The dispute came as Penny Wong announced $110 million in new funding for Tuvalu and confirmed Australia and the tiny island nation would push ahead with a climate resettlement and security treaty inked last year.
The encounter has strained efforts to stabilise relations with Beijing and comes as Australian officials prepare to host a visit by Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
A Chinese warplane dropped flares in front of an Australian Navy helicopter in international waters,in an incident Defence Minister Richard Marles condemned as “unacceptable”.
We spoke to three veterans who were in the Australian Army,the Royal Australian Navy and the RAAF. The men have a combined age of 296 years.
Few of us know that hundreds of Australians fought and suffered in the British Royal Navy in World War II,only to be largely left out of their nation’s war history – until now.
The bomb was armed with acoustic and seismic detectors,making any noise or vibration deadly. Even worse,attached magnetic devices could detect the metal eyelet of an approaching boot.
Australia will take part in an annual military exercise beginning this week that will send thousands of Philippine and American military personnel into contested waters.
Defence spending is set to rise to $100 billion a year by 2034,in large part due to the risk of conflict in the Indo-Pacific as China rapidly builds up its military.
Defence firms fear the “sword of Damocles is about to drop” as the government seeks to stop the $50 billion budget from spiralling out of control.
At the head of the charm offensive is USS Annapolis’ commanding officer Commander James Tuthill who lead media on a tour of the submarine on Tuesday and spoke volumes of Perth.
Guy Griffiths described the sinking of the battlecruiser,saying:“We were hit with five torpedoes ... and the old lady listed to port ... she eventually rolled over and sank stern first. People didn’t have much time to get on deck and get overboard.”