Oceania

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wants to enshrine the recognition of Indigenous peoples in the Australian constitution and set up an advisory body called "Voice". The opposition does not consider it necessary, while many Indigenous people would like a treaty to be negotiated with all their communities first.

Papua New Guinea's fisheries minister is calling for a joint stance to stop Japan's long-announced action at the plant where the 2011 accident occurred. "It would be further damage to us already suffering from the effects of climate change," he says.

For Beijing, the pact will fuel the arms race and nuclear proliferation. Australia will have nuclear-powered submarines, not nuclear weapons, says US President Biden. Australians will buy three to five US submarines and develop a new type with the UK for US$ 235 billion. In China, observers note that Australia is sacrificing its economy for US containment of China.

The leader of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua met for the first time with a head of government from the region. Together with the Pacific Conference of Churches, the Fijian prime minister reiterated his support for the independence movement's full membership in the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

Today's headlines: as Pyongyang tests more missiles, Seoul warns of risk of exposure to radioactive materials. In Vietnam, US diplomats prevented from meeting Christian leaders. 150 asylum seekers died in Malaysia in 2022, while on the island of Nauru two migrants sewed their lips shut in protest.

The Federation of Catholic Bishops' Conferences of Oceania (FCBCO) this week held its assembly in Fiji, which was also the continental stage of reflection towards the Synod. Communities that deal daily with the threats of climate change call for ecological conversion as an urgent missionary priority, not only for local Churches, but also for the whole Church.

The US signs a Memorandum of Understanding with Micronesia offering economic assistance. This follows similar deals with the Marshall Islands and Palau. The Biden administration is strengthening ties with the region to counter Chinese activism.

The new government scraps a policing agreement with China. During the election campaign, Rabuka had pledged to move Fiji away from China. The new government is turning to its traditional partners, Australia and New Zealand. The South Pacific is a key area in the geopolitical competition between China and the United States.

Card Pell, who served as archbishop of Sydney and of Melbourne as well as prefect of the Vatican dicastery for the economy, died suddenly yesterday in Rome at the age of 81. He spent more than 400 days in prison following a conviction based on slanderous charges of paedophilia, which were overturned by Australia’s High Court. The archbishop of Bombay remembers him. The two met last September in India to discuss the family, which to him was “extremely important for the revitalisation of Christian life.” He was still “talking about the future,” not the past.

Premier Bainimarama, behind more open relations with China, is in danger of losing power after 16 years. His antagonist Rabuka wants to distance himself from China. The needle in the balance is a Christian-inspired formation. Beijing seeks to expand its influence in the South Pacific, opposed by the USA, Australia and New Zealand.

The goal is to split Beijing from Moscow by working on the global economic crisis. Australian Prime Minister holds a “constructive” meeting with Xi Jinping. The Chinese leader and France’s Macron oppose the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Beijing is ready to speed up a trade deal with South Korea. Now everyone is waiting for the summit’s final declaration.

That is all the refugees who fled the Indonesian province are asking for. The new generation does not want independence, but recognition from Papua New Guinea that would allow access to healthcare and education. But migration policies change from year to year and only the local Caritas offers concrete support.