photo by Tsukasa Hadano)
International relations

Taiwan's Lai faces test in holding onto Pacific island partners

Regional tour seeks to prevent more diplomatic realignment toward China

5 December 2024
Seven & i is rolling out 7-Eleven stores in Australia that focus more on food and daily necessities. (Photo by Rurika Imahashi)
Retail

7-Eleven expands in Australia, drawing on Japan playbook

Chain targets 1,000 stores by 2030, with emphasis on food and data

3 December 2024
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra on Nov. 29. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch via Reuters)
Politics

Australian PM says Musk pushing X's agenda in social media ban criticism

Anthony Albanese open to talking with billionaire about the ban on children under 16

1 December 2024
Palau is increasing international flight connections for tourists keen to access the white sand beaches and blue waters of the Pacific island country. (Photo by Palau Visitors Authority)
Travel & Leisure

Palau's tourism industry stays resilient despite Chinese pressure

Air travel is the 'bridge' as Pacific island nation increases flight connections

1 December 2024
A high school student poses with his mobile phone showing his social media applications in Melbourne, Australia.
Society

Australia passes social media ban for children under 16

Tech giants from Meta to TikTok face fines if minors allowed to log on platforms

29 November 2024
Lynas CEO Amanda Lacaze says energy constraints risk holding back Australia's manufacturing ambitions. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters)
Commodities

Lynas CEO: Cheap power 'fundamental' to Australia's industrial hopes

Rare earths producers is holding off on more advanced domestic refining

28 November 2024
Darryl Cuzzubbo, CEO of Arafura Rare Earths, says governments are going in the right direction but need to move faster to cut reliance on China. 
Commodities

Australia's Arafura urges more speed on rare earths supply shift

CEO says governments 'moving in right direction' to ease China dependence

25 November 2024
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, pictured during a White House cabinet meeting in September, said negotiations had started on a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the U.S. and Fiji.
Defense

U.S. and Fiji start talks to boost military ties, Austin says

PM of strategic Pacific nation vows to 'work closely' with Trump administration

23 November 2024
A general view of Vang Vieng and the surrounding landscape in Laos. Six tourists -- two Danes, two Australians, a Briton and an American -- have died after visiting the town.
22 November 2024
Bangkok Hospital Udon, where an Australian teenager was taken after drinking alcohol contaminated with methanol in Laos and died, in Udon Thani province, Thailand, on Nov. 21.
22 November 2024
Proposed legislation in Australia would set "clear parameters" on social media in a way that is analogous to laws that prohibit the sale of alcohol and cigarettes to minors, the government says. 
Technology

Australia takes step toward banning children under 16 from social media

First-of-its-kind legislation would put onus on giants including Instagram, TikTok and Facebook

21 November 2024
The Five Eyes' official members are the U.S., the U.K., Australia, Canada and New Zealand. (Nikkei illustration) 
Defense

Five Eyes intelligence group to meet in Japan for 1st time

Tokyo courted by Western countries hungry for China information

20 November 2024
Leaders of the Quad nations -- Australia, India, the U.S. and Japan -- walk at summit in Delaware, U.S. in September.
Opinion

Trump's 'America First' approach may weaken the Quad

Shift could leave the Indo-Pacific region more exposed to Chinese influence

19 November 2024
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles, second from right, and Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, second from left, hold a meeting in Darwin, Australia, on Nov. 17. (Photo courtesy of Japanese Ministry of Defense/Kyodo)
Defense

Australia, Japan, U.S. seek to lock in cooperation ahead of Trump 2.0

Experts say U.S. partners need to demonstrate how alliances benefit Washington

19 November 2024
China's President Xi Jinping speaks with Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese before a group photo with other leaders during the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro on Nov. 18.
International relations

Trade in focus as Australia's Albanese meets with China's Xi

Albanese sees 'encouraging progress' toward stable bilateral ties

19 November 2024
Vanuatu President Nikenike Vurobaravu signed an order to dissolve parliament on Monday, after the opposition lodged a "no confidence" motion.
Politics

Vanuatu president dissolves Pacific nation's parliament

Move comes after opposition lodged 'no confidence' motion

18 November 2024
A container ship passes in front of the Sydney skyline as it departs from Port Botany terminal.
Opinion

Australia must carve out a new path as Trump seeks to end free trade

In age of tariffs, Canberra should pivot to Asia and Europe for stable commerce

18 November 2024
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles, left, hosted his Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani, right, and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for the trilateral Australian, U.S. and Japanese defense ministers meeting. (Photo by Rurika Imahashi)
Defense

Japan to join U.S. Marines in annual rotations in Australia

Mitsubishi Heavy shortlisted for Australian Navy frigate tender

17 November 2024
Kansai Electric had planned to use the hydrogen from the project at its power plants, including at the Himeji No. 2 power station. (Photo by Hiromasa Matsuura)
Energy

Japan's Kansai Electric exits Australia green hydrogen project

High electricity prices seen making production unprofitable

16 November 2024
The prospect of significant U.S. foreign policy change looms large for Asia as President-elect Donald Trump and his supporters promote 'America First' principles ahead of entering the White House next January. (Nikkei montage/Source photo by Getty Images)
Policy Asia

Asia unsettled as team Trump talks up 'common sense' foreign policy

New aide picks leave U.S. allies fretting on potential for pullback from past commitments

15 November 2024
Mineral Resources' Bald Hill lithium operations. The Australian miner is joining a number of peers in cutting production amid a price slump. (Mineral Resources) 
Commodities

More Australian miners scale back as lithium winter drags on

Country is the world's largest supplier of the important battery metal

13 November 2024
Surangel Whipps Jr. has claimed victory in Palau's presidential election.
Politics

Palau incumbent Whipps claims victory in presidential race

Whipps will remain as leader of the Pacific nation, which recognizes Taiwan

12 November 2024
ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott has said the bank's Pacific branches, which form the largest network in the region, are not profitable.
Indo-Pacific

Australia nears deal with ANZ to stop Pacific branch closures

Islands at risk of losing international payment access as Western lenders leave

11 November 2024