China factor spices up tussle over key part of the Indian Ocean | The Straits Times
China factor spices up tussle over key part of the Indian Ocean | The Straits Times
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Polls are open on Cocos (Keeling) and Christmas islands, but voters feel forgotten - ABC News
Summary: - Polls opened for remote voters on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island, both part of the NT’s Lingiari electorate, Australia’s largest marginal seat by area. - Voters on the islands, about 1,000km apart, say they feel neglected by national campaigns and candidates, with climate change and cost of living as top concerns. - Local leaders warn of rising sea levels and storm surges threatening the Cocos atoll; discussions of a long-term “managed retreat” h
Inside the British Virgin Islands’ corruption crisis | TBIJ
Summary: The Bureau of Investigative Journalism’s report on the British Virgin Islands (BVI) details a prolonged corruption crisis that exposed how the territory’s governance has been undermined by tensions between locally elected leaders and the British governor. Key points include: - The governor’s limited, but pivotal, role in national security, foreign affairs, and civil service oversight, contrasted with locally controlled domestic matters. - Tensions under pro-independe
New Zealand pressed Cook Islands for months over China deals, OIA documents reveal | RNZ News
Summary: - New Zealand and the Cook Islands are in a growing diplomatic rift over Cook Islands’ deals with China, notably a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP). - NZ sought for eight months to see the Cook Islands’ Beijing agreements, arguing NZ should be consulted under their free association arrangements. - NZ halted NZ$18.2 million in funding and warned that elements of its development programme could be undermined by the Cook Islands-China agreements. - Official doc