Independent Analysis and Reportage
Asia Pacific Report
COMMENTARY: By Lim Tean Forty-eight hours ago, I wrote: “Iran doesn’t need to close the strait. It needs only to demonstrate, periodically, that it can.” Today, Iran did. On Saturday night, the IRGC Navy struck a vessel it says was running an unauthorised route with its tracking systems switched off — “struck and brought to
As Australia’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal denied the undeniable at the Bondi Royal Commission this week, not much is changing in Gaza, and Trump’s Board of Peace stands by idly. Michael West Media with the latest. COMMENTARY: By Cathy Peters In a move that’s been largely unreported in Australia and New Zealand,
COMMENTARY: By Andy Worthington On October 9, 2023, just after the State of Israel began its ongoing genocidal assault on the Gaza Strip, Sarah Cotte, a French-Ethiopian student at SOAS (the School of Oriental and African Studies) in London gave a speech at a rally organised by the SOAS Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! Society. Her
By Patrick Decloitre of RNZ Pacific Pro-France Virginie Ruffenach has been elected as the new New Caledonia Congress President (Speaker) under a “governance” coalition struck on Thursday between the pro-France bloc and “kingmakers” Eveil Océanien party. During a vote that followed New Caledonia’s provincial elections held on June 28, Ruffenach secured 28 of the 54
By Margot Staunton of RNZ Pacific George Speight — a former coup frontman in Fiji — is calling on the perpetrators of the country’s past political upheavals to confess. The ex-convict also described the idea of a common identity for the country’s citizens as “flawed” and said iTaukei (Indigenous) views must not be ignored. Speight
COMMENTARY: By Eugene Doyle Despite advice from wiser heads, US President Donald Trump and his Secretary of War Pete Hegseth swallowed the bait from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and launched a miserably conceived, poorly executed and catastrophic war on Iran earlier this year. Trump is no FDR and Hegseth is no Carl von Clausewitz;
ANALYSIS: By Lim Tean Former US Vice-President Mike Pence wants Donald Trump to “finish the job” in the Strait of Hormuz. After 130 days of war that failed to reopen it for a single day, a shipping lawyer must explain to the Pence who actually rules the Strait. It isn’t CENTCOM. It is a committee
COMMENTARY: By Eugene Doyle “They’re scum … they’re led by sick people and they’re vicious, violent people. There’s something wrong with them. They’re cuckoo. As far as I’m concerned, it’s over.” Trump said after bombing Iran yesterday and and again today — and threatening to tear up the MOU. The pussy-grabbing “Leader of the Free
Mānawatia a Matariki! Flashback: One year ago marking the 40th anniversary of the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior, by Te Aniwaniwa Paterson. Further reading: David Robie’s book Eyes of Fire: The Last Voyage and Legacy of the Rainbow Warrior (Little Island Press). The late investigative journalist John Pilger wrote: “Eyes of Fire is a beautiful
By Johnny Blades of RNZ Pacific Palau’s President Surangel Whipps Jr says countries of the wider Pacific region need to work together to reduce geopolitical tensions and the risk of nuclear conflict. This comes after China’s test launch of a nuclear-capable ballistic missile with a dummy warhead into the South Pacific on Monday. Beijing said
COMMENTARY: By Lim Tean Last night, America bombed Iran. Again. Dozens of strikes — four to five times heavier than the last round — against radar sites, anti-ship missile batteries, and the Revolutionary Guard’s swarm boats. Explosions lit up Bandar Abbas, Sirik, and Qeshm Island. And what will it change? Nothing.
By Johnny Blades of RNZ Pacific A group of former Pacific prime ministers, presidents and senior diplomats has warned that Pacific Islands countries are at a crossroads as geopolitical competition reshapes the region. This comes after China fired a test nuclear-capable missile in the South Pacific on Monday, and amid Australia’s busy campaign of signing