NewzIntel.com

Category: Asia Pacific

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: New Zealand stands with Ukraine, three years after illegal Russian invasion

    Source: New Zealand Government

    As the world marks three years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced additional sanctions on Russian entities and support for Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction. 

    “Russia’s illegal invasion has brought three years of devastation to Ukraine’s people, environment, and infrastructure,” Mr Peters says. 

    “These additional sanctions target 52 individuals and entities involved in Russia’s military-industrial complex, its energy sector, North Korea’s support to Russia’s war effort, and the forced relocation or re-education of Ukrainian children.”   

    Mr Peters announced a further $3 million contribution to the World Bank-administered Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform Trust Fund.   

    “The Fund supports the Government of Ukraine to maintain services, conduct relief efforts, and plan and implement recovery, reconstruction and reforms,” Mr Peters says.   

    Since the Russia Sanctions Act entered into force in March 2022, New Zealand has imposed sanctions on more than 1,800 individuals and entities, along with a range of trade measures.    

    More information about sanctions, travel bans, and export controls against Russia, as well as diplomatic, military and economic support to Ukraine, can be found on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade website here.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Housing Market Confidence – ASB Housing Confidence Survey: Optimism persists, but momentum slows

    Source: ASB

    • Number of New Zealanders expecting house prices to increase continues to rise – a net 33 percent compared to 24 percent in the previous quarter, with Aucklanders most confident. 
    • Slight drop in proportion of Kiwi expecting interest rates to fall, from net 57 to net 51 percent, reflecting some concerns.
    • Nationwide, a net 23 percent of respondents think it’s a good time to buy a house, although confidence wavers in Auckland.

    ASB’s latest Housing Confidence Survey out today reveals while New Zealanders on average remain optimistic about the housing market, momentum is yet to pick up.

    Across all regions, Kiwi are confident house prices will continue to increase this quarter, with Aucklanders remaining the most confident, but Canterbury showing the highest rise in confidence over the quarter (net 38%, up from 25% in Q3 2024).

    The survey (which predates the RBNZ’s February OCR cut) showed a slight drop in number of respondents who are expecting interest rates to lower (a decrease to net 51 percent, down from a record 57 percent in the previous quarter). Cantabrians replaced Aucklanders as most optimistic this time around.

    ASB Chief Economist Nick Tuffley says “These results align with expectations for a slower pace of OCR cuts for the rest of 2025. Inflation is back under control, and the RBNZ has already cut the OCR considerably.  There may also be some concern about the inflationary impacts of Trump’s re-election in the US.”

    Buyer sentiment also inches up, with a net 23 percent of those surveyed believing it’s a good time to buy, compared to 20 percent last quarter. The North Island (excluding Auckland) and Canterbury lead the way as most confident at net 24 percent.

    In contrast to the nation-wide uplift in confidence levels, the number of Aucklanders who think it’s a good time to buy slightly fell from a net 24 to 23 percent.

    “For those considering buying a home, there is a bit of a sweet spot at the moment with interest rates continuing to fall, high levels of supply and subdued house prices.

    Even though Kiwi are optimistic about house prices going up and are increasingly confident this is a good time to buy – we are yet to see much shift in housing market momentum, so it’s not necessarily translating into increased activity.

    This is also reflected in the latest data from REINZ which shows a surge in new inventory of homes on the market, while sales continue to decline,” says Tuffley.

    The ASB Housing Confidence Survey canvasses thousands of Kiwi across the country each quarter on their view of the housing market and future expectations. 

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Public Service – Oranga Tamariki workers strike over insulting pay offer, unmanageable workloads – PSA

    Source: PSA

    Strike to begin 28 February with two hour full labour withdrawal 7 March
    PSA members at Oranga Tamariki are taking strike action over an insulting pay offer and a refusal to address the concerns of workers over unsafe and unmanageable workloads.
    “Enough is enough – Oranga Tamariki is effectively offering a real pay cut and failing to ensure workloads are reasonably sized and well managed,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, Assistant Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
    The strike covers around 2,800 workers including social workers, supervisors, staff in care and protection and youth justice residences, family group conference workers and admin support staff.
    “It’s insulting to workers who are doing vital work for the agency supporting at risk tamariki and rangatahi at a time of rising stress for many families.”
    In bargaining for a new collective agreement Oranga Tamariki has offered small lump sum payments and no salary increases and provided no solutions to the long standing and growing workload management issues which have only been aggravated by last year’s big job cuts.
    “The workers care deeply about the children they support, but they are left with no choice. The pressure on staff to keep working after hours, such as with emergency care placements for children overnight in motels or offices, is unacceptable.
    “Workers are sending a strong message to the Government that it must make a fair offer, and develop a fair workload management system or more staff will face burn out.
    “Decades of reviews and inquiries at Oranga Tamariki have consistently identified high staff workloads as a barrier to good outcomes for tamariki, rangatahi and whānau. Without progress, we will see more skilled people leave Oranga Tamariki – how can that be good for the children in the agency’s care?
    [See attached stories from workers about the stress they are enduring]
    “The latest child poverty statistics this week show no change in the number of children living in material hardship. We know poverty creates stress for families. This is the time when the Government should be investing in the services Oranga Tamariki provides, and doing all it can to support and retain workers.
    “Instead it has gutted Oranga Tamariki, forced it to shed over 400 workers, increased workloads, cut contracts for many community service providers and now is turning a blind eye to the pay and conditions of so many of its own workers.
    “This risks creating lasting damage to the tamariki, rangatahi and whānau of New Zealand who need Oranga Tamariki’s support.”
    Details of strike action
    A variety of actions will be taken by PSA members. Some actions include members working in essential services; care and protection residences, youth justice residences, residential homes, and the national contact centre (their actions begin 7 March). There will be a total withdrawal of labour across the agency for two hours from 3pm Friday 7 March.
    The actions begin at 5pm on Friday 28 February and end on Friday 18 April. They include:
    -A ban on all work that is not paid work, including only working standard hours of work and taking all rest and meal breaks.
    -A ban on using all work-related systems and software outside of paid work, including online case recording systems.
    -A ban on working paid overtime; and a ban on working overtime for TOIL.
    -A ban on working double shifts.
    -A ban on being on-call and working call-back (after-hours duties).

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: IT security incident probed

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) announced that an information security incident, involving a malicious ransomware attack to part of its computer systems, was identified yesterday.

    In a press release, InvestHK condemned such malicious attacks, and said it has already updated relevant access rights, isolated the affected systems, and activated back-up procedures.

    Preliminary findings indicated that the affected areas included an internal customer relationship management system, InvestHK’s intranet and part of its website operation.

    InvestHK pointed out that upon identification of the incident, it tightened its cyber security systems to prevent further ransomware attacks. It also reported the case to Police, the Digital Policy Office, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data and the Security Bureau on the same day.

    An investigation is underway to ascertain whether personal data leakage is involved. InvestHK said it will inform relevant parties when further updates are available. It is also seeking advice from the Digital Policy Office and has appointed experts to assist with the investigation and recovery.

    Meanwhile, InvestHK’s public services remain normal. The public can continue to contact the department by telephone, email or face-to-face meetings.

    Apart from expressing hope that the culprits can be brought to justice as soon as possible, the department reiterated that it would not send embedded hyperlinks via emails, SMS messages or social media pages for collecting personal information or requesting for payment.

    For enquiries, call 3107 1000 or write to enq@investhk.gov.hk.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Sea-level rise: a new method to estimate the probability of different outcomes – including a worst case

    Source: The Conversation – France – By Benjamin P. Horton, Director of the Earth Observatory of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University

    Here is a depressing fact: over the coming decades, sea-level rise will continue to threaten ecosystems, communities and cities. No matter how quickly we reduce our carbon emissions, our past emissions commit us to ongoing sea-level rise, given the long-drawn-out impact of climate warming on the oceans and ice sheets. Just how bad it gets, however, will depend on our current and future emissions.

    Even as we strive for net-zero emissions, we must prepare for devastating possibilities. But decision-makers face a major obstacle: the specific rate and magnitude of future sea-level rise is deeply uncertain. Different methods produce different projections of long-term sea-level rise. The problem of reconciling these different methods and projections has undermined planning to protect people from future sea-level rise.

    In a recent paper published in Earth’s Future, we and our colleagues tackle this problem. We propose a new method that combines the complementary strengths of different sea-level projections. We use our method to quantify the uncertainty of future sea-level rise. It allows us to estimate a “very likely” range. “Very likely” means that there is a 9-in-10 chance (90% probability) that future sea-level rise will lie within this range, if our future emissions follow an assumed emissions scenario.

    Under a low-emissions scenario that corresponds to approximately 2°C warming above pre-industrial levels, global sea level will “very likely” rise between 0.3 and 1.0 metres by the end of this century. Under a high-emissions scenario that corresponds to approximately 5°C warming, global sea level will “very likely” rise between 0.5 and 1.9 metres. Given that we will likely exceed 2°C warming, preparing for more than a metre of sea-level rise by 2100 is, therefore, necessary.

    Adapted from Grandey et al. (2024).
    Benjamin P. Horton and Benjamin S. Grandey, CC BY-ND

    The challenge of poorly understood processes

    Our method builds on and complements the current reference document for many decision-makers: the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report IPCC 6AR. For five emissions scenarios, the IPCC published a most-likely “median” projection and a “likely” range. “Likely” means that there is at least a 2-in-3 chance (66% probability) of sea-level rise within this range. The “likely” range may understate the risk of more extreme possibilities, a weakness that can be addressed by a complementary “very likely” range. However, the IPCC did not estimate a “very likely” range because poorly understood ice sheet processes posed a challenge. We address this challenge, to provide decision-makers with more reliable estimates of future possibilities.

    Many processes contribute to sea-level rise. Of particular importance are ice sheet processes in Greenland and Antarctica. Some of these ice sheet processes are well understood, but others less so. We have only a poor understanding of processes that could drive abrupt melting of ice, producing rapid sea-level rise.



    À lire aussi :
    We used 1,000 historical photos to reconstruct Antarctic glaciers before a dramatic collapse

    Climate models and ice sheet models, such as those used in the IPCC 6AR, are very good at simulating well-understood processes, such as thermal expansion of the ocean. The IPCC used model-based projections to derive a reliable median projection and “likely” range. However, these models often neglect poorly understood processes that could cause the ice sheets to melt much faster than we expect. To complement the models, experts can provide alternative projections based on their understanding of these processes. This is known as expert elicitation. Therefore, the use of models and expert elicitation can provide complementary sea-level projections, but planners have great difficulty deciding when and where to apply the two different approaches.

    In our paper, we have developed a novel method to combine the complementary sea-level projections from models and experts. We use our method to quantify the full uncertainty range of future sea-level rise using a probability distribution. This is how we can estimate a “very likely” range and explore the question, “What high-end sea-level rise should we plan for?”

    A high-end projection

    To make informed judgements, decision-makers often need information about low-likelihood, high-cost possibilities. A high-end projection of sea-level rise is especially useful when planning long-lasting critical infrastructure that is vital for the functioning of society and the economy. A high-end projection can also highlight a catastrophic risk associated with unrestrained carbon dioxide emissions.

    We define our high-end projection as the 95th percentile of the probability distribution under the high-emissions scenario. Our high-end projection of global sea-level rise is 1.9 metres by the end of this century.

    Our high-end projection complements existing high-end projections of 21st century sea-level rise. The IPCC 6AR included two: 1.6 metres and 2.3 metres. Our projection of 1.9 metres falls between these two values.

    In contrast to the IPCC 6AR, we estimate the probability of reaching the high-end projection. If our future emissions follow the high-emissions scenario, we estimate that the probability of reaching 1.9 metres by the end of this century is 5% (1 in 20). Considering that the high-emissions scenario is unlikely, our high-end projection can be interpreted as a worst-case outcome. We also estimate the probability of exceeding 1.0 metres by the end of this century: 16% (about 1 in 6) under the high-emissions scenario, and 4% (1 in 25) under the low-emissions scenario.

    Reducing the uncertainty

    Through climate science, we have learned much about the Earth’s climate system. However, we still have much more to discover. As our understanding improves, the uncertainty in sea-level rise should reduce. Therefore, the “very likely” range of future sea-level rise should narrow, due to the ongoing research efforts of the climate science community.

    In the meantime, we need to identify potential solutions that can reduce coastal flood risk in ways that support the long-term resilience and sustainability of communities and the environment, and reduce the economic costs associated with flood damage. Alongside local adaptation, the best way to mitigate sea-level rise is to slow down climate change by implementing the commitments laid out in the Paris Agreement in 2015.

    If we can limit warming to well below 2°C, consistent with the agreement, we estimate that the probability of reaching 1.9 metres by the end of the century shrinks to less than 0.2% (1 in 500). The more the world limits its greenhouse gas emissions, the lower the chance of triggering rapid ice loss from Greenland and Antarctica, and the safer we will be.

    This research is supported by the National Research Foundation, Singapore, and National Environment Agency, Singapore under the National Sea Level Programme Funding Initiative (Award No. USS-IF-2020-3) and Ministry of Education, Singapore, under its AcRF Tier 3 Award MOE2019-T3-1-004.

    Created in 2007 to help accelerate and share scientific knowledge on key societal issues, the Axa Research Fund has supported nearly 700 projects around the world conducted by researchers in 38 countries. To learn more, visit the website of the Axa Research Fund or follow @AXAResearchFund on X.

    Benjamin P. Horton was supported by the Singapore Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund: MOE2019-T3-1-004.

    Benjamin S. Grandey’s research is supported by the National Research Foundation, Singapore, and National Environment Agency, Singapore under the National Sea Level Programme Funding Initiative (Award No. USS-IF-2020-3).

    – ref. Sea-level rise: a new method to estimate the probability of different outcomes – including a worst case – https://theconversation.com/sea-level-rise-a-new-method-to-estimate-the-probability-of-different-outcomes-including-a-worst-case-250180

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Security: CTF153 and USS Stout ‘Ready Together’ for Red Sea Maritime Security

    Source: United States Naval Central Command

    MANAMA, Bahrain —

    Combined Maritime Forces’ Combined Task Force 153 and the United States Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Stout (DDG 55) have remained ‘ready together’ as they safeguard maritime security in the Red Sea.

    The guided-missile destroyer and its crew provided direct support to the Australian-led multinational task force during January and February, keeping watch for illicit activities including piracy, smuggling and narcotics trafficking.

    While on patrol, crewmembers practiced skills needed to safely visit, board and search vessels, and to legally seize illicit materials being smuggled through the vital waterway.

    The training came as CTF153 refocused on its core maritime security mission after responsibility for Operation Prosperity Guardian—the international response to attacks  on merchant shipping by Houthi terrorists—was transferred from CMF to U.S. Navy Destroyer Squadron 50 (DESRON 50).

     

    Commander CTF 153, Royal Australian Navy Capt. Jorge McKee praised the Stout commanding officer and crew for the teamwork with his staff ashore.

    “While our task force team ashore closely monitor the Red Sea for any activity requiring closer investigation by ships at sea, the crew of Stout are keeping their skills sharp and ready,” Captain McKee said. “It is an honor to work with USS Stout, as it is named in honor of U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Herald F. Stout, who served alongside Australians in the Second World War.”

    Established in 2022, CTF 153 is one of five task forces under CMF. Its mission is to deter and impede illicit non-state actors in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab and Gulf of Aden.

    CTF153’s area of responsibility includes some of the world’s most important shipping lanes, connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean and the greater Middle East region.

    Combined Maritime Forces, a 46-nation naval partnership headquartered in Bahrain, is the world’s largest multinational naval partnership. It is committed to upholding the rules-based international order at sea, promoting security, stability and prosperity across approximately 3.2 million square miles of international waters, including crucial shipping lanes.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Marathon, handball test events done

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    The 2025 Shenzhen-Hong Kong marathon and the 15th National Games athletics (marathon) test event, as well as the 15th National Games Handball (Men) test event, concluded successfully today.

    The marathon test event took place this morning when a total of 38 athletes, including three men and three women from Hong Kong, participated in the races.

    Zhao Chaochuan from Yunnan was crowned the men’s race championship in a time of 2 hours, 17 minutes and 17 seconds. Chen Liqin from Guangdong, finishing at 2 hours, 44 minutes and 44 seconds, won the women’s race.

    All six of the Hong Kong athletes completed the races smoothly. Among them, Leanne Szeto won third place in the women’s race in 2 hours, 47 minutes and 20 seconds.

    As for the handball test event held this afternoon, the final and the third-place games were staged at Kai Tak Arena in Kai Tak Sports Park. The men’s handball team from Jiangsu won the championship, while the Hong Kong and Guangdong teams took the first runner-up and second runner-up titles respectively.

    Wrapping up the test events, Head of the National Games Coordination Office (Hong Kong) Yeung Tak-keung said the office will hold a meeting with all relevant government departments and organisations to review and enhance the competition arrangements, with a view to ensuring full preparation for the 15th National Games scheduled to be held in November.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How to teach hope when democracy is retreating

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Joel Westheimer, University research chair in democracy and education, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

    In the wake of Donald Trump’s reelection, the United States has lurched further toward a democratic crisis.

    Institutions once considered stable now feel precarious. The assault on truth — already well underway — has intensified, with political leaders openly flouting constitutional principles, suppressing dissent and dismantling democratic safeguards.

    The rhetoric of grievance and retribution has become the soundtrack of public discourse.

    The U.S. is not alone. Across the globe, democracy is in retreat. The list of nations such as Hungary, Poland, Brazil and India where autocrats and aspiring autocrats have tried to erode democratic norms is growing. Far-right movements in France, Germany, Finland and elsewhere, bolstered by economic anxieties and digital disinformation, stoke resentment and fear.



    Read more:
    What does Donald Trump’s win mean for his brand of populist authoritarianism?

    People, exhausted by economic precarity and what author, activist and documentarian Astra Taylor calls the deliberate manufacturing of insecurity, are drawn to the false promise of strongman rule. The desire for stability — however undemocratic — threatens to eclipse commitments to liberty and justice.

    For educators or civic leaders who teach young people about democracy these are not abstract concerns. Civic educators’ struggles to foster students’ civic engagement and strengthen their commitments to democratic institutions and the growing crisis in democracy makes these efforts even harder.

    As a professor of democracy and education, and as an educator, I cannot promise young people that their efforts will always succeed. But I can assure them that whether in the face of victories or defeats, they are walking a powerful and worthwhile path.

    The risk of civic despair

    One popular approach to strengthening commitments to democracy is to engage students in community projects that address difficult societal challenges.

    Some teachers take students to engage in community work that is deeply tied to the curriculum, through approaches known as action civics or service learning.

    But when young people take on social action projects — especially those aimed at addressing systemic injustices — the experience can backfire if it leads only to frustration and failure.

    Studies have shown that students who participate in civic initiatives that do not produce tangible change often become less likely to engage in civic life in the future.

    When efforts to improve conditions in their schools, communities or governments meet bureaucratic obstacles or outright resistance, young people do not always emerge more energized. Instead, many walk away discouraged, cynical and convinced that the system cannot be moved.

    This is not to say that teachers, parents or other adult mentors should avoid encouraging activism — far from it. But if educators fail to prepare students for the realities of social change — that it can be slow and difficult — we risk reinforcing exactly the kind of disengagement we seek to combat.

    If young people see the struggle for justice only as a series of disappointments, it’s easy to understand why they may turn away.

    Redefining hope

    To counter this despair, we need to redefine what it means to hope.

    We need to cultivate the kind of hope that sustains action despite uncertainty — the kind that fuels long-term struggles for justice, even when victories are slow in coming.



    Read more:
    6 ways to build resilience and hope into young people’s learning about climate change

    Václav Havel, the Czech playwright and political dissident who later became president, wrote that hope is not the same as choosing struggles that are headed for quick success: “Hope … is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.”

    This distinction is vital. As I explore in my book about education for democracy, hope is not a guarantee of success, but the insistence that working for justice is meaningful in and of itself. When we work collectively on projects we believe in, we form bonds that are valued and energizing.

    Howard Zinn, the late historian and activist, echoed this idea when he urged us to “hold out, even in times of pessimism, the possibility of surprise.”

    Being part of something bigger

    History is filled with unexpected turns, reversals and moments when change happens against all odds. As German theorist and activist Rosa Luxemburg wrote, before the revolution, everyone says it’s impossible. After, they say it was inevitable.

    The singer-songwriter Holly Near expressed this artfully in her anthem to the many social change movements that have existed for as long as there have been things to improve. Change does not always happen at broadband speeds, but knowing one is part of a timeless march toward good goals makes much of what we do worthwhile. In her song “The Great Peace March,” Near sings:

    “Believe it or not / as daring as it may seem / it is not an empty dream
    To walk in a powerful path / neither the first nor the last / great peace march.”

    Social change is about connecting with one another and being part of something larger than ourselves — a “powerful path” that stretches beyond any single moment or movement.

    Hope as a practice

    So how do we teach hope? How do we equip young people not just to work for change, but to sustain that work over the long haul?

    First, we must be honest about setbacks. Too often, we romanticize past movements, presenting them as linear progressions toward justice. We do young people a disservice when we erase the years of struggle, failure and uncertainty that preceded social victories. A more honest history includes moments of despair as well as triumph.

    Second, we must frame civic action as an ongoing practice rather than a single event. Students should see their work as part of a continuum.

    Finally, we must model hope ourselves. Young people are watching us. If we meet today’s challenges with cynicism and resignation, they will learn that democracy is a lost cause. But if we demonstrate an enduring commitment to engagement and justice, they will see that democracy is not something we inherit; it is something we build.

    We can promise young people that to engage in the work of justice is to be part of a legacy that stretches across generations. And that, I believe, is hope worth teaching.

    Joel Westheimer receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

    – ref. How to teach hope when democracy is retreating – https://theconversation.com/how-to-teach-hope-when-democracy-is-retreating-249926

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump’s tariff and land grab threats signal U.S. expansionist ambitions

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Ilan Kapoor, Professor, Critical Development Studies, York University, Canada

    When U.S. President Donald Trump first suggested Canada should become the 51st American state, the federal government dismissed it as just a joke. Finance Minister Dominic Leblanc insisted it was “in no way a serious comment.”

    Similar skepticism was expressed by political leaders across the world when Trump talked about seizing Greenland and the Panama Canal in early January, by military force if necessary, to buttress U.S. national security. He also floated the idea of taking over Gaza to transform it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

    Now that Trump has carried through on his aggressive economic threats — launching a trade war with China and raising the possibility of similar conflicts with Canada, Mexico and the European Union — his imperialist expansionism is in plain sight.

    Canadian leaders have come to realize that Trump’s actions may not be a temporary or minor irritant, but rather an attack on Canadian sovereignty itself.

    The failure to take Trump’s words seriously is reminiscent of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s skepticism in 1938 that Hitler would actually risk world war despite the latter’s aggressive rhetoric, annexation of Austria and threats to Czechoslovakia and Poland.

    What, then, have been the signs of Trump’s expansionist tendencies? American economic and military might, albeit declining relative to emerging powers like China and India, still provides a solid basis for the projection of U.S. supremacy. But there are also two new key elements at play.

    A billionaire-corporate administration

    The Trump administration appears to operate with a distinctly corporate mindset, treating the nation like a business empire. Trump has stacked his administration with private sector leaders and corporate billionaires such as Elon Musk, Doug Burgum and Howard Lutnick.

    Like other billionaires, their immense business success has been founded not on mainstay competitive market practices like productivity or cost-cutting, but on predatory and cannibalistic ones.

    These include controlling resources like oil, gold, diamonds and coltan to secure production inputs; buying out competitors to monopolize markets and patents; and deliberately breaking up and destroying companies through mergers and acquisitions with little regard for the resulting job losses.

    It is within this framework that Trump’s allegations about buying Greenland and Gaza, annexing Canada through “economic force” and capturing the Panama Canal need to be seen.



    Read more:
    Billionaires and loyalists will provide Trump with muscle during his second term

    Under the guise of national security, the idea is not simply to safeguard borders, but to engage in economic expansionism and real estate development, aided by the U.S. military when needed. Taking control of land, waterways and mineral wealth is critical to building “America’s Golden Age” of corporate capitalism.

    This approach seems to be a mainly business one, with little concern for the social costs (recession, unemployment, violence) produced by such imperialistic ventures. In line with his infamous book, The Art of the Deal, Trump appears to view foreign nations and domestic opponents alike as obstacles to be callously bullied, degraded, manipulated, exploited and finally vanquished.

    American nationalist populism

    The Trump administration’s imperial ambitions lie in the nationalist populism that propelled Trump and his allies into power for the second time.

    Trump’s populism has successfully tapped into widespread anxieties among Americans — job insecurity, food prices, the housing crisis — by promising to soothe their worries through the “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) agenda.



    Read more:
    Trump’s view of the world is becoming clear: America’s allies come second to its own interests

    Like other right-wing populist movements around the globe — Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s in Turkey, Viktor Orbán’s in Hungary and the Brexit campaign in the U.K. — the MAGA movement has sought to unify the U.S. by identifying and targeting perceived national enemies. These include so-called “illegal” migrants, transgender people and the country’s largest trading rivals: Mexico, Canada and China.

    By blaming these groups, especially those seen as contributing to America’s economic decline, MAGA whips up nationalist sentiment in the form of suspicion, aggression and vengeance. The result is a deeply polarized nationalist discourse in which one is either a loyal supporter or an enemy; a believer or a “woke” liberal.

    A lethal imperial set-up

    The combination of U.S. global power, nationalist populism and the Trump administration’s corporate-driven, predatory approach makes for a dangerous dynamic.

    This mix is fuelling a form of economic expansionism that is now beginning to manifest itself. The impending trade wars, potential dismantling of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (which Trump initiated in 2018 to avoid unilateral trade moves by its signatories) and the brazen disregard for the socioeconomic consequences of foreign territorial control, such as the forced displacement of Palestinians, are all signs of this.

    While many assumed Trump’s administration would be protectionist and isolationist, a more troubling and nefarious reality is emerging. His administration appears to be intent on securing America’s industrial dominance through trade wars while expanding it through hawkish economic imperialism.

    There is a clear ruthlessness to this approach, with a willingness to pressure not only America’s perceived enemies but also its allies. “America First” is starting to looks like “America Above All Others” as Trump attempts to bully U.S. rivals into subordination, with disturbing echoes of past authoritarians.

    Unravelling American imperial designs

    Many obstacles could prevent Trump’s aggressive expansionism from fully taking shape. While the key ingredients may already be there, and some have begun to be deployed, that doesn’t mean they will come to fruition.

    The Trump administration’s policymaking process is often chaotic and theatrical, prioritizing short-term political gains over long-term strategy. This instability undermines any consistent efforts at expansion.

    There is also the risk that Trump’s trade wars will backfire. They could end up causing hardship to U.S. companies and consumers through higher food and energy prices, job losses in key industries like agriculture and auto manufacturing, and increased stock market instability. Such consequences could negatively affect Trump’s corporate allies.

    Meanwhile, Trump’s economic and military rivals could forge new alliances to challenge his attempts at global supremacy. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for instance, recently met with the head of NATO and other European allies to strengthen trade and security ties.

    The first step to any countermoves by Trump’s foreign adversaries will be seeing his regime’s designs for what they are: chaotic, perhaps, but serious expansionist ones.

    Ilan Kapoor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Trump’s tariff and land grab threats signal U.S. expansionist ambitions – https://theconversation.com/trumps-tariff-and-land-grab-threats-signal-u-s-expansionist-ambitions-249924

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: While the U.S. threatens tariffs and builds walls around its economy, China opens up

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Shaun Narine, Professor of International Relations and Political Science, St. Thomas University (Canada)

    The United States is threatening to impose tariffs on its major trading partners. In the meantime, China is consolidating its position as the world’s manufacturing and technological innovation hub by increasing trade with the Global South.

    If the American role in globalization has been to consume the world’s products and resources by building on a foundation of ever-increasing debt, China’s has been to make tangible goods for the international market.

    China is opening up its economy, especially to the nations of the Global South.

    Effective December 2024, China eliminated all tariffs on goods from the least developed countries. Chinese Premier Li Quang has also described China as an economic opportunity for global investment.

    The centre of Asian trade

    China’s trade surplus with the rest of the world is almost US$1 trillion dollars. Its share of global exports was 14 per cent in 2023, compared to 8.5 per cent for the U.S.

    China is working with regional states to make itself the centre of Asian trade. China’s Belt and Road Initiative is funding infrastructure in about 150 countries as Chinese companies invest internationally, both to avoid American tariffs and diversify their markets.

    At the moment, China accounts for 35 per cent of the world’s manufacturing. By 2030, the United Nations projects this will rise to 45 per cent.

    China has achieved this status by building efficient, high-quality infrastructure.

    It’s also fostered highly competitive and innovative technological and commercial ecosystems. The recent emergence of DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup that is dramatically disrupting the sector, illustrates this reality.

    China also controls global industrial supply chains in a host of critical areas.

    The Chinese powerhouse

    Despite its ongoing economic slowdown, China’s economy grew by almost five per cent in 2024 and has potential to grow further as it transitions to a high-tech economy.

    By 2030, the country will have what’s known as a consuming class of 1.1 billion people, making it the world’s largest consumer market.

    Only 7.8 per cent of the population has the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree, but China produces about 65 per cent of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) graduates globally on an annual basis.

    China is also leading the world in most new technologies and industries, but there is room for infrastructure investment in smaller cities and rural areas. Because China is a global leader in using automation and AI, it will also need to lead in managing these technologies’ social and economic effects.

    China has economies of scale that no other country — except India — can match. Its manufacturing dominance is the logical outcome of introducing an increasingly technologically sophisticated country with a vast population to the modern global system.

    The first Donald Trump administration used tariffs to try to draw investment into the U.S. and stimulate domestic industry. He believed tariffs would create more manufacturing jobs, shrink the federal deficit and lower food prices.

    The second Trump administration has returned to tariffs, again with the goal of pulling jobs and investment from other countries into the U.S.

    Trump has threatened to slap tariffs on Canada, Mexico and the European Union.

    He’s already put 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S. and imposed additional 10 per cent tariffs on all Chinese goods. He’s also threatening tariffs on Taiwan, attempting to strip it of its semiconductor industry.

    Trump is basically demanding that other countries address trade imbalances by buying more expensive American exports in exchange for unimpeded access to the U.S. market.

    He’s trying to recreate an American industrial dominance that existed only under unique circumstances after the Second World War. Similarly, the historical circumstances that led to China’s decline in the 19th and 20th centuries are long past.

    To compete with China’s advantages, the U.S. needs a competent and effective government capable of long-term planning. Under Trump, the U.S. is losing this already-weak capacity every day.

    American debt

    The U.S. is the world’s largest consumer economy because both the government and Americans go into extraordinary debt to finance their consumption.

    Currently, the American national debt is more than $36 trillion while consumer debt was $17.5 trillion in 2024.

    The U.S. can accumulate enormous debt because of the American dollar’s status as the world reserve currency. But the U.S. has weaponized the dollar by freezing the dollar assets of sovereign states and using the dollar’s reserve status to apply American laws and sanctions beyond its borders.

    This has created a major push — led by the BRICS countries of Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates — to replace the U.S. dollar with other financial instruments.

    In response, Trump has threatened 100 per cent tariffs on any countries that try to drop the U.S. dollar.

    The American economy has grown through pumping up asset bubbles, but there’s been a decline in most measures of social well-being in the U.S. This aligns with increasing American social, political and economic instability.

    Chinese products dominate

    China’s exports to the Global South exceed its exports to the western world. Chinese companies and products are dominant in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

    To the Global South, there are clear benefits to accessing affordable, high-quality technology and industrial products from China. The industrialized world can also benefit significantly from Chinese manufacturers, but possibly at the cost of its own established industrial capacity.

    While some states may block Chinese imports to protect their industries, China’s increasing manufacturing dominance means that every country will need at least some Chinese products to develop or to sustain industry. It would be next to impossible for most countries to definitively cut all trade with China.

    The world is entering a new era of globalization. For many states, that means trying to keep from being economically undermined by the U.S. while deciding how to manage the economic and political costs and benefits of engaging with China’s massive industrial capabilities.

    Shaun Narine does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. While the U.S. threatens tariffs and builds walls around its economy, China opens up – https://theconversation.com/while-the-u-s-threatens-tariffs-and-builds-walls-around-its-economy-china-opens-up-245012

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: 80 good citizens lauded

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Police held the Good Citizen Award Presentation Ceremony 2024 today to commend 80 citizens who assisted the force in fighting crime and upholding law and order.

    Additionally, this year’s Good Citizen of the Year Award was presented to nine awardees for their bravery when they volunteered to help in evacuating residents trapped in a building during a No. 3 alarm fire that broke out on Jordan Road in Yau Ma Tei last year.

    The Force also presented the Good Organisation Award to seven organisations in recognition of their efforts in supporting Police’s publicity work on anti-deception and crime prevention, as well as crime detection.

    Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Commissioner of Police Siu Chak-yee said the spirit of good citizenship can be put into practice in everyday life. He appealed to all sectors of the community to be united, genuine and sincere in preventing and combatting crime, in order to weave a safety net for the community.

    Themed “Good Citizen – Good Stories – Everywhere”, this year’s Good Citizen Award Scheme highlighted that the stories of good citizens can be found everywhere.

    A corresponding video series, Hidden Good Citizen, featuring the stories of four groups of such awardees who were also invited to participate in the production, was launched, Police added.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: View from The Hill: Dutton tries to neutralise health issue by saying, ‘we’ll do just what Labor does’

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

    Peter Dutton has launched a game of one-upmanship after Anthony Albanese at the weekend unveiled Labor’s $8.5 billion health policy that promises near universal bulk billing for GP visits by 2030.

    Dutton wants to neutralise health as an election battleground. So he immediately pledged to match the Albanese policy. He’s included another $500 million, from an already announced Coalition policy for mental health, so he can get to the bigger number of $9 billion.

    What’s more, the Opposition leader said the government should legislate the health plan before the election. There are two issues with that call.

    On the present parliamentary sitting timetable, legislation could in theory be passed in budget week, which is set to start March 25. But, as everyone who’s paying attention knows, the current speculation is there probably won’t be a budget, with many players and observers anticipating Albanese will soon announce an April election.

    Secondly, however, legislation is not needed. The changes can be made by regulation.

    The Coalition decision to take over the Labor health policy holus bolus may be tactically smart – time will tell. Fixing up bulk billing will be popular; the opposition knows it would be on risky ground getting into an argument about it, even on detail.

    But just adopting such a big Labor policy, within hours of seeing it, without further thought or strutiny, raises questions about the Coalition’s policy rigour.

    Doesn’t it have a few ideas of its own? Labor’s policy, while welcomed, has already come under some criticisms. For instance, there are suggestions it might be harder to address the bulk billing issue in certain areas than in others, so maybe the claims for the policy are too sweeping. And some experts would prefer greater attention on more fundamental reforms to Medicare.

    In strict policy terms, as distinct from political expediency, the Coalition’s approach just seems lazy. Shadow health minister Anne Ruston is said to have been out and about with stakeholders – did she come to exactly the same policy conclusions as Labor? Presumably, given the policy’s expense, a Coalition government would not be able to spend more on other health initiatives, which restricts its scope to do further or different things.

    On the fiscal side, Dutton is looking for general spending cuts but says there will be no cuts in health. “The Coalition always manages the economy more effectively and that’s why we can afford to invest in health and education,” he said on Sunday.

    Can we believe in this “no cuts” line? The government points back to Tony Abbott’s time when similar promises were made and the reality didn’t match the rhetoric. Dutton was health minister then and the government tried to introduce a Medicare co-payment. That attempt fizzled in face of opposition, but some voters might think that a Coalition that puts on Labor’s clothes so readily might shed some of them when in office, pleading the weather was hotter than it expected. That’s especially possible when it is a policy that stretches out several years, as this one does.

    Certainly Labor has already been homing in on Dutton’s record from more than a decade ago.

    None of this alters the fact that something needs to be done to boost bulk billing, which has now fallen to about 78% of GP visits. The govenrment’s disputes the opposition’s figure that it reached 88% under the Coalition but indisputably, it has certainly tumbled from where it once was.

    The question now is, who will people trust more to fix it up?

    Dr Chalmers goes to Washington

    Meanwhile, the government is still battling on all fronts to make its case heard in Washington for an exemption from the US tariffs on aluminium and steel.

    In a flying trip at the start of this week Treasurer Jim Chalmers will be the first Australian minister to visit there since President Trump announced the tariffs.

    The treasurer will have discussions with the US treasury secretary Scott Bessent, whom he met (courtesy of ambassador Kevin Rudd) before the presidential election. So the talks will have the advantage of familiarity.

    Chalmers on Sunday played down the prospect of any finality on tariffs coming out of his visit, which will also take in a conference of superannuation fund investors looking to put money into American businesses. The conference is being held at the Australian embassy.

    If Australia eventually gets a favourable result on tariffs in the near term, the treasurer will be able to claim at least a tick for his efforts.

    Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. View from The Hill: Dutton tries to neutralise health issue by saying, ‘we’ll do just what Labor does’ – https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-dutton-tries-to-neutralise-health-issue-by-saying-well-do-just-what-labor-does-250606

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI China: China’s blockbuster ‘Ne Zha 2’ hits Fiji screens

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    Chinese animated film “Ne Zha 2” has been a hit with audiences in Fiji since its release on Thursday in the island nation.

    The blockbuster has seen its box office revenue worldwide, including presales, surpass around 1.8 billion U.S. dollars. It has dethroned Disney’s 2024 picture “Inside Out 2” to become the highest-grossing animated movie of all time globally.

    “It was really awesome. So far it would be the best, I would say, it’s on a par with the Hollywood blockbusters,” said Anesh Chand, a Fijian doctor who watched the animation at Damodar Cinema in Suva, capital of Fiji, on Saturday night.

    Chand told Xinhua that he once studied medicine in China for five years, so he was particularly aware of the Chinese herbs in the film, as well as traditional Chinese medicine philosophies, such as Yin and Yang, water and fire.

    Cliff Prasad, group marketing manager of Damodar Cinemas, told Xinhua that “Ne Zha 2” performed very well at the box office in Fiji and the occupancy rates exceeded expectations.

    The cinema had been supposed to schedule only two screenings on the premiere day, but due to hot online pre-sales, the cinema temporarily arranged three additional screenings, Prasad said.

    The manager said the film was very popular, with a large part of the audience made up of local students.

    “I really love the special effects, world-class! It was one of the best, I’d say, animations I’ve seen in a long time,” said Fijian girl Katriena.

    Fiji’s Minister for Housing and Local Government Maciu Nalumisa also watched the Chinese animated film on Saturday.

    “I came with my nephew and my son. They really like the movie,” Nalumisa told Xinhua. “It’s any of the best movies in terms of animation I’ve come across.”

    Mr. Sang, a Chinese audience who had watched “Ne Zha 2” four times, said the film is full of creativity in special effects and cultural expression.

    “Every time you watch the movie, you will have a new feeling,” he said. “The world is not black or white.”

    A sequel to the 2019 hit “Ne Zha 1,” “Ne Zha 2” continued to build on the beloved Chinese mythology surrounding the character and has been celebrated as a milestone for Chinese animation.

    Set after the events of the first film, it follows Nezha and Aobing as their souls are saved but their physical forms face dissolution. With the help of the immortal Taiyi Zhenren, who uses the Seven-Colored Lotus to reconstruct their bodies, the two heroes must face numerous challenges.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: ‘Ne Zha 2’ dominates Australian cinemas 2 weeks on

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    The Hoyts Sunnybank cinema in Brisbane, Australia’s third largest city, presented 14 sessions of the Chinese animated film “Ne Zha 2” on Sunday, significantly more than other popular films including “Captain America: Brave New World” which was shown in eight sessions.

    This photo taken on Feb. 13, 2025 shows a projected poster for the Chinese fantasy feature “Ne Zha 2” at a shopping mall in Sydney, Australia. (Xinhua/Ma Ping)

    While Sunnybank has a concentrated Chinese diaspora population, another Brisbane cinema Event Garden City Mt Gravatt showed “Ne Zha 2” in 11 sessions, the same as “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy.”

    About two weeks after the release and pre-screening of the Chinese animation blockbuster, mainstream Australian cinemas have greatly increased their screening schedules of “Ne Zha 2” across the country due to strong demand from local audiences, with a majority of the seats taken in most sessions.

    “Ne Zha 2” entered the top three at Australia’s weekend box office in its debut last week in 91 cinemas, following “Captain America” and “Bridget Jones” last weekend, according to box office reporting company Numero on Monday.

    Where was the marketing

    Peter Koevari, director of GP2 Entertainment, a Brisbane-based independent film production company, attended the opening screening of “Ne Zha 2” and was shocked by how little promotion this film received, although “the cinema was absolutely packed out and the film was excellent.”

    “Fantastic sound, fantastic imagery and characterization … but … where was the marketing?” said Koevari who is also director at Queensland-based FilmLab Academy. His voice-acting students recently tried their hand at dubbing a trailer for “Ne Zha 2.”

    Following the tale of an iconic boy god from Chinese mythology, “Ne Zha 2,” the highest-grossing animated movie of all time globally, has seen its box office revenue worldwide, including presales, surpass 13 billion yuan (about 1.8 billion U.S. dollars), according to ticketing platforms on Saturday.

    “The film is breaking records worldwide at exceeding levels, but it hasn’t really been marketed at all in the West — there wasn’t even a poster up and the trailers cannot be seen anywhere. The only people that know about this are those in the Chinese community or those who know people in the Chinese community… Just imagine how this film would be doing if it was marketed properly,” Koevari said.

    Ancient philosophies

    “Ne Zha 2,” the sequel to the 2019 Chinese blockbuster “Ne Zha,” is more than a high-octane, action-packed and visually stunning animated spectacle, full of hilarious moments and thrilling fight scenes. Beneath all that, it’s something much deeper: a bold re-imagining of Chinese traditional mythology, cultural history and philosophies, said Hong Yanyan, PhD candidate in communication and media studies at the University of Adelaide.

    “Ne Zha 2” carries the weight of Eastern cultural essence — Daoist balance, Confucian ethics, Mohist resistance, Legalist reform and the strategic wisdom of “The Art of War,” Hong said.

    In Daoist philosophy, evil and good, often known as Yin and Yang, are not absolute, but are rather shifting, interconnected forces, which is embodied in Ne Zha’s character in the film, she said, adding the film proves that even the smallest, most underestimated individual can change the world.

    Maryam, a viewer from Adelaide, said, “The movie really made me think about how good people are not always good, and bad people are not always bad, which made me really even look into human nature more deeply.”

    “Ren” (benevolence), a core Confucian virtue, is reflected in the film’s emotional climax when Ne Zha is struck by the “heart-piercing curse,” a brutal spell that covers his body in ten thousand thorns, causing unbearable pain and keeping him under control by targeting his heart. Ne Zha’s human mother, Lady Yin, clings to him as his thorns pierce her skin — yet she refuses to let go.

    “It’s a moment of heartbreak, parental love and inner awakening. As his mother takes her final breath, in Ne Zha’s grief, his body shatters into a million pieces. And then, he is reborn,” Hong said.

    She also highlighted the most profound transformation which comes from the dragon prince Ao Bing, whose once-imposing father Dragon King releases his grip: “Your path is yours to forge.” The weight of tradition gives way to something new, reflecting a changing China where younger generations are defining their own paths, she added.

    Beyond Daoist and Confucian ideals, “Ne Zha 2” also weaves in Legalist reform and Mohist resistance, she said, adding these philosophies challenge rigid hierarchies, or in Ne Zha’s case, “divine order,” and advocate for collective justice. The celestial-demon war itself plays out like a lesson in Sun Tzu’s Art of War.

    Penetrating cultural barriers

    “‘Ne Zha 2’ is undoubtedly another success story. People love the imaginative and legendary old story, and the high-tech special effects give the movie a new charm,” Associate Professor Gong Qian at the School of Education of Curtin University told Xinhua.

    Despite the expansion of the Chinese community in Australia, young people’s enthusiasm for Chinese culture is still some way off compared to their affinity for Japanese and Korean culture, she said.

    While lion and dragon dances, kung fu, dragon boats and Chinese festivals, often with fixed ritual times, are not easily integrated into the daily lives of Australians, Chinese vlogger Li Ziqi’s short videos, the video game “Black Myth: Wukong,” the TV series Three-Body, and TikTok are popular among Australian young people because they are more modern forms of art and entertainment, Gong added.

    “Ne Zha 2” has a “coolness” that easily penetrates cultural barriers and enters the hearts and minds of Australians, Gong said, adding there are still countless intellectual properties (IPs) in Chinese culture that need to be developed. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Spokesperson slams Australia for slandering China’s lawful military exercises

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    A spokesperson for China’s Ministry of National Defense on Sunday condemned Australia’s unfounded claims regarding China’s lawful military exercises in waters near Australia.

    Spokesperson Wu Qian made the remarks in response to a media query about Australia’s accusation of three Chinese warships’ recent activities and live-fire drills on the high seas near Australia.

    “Australia’s claims are completely unfounded,” Wu said, stating that the Chinese naval exercise took place in high seas far from Australia’s coastline.

    Wu added that China’s live-fire training was conducted with repeated safety notices that had been issued in advance.

    The spokesperson emphasized that China’s actions were entirely in accordance with international law and established practices and would not impact aviation safety.

    “Despite being fully aware of the fact, Australia has unjustly criticized China and deliberately exaggerated the issue, and we are astonished and strongly dissatisfied with this,” Wu said.

    China hopes Australia will approach the relations between the two countries and their militaries with an objective and rational attitude, show more sincerity and professionalism, and make genuine efforts to contribute to the stable development of these ties, he added. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Labor and the Coalition have pledged to raise GP bulk billing. Here’s what the Medicare boost means for patients

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne

    Labor yesterday foreshadowed a major Medicare change to address the falling rate of bulk billing, with an A$8.5 billion election announcement. The government said it would increase incentive payments for GPs to bulk bill all patients, from November 1 2025.

    Today the Coalition said it would match Labor’s Medicare investment dollar-for-dollar.

    Medicare was designed as a universal scheme to eliminate financial barriers to access to health care. The contemporary slogan is that you only need your Medicare card, not your bank card, to see your doctor.

    But fewer than half of Australians are always bulk billed when the see a doctor. So how did we get into this situation? And what could these changes mean for access to care?



    Read more:
    Albanese pledge: nine in ten GP visits bulk billed by 2030, in $8.5 billion Medicare injection

    Why bulk billing has been declining

    Until changes introduced by then Health Minister Tony Abbott in 2003, Medicare was the same for everyone.

    But in response to declining rates of GP bulk billing at the time, the then Coalition government backed away from Medicare’s universality and introduced targeted bulk billing incentives for pensioners and health-care card-holders, children, people in rural and remote Australia and, in a political fix to appease then Tasmanian independent Senator Brian Harradine, all Tasmanians.

    Fast-forward to 2014 and then Health Minister Peter Dutton introduced legislation as part of the budget for a compulsory copayment for GP consultations – a proposal that did not survive six months and failed in the Senate. A smaller optional payment also failed to get approval.

    But the idea of getting Australians to pay out of pocket to see a GP survived. It was introduced by stealth by freezing GP rebates, rather than adjusting them to inflation. This slowly forced GPs to introduce patient co-payments as their costs increased and their rebates didn’t.

    By the time Labor was elected, bulk billing was said to be in freefall.

    Labor’s first response was to restore the indexation of rebates, so they increase increase in line with inflation in November of each year.

    It then tripled the bulk billing incentive. This meant GPs received a greater rebate when they didn’t charge patients an out-of-pocket fee.

    But the new incentive was not enough to cover the gap between rebate and fees in metropolitan areas.

    What proportion of Australians are now bulk billed?

    Only about 48% of people have the security of “always” being bulk billed when they see a GP. A further 24% are “usually” bulk billed.

    Bulk billing rates are highest in poorer areas – South West Sydney has an “always” rate of 81%, almost quadruple the rate in the ACT (23%), which has Australia’s lowest “always” rate.

    The always bulk billed rate – excluding special COVID items which required bulk billing – has dropped from about 64% in 2021–22.

    The rate of bulk billing as a percentage of all visits to the GP, rather than people, is much higher. Around 78% of all attendances (aka visits) in the second half of 2024 were bulk billed. The higher rate is because more frequent users, such as older Australians, are bulk billed at a higher rate than younger people.

    What does the new bulk billing package include?

    The initiative announced yesterday includes three positive changes.

    First, it again increases the bulk billing incentive.

    It also introduces an additional bonus for general practices which achieve 100% billing.

    The new combined Medicare rebate in metropolitan areas for a standard bulk billed visit to the GP is A$69.56 when both changes are applied. This is $27 above the current rebate of $42.85 (without any bulk billing incentive).

    The current average out-of-pocket payment when a service is not bulk billed is $46. So there will still be a gap, but the difference between bulk billing and not is now significantly smaller.

    *Totals include item Medicare rebate, Bulk Billing Incentive item rebate, and 12.5% Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program payment.
    Government Press Release

    The government expects a major uplift – to 90% of visits bulk billed – as a result.

    State government payroll taxes, also encourage bulk billing, by not requiring GPs to pay payroll tax on consultations that are bulk billed. This will provide a further incentive to increase the bulk billing rate.

    The second positive change is that the new initiatives are for everyone. This ends the two-tiered incentive the Coalition introduced in 2003 and restores Medicare as a truly universal scheme.

    Australia will now rejoin all other high-income countries (other than the United States) in having health funding underpinned by universality.

    Third is the introduction of a 12.5% “practice payment” bonus for practices that bulk bill all patients.

    This starts the necessary transition from a reliance on fee-for-service payments as the main payment type for general practice.

    A “practice payment” is more holistic and better suited to a world where more people have multiple chronic disease which require care for the whole person, rather than episodic care. It signals payments need to be redesigned for that new reality.

    Over time, this could fund and encourage multi-disciplinary teams of GPs, nurses and allied health professionals such as psychologists and physiotherapists – rather than patients always seeing a GP.

    The downsides

    The main risk practices face in contemplating these changes is the fear of how long this new scheme will last. A previous Coalition government showed it was prepared to use a rebate freeze to achieve its policy of a shift away from Medicare as a universal scheme.

    The best way of reducing that risk would be to build in indexation of the rebate, and the incentive, into legislation.

    The Royal Australian College of GPs says not everyone will be bulk billed because rebates are still too low to cover the cost of care.

    This is true, as the gap between the prevailing metro bulk billed fee and the new rebate plus incentive will be about $20. But the aim is to increase bulk billing to 90% not 100% – and that is probably achievable.

    Bottom line

    The new arrangements will likely reverse the decline in the rates of bulk billing. The government can reasonably expect a bulk billing rate of around 90% of visits in the future.

    For consumers facing cost-of-living pressures, it will be a very welcome change. There will be more 100%-bulk-billing practices and patients will no longer face a lottery based on a doctor’s or receptionist’s mood or whim about whether they will be bulk billed.

    Yesterday’s announcement and the Coalition’s backing is a watershed, benefiting patients and general practices.

    Labor is playing to its strengths and it will hope to reverse its current polling trends with this announcement.

    The Coalition obviously hopes to negate the impact of a popular announcement by matching it. What will weigh in voters’ minds, though, is whether today’s Coalition announcement will be delivered after the election. The Coalition has a long history – dating back to Malcolm Fraser – of promising one thing about health policy before an election and reversing it after the vote, and this will probably fuel a “Mediscare” campaign by Labor.

    Stephen Duckett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Labor and the Coalition have pledged to raise GP bulk billing. Here’s what the Medicare boost means for patients – https://theconversation.com/labor-and-the-coalition-have-pledged-to-raise-gp-bulk-billing-heres-what-the-medicare-boost-means-for-patients-250604

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: View from The Hill: Dutton tries to nautralise health issue by saying, ‘we’ll do just what Labor does’

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

    Peter Dutton has launched a game of one-upmanship after Anthony Albanese at the weekend unveiled Labor’s $8.5 billion health policy that promises near universal bulk billing for GP visits by 2030.

    Dutton wants to neutralise health as an election battleground. So he immediately pledged to match the Albanese policy. He’s included another $500 million, from an already announced as Coalition policy for mental health, so he can get to the bigger number of $9 billion.

    What’s more, the Opposition leader said the government should legislate the health plan before the election.

    On the present parliamentary sitting timetable, legislation could in theory be passed in budget week, which is set to start March 25. But, as everyone who’s paying attention knows, the current speculation is there probably won’t be a budget, with many players and observers anticipating Albanese will soon announce an April election.

    The Coalition decision to take over the Labor health policy holus bolus may be tactically smart – time will tell. Fixing up bulk billing will be popular; the opposition knows it would be on risky ground getting into an argument about it, even on detail.

    But just adopting such a big Labor policy, within hours of seeing it, without further thought or strutiny, raises questions about the Coalition’s policy rigour.

    Doesn’t it have a few ideas of its own? Labor’s policy, while welcomed, has already come under some criticisms. For instance, there are suggestions it might be harder to address the bulk billing issue in certain areas than in others, so maybe the claims for the policy are too sweeping. And some experts would prefer greater attention on more fundamental reforms to Medicare.

    In strict policy terms, as distinct from political expediency, the Coalition’s approach just seems lazy. Shadow health minister Anne Ruston is said to have been out and about with stakeholders – did she come to exactly the same policy conclusions as Labor? Presumably, given the policy’s expense a Coalition government would not be able to spend more on other health initiatives, which restricts its scope to do further or different things.

    On the fiscal side, Dutton is looking for general spending cuts but says there will be no cuts in health. “The Coalition always manages the economy more effectively and that’s why we can afford to invest in health and education,” he said on Sunday.

    Can we believe in this “no cuts” line? The government points back to Tony Abbott’s time when similar promises were made and the reality didn’t match the rhetoric. Dutton was health minister then and the government tried to introduce a Medicare co-payment. That attempt fizzed, but some voters might think that a Coalition that puts on Labor’s clothes so readily might shed some of them when in office, pleading the weather was hotter than it expected. That’s especially possible when it is a policy that stretches out several years, as this one does.

    Certainly Labor has already been homing in on Dutton’s record from more than a decade ago.

    None of this alters the fact that something needs to be done to boost bulk billing, which has now fallen to about 78% of GP visits. The govenrment’s disputes the opposition’s figure that it reached 88% under the Coalition but indisputably, it has certainly tumbled.

    The question now is, who will people trust more to fix it up?

    Dr Chalmers goes to Washington

    Meanwhile, the government is still battling on all fronts to make its case heard in Washington for an exemption from the US tariffs on aluminium and steel.

    In a flying trip at the start of this week Treasurer Jim Chalmers will be the first Australian minister to visit there since President Trump announced the tariffs.

    The treasurer will have discussions with the US treasury secretary Scott Bessent, whom he met (courtesy of ambassador Kevin Rudd) before the presidential election. So the talks will have the advantage of familiarity.

    Chalmers on Sunday played down the prospect of any finality on tariffs coming out of his visit, which will also take in a conference of superannuation fund investors looking to put money into American businesses. The conference is being held at the Australian embassy.

    If Australia eventually gets a favourable result on tariffs in the near term, the treasurer will be able to claim at least a tick for his efforts.

    Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. View from The Hill: Dutton tries to nautralise health issue by saying, ‘we’ll do just what Labor does’ – https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-dutton-tries-to-nautralise-health-issue-by-saying-well-do-just-what-labor-does-250606

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Security: USINDOPACOM Commander Travels to the Philippines, Commemorates 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of Manila

    Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

    During the trip, he met with Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo, National Security Advisor Eduardo Año, Secretary of National Defense Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr., Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Gen. Romeo S. Brawner Jr, and U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay L. Carlson to discuss shared security concerns, including maritime security, humanitarian assistance/disaster response, and counterterrorism.  He also met Secretary and Presidential Assistant for Maritime Concerns Andres Centino, underscoring U.S. commitment to the AFP to enhance maritime domain awareness and capacity building in order to counter illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive activities.  

    Paparo also met with U.S. and Filipino World War II veterans and gave a speech at the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of Manila at Manila American Cemetery. Attended by U.S. and Philippine dignitaries and guests, the event recognized the service and sacrifice of more than 1,000 U.S. soldiers and more than 100,000 civilians who lost their lives during the fight to liberate the Philippine capital. 

    “Our nations have stood together for decades, confronting common challenges and advancing shared interests in the Indo-Pacific region,” Paparo said during his remarks. “The liberation of Manila was a triumph for universal values of human dignity, self-determination, and the human spirit. As we honor the memory of those who gave their lives, let us rededicate ourselves to the cause of freedom and our enduring partnership. May the sacrifices of our forebears inspire us to stand firm in the face of challenges, and may our bonds of friendship and cooperation grow stronger in the years to come.”

    The United States has supported the Philippines’ democratic institutions, responded to natural disasters, and worked together to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific. The United States remains committed to the defense and security of the Philippines and will continue working together to deter aggression and uphold international law.  

    Since 1951, the U.S.-Philippines Alliance has upheld peace and security in the Indo-Pacific with a shared vision of transparency, the rule of law, respect for sovereignty, and the peaceful resolution of disputes. The modernization of the relationship through training and joint all-domain operation events such as upcoming exercise Balikatan continue to enhance U.S.-Philippine bilateral interoperability and lethality across land, air, sea, space, and cyberspace domains.  

    USINDOPACOM is committed to enhancing stability in the Indo-Pacific region by promoting security cooperation, encouraging peaceful development, responding to contingencies, deterring aggression and, when necessary, prevailing in conflict.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Government Cuts – CPAG urges Government to reverse ‘funded to fail’ school lunch cuts

    Source: Child Poverty Action Group

    The Child Poverty Action Group has today told the Government that reversing cuts to school lunches is an achievable way to address rising child poverty levels in New Zealand.
    Official statistics released last week showed an extra 36,600 children are likely to be living in material hardship compared to two years ago.
    Speaking to Guyon Espiner on TVNZ’s Q+A on Sunday, CPAG Executive Officer Sarita Divis said she was heartened to hear the Minister of Child Poverty Reduction Louise Upston mention the healthy school lunches programme as a key commitment of this government in tackling child poverty.
    This year the Government scrapped the previous model of healthy school lunches, many of which created jobs in local communities. Instead, it switched to a for-profit model delivered under an $85 million annual contract with the School Lunch Collective, a partnership between Compass Group NZ, Libelle Group and Gilmours.
    The new lunch programme has a budget of $3 per meal, about $5 cheaper than the previous model.
    “One in four children do not have enough food. That could be that they don’t have breakfast and dinner so we need to make sure that the lunch that they receive is nutritious, healthy and delicious so that they do get those educational benefits and those health benefits.”
    The new model has been beset by problems, with late deliveries, culturally insensitive food, and a largely repetitive, unappetising menu with questionable nutrition value since its implementation at the start of the school year.
    “Education is one of the key ways to break the cycle of poverty.”
    Ka Ora, Ka Ako only provides for about 40 percent of NZ children living in food poverty and there was a strong argument to not only reverse the cuts, but increase the number of children who receive the meals, Ms Divis said.
    “When you do proactive policies like this it can make a difference,” Ms Divis said.
    “Reverse those cuts. We think that is really achievable for the government.”
    Ms Divis said CPAG was disappointed the Government’s Budget policy statement in December – which gives an early indication about priorities in May’s Budget – had no mention of child poverty.
    Under the Child Poverty Reduction Act (2018), the Government is legally required to address child poverty rates in the Budget with specific policies.
    Last year, CPAG along with Health Coalition Aotearoa and the NZEI Te Riu Roa, campaigned to stop cuts to the programme with 26,000 people signing a petition to save school lunches.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Serious crash, Ashworths Rd, Hurunui

    Source: New Zealand Police (District News)

    Emergency services are currently at the scene of a serious two-vehicle crash on Ashworths Rd (SH1) near Mays Road, Hurunui. 

    Police were called about 5.30pm. 

    Initial reports suggest two people have been seriously injured. 

    Traffic management is in place. 

    Motorists should avoid the area if possible.

    ENDS 

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Caitlin Johnstone: Israel pushes new atrocity narrative just as ceasefire deadline approaches

    Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. –

    COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone

    A new narrative is being aggressively pushed by Israel and its apologists to justify resuming the Gaza genocide, conveniently just as an important deadline for ceasefire negotiations draws near.

    The Israeli “Defence” Force (IDF) is now claiming that the Israeli children Kfir and Ariel Bibas “were both brutally murdered by terrorists while being held hostage in Gaza, no later than November 2023.”

    IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari told the press on Friday that, “Contrary to Hamas’ lies, Ariel and Kfir were not killed in an airstrike. Ariel and Kfir Bibas were murdered by terrorists in cold blood.

    “The terrorists did not shoot the two young boys, they killed them with their bare hands. Afterward, they committed horrific acts to cover up these atrocities.”

    Anyone who has been following the events in Gaza over the last year and a half will be unsurprised to learn that Israel provided no evidence to support these incendiary claims.

    Benjamin Netanyahu released a video statement in his signature American English waving around an enlarged photograph of the children and talking about what savage monsters the Palestinians are.

    “Hamas murdered them in cold blood,” Netanyahu says, while the camera zooms in on the adorable little redheads. “As the prime minister of Israel, I vow that I will not rest until the savages who executed our hostages are brought to justice. They do not deserve to walk this earth.

    “Nothing will stop me. Nothing.”

    Sabotaging ceasefire negotiations
    This happens just as Netanyahu has been working to sabotage ceasefire negotiations by adding new non-starter demands that were not in the original agreement, just as sources in Israeli media predicted he would do upon his return from Washington earlier this month.

    The six-week-long first stage of the ceasefire deal with Hamas is set to expire at the beginning of March next weekend

    This is obvious babies-on-bayonets atrocity propaganda, being released at the most convenient of times. After Israel has been caught lying about beheaded babies and mass rapes and so much more, only an idiot would take any of these claims on faith.

    But it’s doing the job. Now everywhere you look you’ll see Israel supporters calling to end the ceasefire and reignite the Gaza holocaust to avenge these innocent children. I just saw an article from Tablet Magazine titled “Their Time Is Up,” subtitled “The murder of the Bibas children caps off an 18-month catalog of horrors that has told us exactly who our Palestinian neighbors are.

    “Backed by a friend in the White House, Israel must secure its future through strong unilateral action.”

    Most likely cause of death
    All this despite the fact that we know the most likely cause of the children’s death was the fact that their own government was raining military explosives on places where hostages were being held during that time.

    Hamas reported back in November 2023 that the Bibas children had been killed in an Israeli airstrike along with their mother. In December 2023 it was reported in the mainstream press that Hamas had offered to return their bodies to Israel but Israel had refused, telling the press that “Israel will not address propaganda-based reports coming from Hamas”.

    You don’t need to trust Hamas or anyone else to deduce that a woman and two children being killed by Israeli airstrikes in an area where many women and children were being killed by Israeli airstrikes every day is a much more likely scenario than Palestinian resistance fighters spontaneously deciding to murder children with their bare hands instead of using them as negotiating leverage as planned.

    As journalist Muhammad Shehada recently noted on Twitter, Israel already has an established track record of lying about Hamas killing hostages who were actually killed in Israeli airstrikes.

    In December 2023, Israel informed the families of three hostages that they had been murdered by Hamas. The mother of one of the hostages kept digging and eventually discovered that they had died of asphyxiation when IDF troops “gassed” the tunnel they were hiding in.

    Last September, the IDF admitted that they had killed the hostages in an airstrike and lied about it.

    Three weeks ago Shehada correctly predicted in an article with Zeteo that Israel was preparing to use the Bibas deaths as an excuse to terminate the ceasefire, long before any of this started.

    Shehada noticed the way pro-Israel narrative managers had been pushing the line that great vengeance must be exacted upon Gaza if it turns out the Bibas children have been harmed, despite Hamas having announced their deaths more than a year ago.

    They knew those children were dead, so after the ceasefire was announced in late January they began circulating the narrative that discovery of their demise would be a valid reason to end it.

    Israel forces shoot dead 2 Palestinian children
    Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinian children in the West Bank just yesterday  —  both of them shot in the back. You could be forgiven for not knowing that this happened, because the Western political/media class has been too focused on the deaths of two little white kids to pay attention to such trivialities.

    Israel needs to keep “discovering” new Hamas atrocities from 2023 because otherwise it just looks like one-sided atrocities being committed by Israel this whole time. First it was beheaded babies, then later it was “We’ve discovered Hamas did mass rapes!”, and now it’s the Bibas kids.

    They need to do this because the Hamas attack was the last time anything happened where Israel could frame itself as the victim, so they’ve been milking it and milking it and milking it for as long as possible while committing orders of magnitude worse abuse in Gaza.

    It’s all designed to drum up outrage, and to draw sympathy toward Israel and away from the obvious victims who Israel has been abusing, displacing and mass murdering for a year and a half.

    As calls to rain vengeance upon Gaza grow louder, remember this: the Bibas kids aren’t the reason, they’re the excuse. The excuse to advance pre-planned agendas against the Palestinians that have been in place since long before those children were born.

    Caitlin Johnstone is an Australian independent journalist and poet. Her articles include The UN Torture Report On Assange Is An Indictment Of Our Entire Society. She publishes a website and Caitlin’s Newsletter. This article is republished with permission.

    This article was first published on Café Pacific.

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI China: Crowds cheer as record-breaking ‘Ne Zha 2’ hits HK screens

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    Chinese animated blockbuster “Ne Zha 2” hit Hong Kong screens on Saturday in a much-anticipated general release, after smashing box office records on the Chinese mainland and becoming the highest-grossing animated movie of all time globally.

    “It’s a blessing to be able to watch this blockbuster ‘national animation’ screening right at our doorstep,” a local resident surnamed Hui told Xinhua, eager to feel the spiritual strength of Chinese mythology through advanced animation techniques.

    On the opening day in Hong Kong, the film was screened more than 500 times, with around 200 screenings boasting over 50 percent occupancy, and some showings reported full houses, drawing large crowds and frequent cheers.

    Of major cinema chains, Emperor Cinemas and Broadway Circuit featured the film in nine and 12 theaters, respectively, with strong pre-sale performance.

    At Cine-Art House in Causeway Bay, one of the city’s biggest shopping hubs, viewers were queuing to check their tickets, some of whom were coming to watch for the second time after a sneak peek in neighboring Shenzhen in the Chinese mainland.

    “The film has achieved a new pinnacle in Chinese animation, thanks to its impressive special effects, engaging plot, and rich cultural expressions,” a film buff surnamed Chan told Xinhua.

    Some said they resonated most with the rebellious protagonist, Ne Zha, as he rediscovered his identity on a treacherous journey, while others said they were moved by Ne Zha’s heart-wrenching departure from his mother.

    Ma Fung-kwok, a member of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Hong Kong Member Association, attributed the success of the “Ne Zha” series to the rapid advancement of film production in the Chinese mainland, calling for closer cooperation with mainland filmmakers to tell good stories about China.

    A sequel to the 2019 hit “Ne Zha 1,” “Ne Zha 2” continued to build on the beloved Chinese mythology surrounding the character and has been celebrated as a milestone for Chinese animation.

    Ticket platform tallies indicated that as of Feb. 22, the film has grossed over 13 billion yuan (about 1.8 billion U.S. dollars) at the box office, ranking the eighth in global box office history. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Fate of 8 workers trapped in south India tunnel remains uncertain

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    The fate of eight workers who were trapped inside an under-construction tunnel in India’s southern state of Telangana remained uncertain on Sunday, as rescue work was hit by a fresh roadblock, said a senior official supervising the rescue work.

    An official reportedly said the collapsed portion of the tunnel was inaccessible, and they would have to look for an alternative to reach out to the trapped workers.

    The incident happened on Saturday morning in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district when a part of the roof of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) project suddenly collapsed.

    At the time of the incident, there were around 50 workers inside it to repair a leakage. While the rest managed to escape, eight remained trapped inside the tunnel.

    Those trapped included two engineers, two technical staff and four laborers. 

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Chinese hybrid rice thrives in Philippines, enhancing food security

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    Every day, 98-year-old Melencio Maniego walks the narrow earthen banks between his 16-hectare rice fields to inspect his crops.

    “I’ve planted Chinese hybrid rice for over a decade,” the Filipino said, gazing across the green and yellow paddies in Central Luzon, dubbed “rice granary of the Philippines.”

    Rice is a staple in the Southeast Asian country, and Chinese hybrid rice has gained trust among local farmers for its high yield and resilience against diseases and strong winds. “We believe in China’s advanced farming technology and expertise,” Maniego said.

    Maniego was among the first in Victoria town, Tarlac province, to adopt hybrid rice developed by Longping High-tech, a Chinese agricultural company named after Yuan Longping, affectionately known as the “father of hybrid rice.”

    “Since using Chinese hybrid rice, my yield has increased by over 30 percent,” he said with a thumbs-up.

    As the world’s top rice importer in 2024, the Philippines faces pressure to boost domestic production. “There’s huge potential for agricultural cooperation between China and the Philippines,” said Guo Xiaobo, head of Longping High-tech Philippine R&D Center.

    Guo, who has worked in the Philippines for nearly a decade, said his team concentrates on developing high-yield, disease-resistant rice varieties. The center operates 200 mu (about 13.3 hectares) of experimental fields in Nueva Ecija province, home to the Philippine-Sino Center for Agricultural Technology (PhilSCAT).

    Inside the PhilSCAT’s lobby, a mural depicts two doves flying towards a shower of rice grains. Nearby brass plaques in Filipino and Chinese languages highlight the center as a symbol of bilateral cooperation.

    John Davidson was trained at the PhilSCAT before he got his job as a technician at Longping High-tech in 2018.

    “I learned modern farming techniques there, and the Chinese experts were willing to share their knowledge,” said the 34-year-old Filipino.

    Davidson said hybrid rice has steadily improved yields, strengthening food security and boosting farmers’ livelihood.

    “I hope the bilateral agricultural cooperation continues. It brings real benefits to us,” he said.

    In early February, the Philippines declared a food security emergency to bring down the cost of rice. “This emergency declaration allows us to release rice buffer stocks held by the National Food Authority to stabilize prices and ensure that rice, a staple food for millions of Filipinos, remains accessible to consumers,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said in a statement.

    On Maniego’s farm, increased production has led to higher wages for his workers.

    “Thanks to Chinese hybrid rice, I’m sure a good harvest is coming soon,” Maniego said.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Lisbon Maru rescue honored in London

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    The Chinese Embassy in the United Kingdom (UK) hosted a special reception in London on Saturday for the families of the Lisbon Maru survivors, commemorating the heroic rescue during World War II and celebrating the Spring Festival.

    In October 1942, the Lisbon Maru, a cargo vessel requisitioned by the Japanese army to transport more than 1,800 British prisoners of war (POWs) from Hong Kong to Japan, was struck by U.S. forces off the Zhoushan Islands in China’s Zhejiang province. As the ship sank, local fishermen risked their lives to rescue over 300 POWs.

    This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

    Speaking at the event, Chinese Ambassador to the UK Zheng Zeguang recounted the rescue, emphasizing that it stands as a testament to China and Britain fighting side by side as allies against fascist aggression. The rescue has left tales of the profound friendship between the people of the two countries — a friendship that “will never fade” and “has become a valuable asset” for bilateral relations, he added.

    At the end of the reception, the families of the survivors stood together, held hands, and sang Auld Lang Syne.

    Lindsey Archer, niece of a British soldier who perished in the Lisbon Maru shipwreck, told Xinhua that events like this help strengthen bonds and foster new friendships. She expressed that the families of both the British survivors and the Chinese rescuers have become a new community for her. Keeping the memory of their ancestors alive, she said, is crucial, as “what they suffered, lost, and sacrificed has shaped where we are today.”

    Last year, Archer, along with a dozen other descendants of British POWs — including Kenneth Salmon — visited China to pay tribute to the fallen at the wreck site in Zhoushan.

    Salmon, whose father was a Royal Artillery sergeant rescued from the sinking Lisbon Maru, described the emotional connection he felt during the visit. Reflecting on the friendships forged during the trip, he said there is “an emotional attachment” in Zhoushan.

    He also expressed his appreciation for the presence of young children at the reception, emphasizing the importance of preserving the story of the rescue for future generations to learn about their ancestry and family history.

    As part of the event, a photography exhibition showcased the progress made in recent years in tracing the history of the Lisbon Maru rescue.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Asia’s largest flower market sees blooming business

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    The Dounan Flower Market, Asia’s largest fresh-cut flower trading market, in the southwest Chinese city of Kunming saw flower transaction volume up 5 percent to 14.18 billion stems last year.

    With a transaction value of 11.57 billion yuan (about 1.61 billion U.S. dollars) in 2024, the market has led the country in both flower transaction volume and value for 25 consecutive years.

    The Dounan Flower Market, located in the Chenggong District of Kunming, Yunnan Province, is also the world’s second-largest fresh-cut flower trading hub. This bustling market is a key supplier, with flowers from Dounan reaching every provincial-level region on the Chinese mainland and more than 50 countries and regions worldwide, including Japan and Thailand.

    Flower cultivation in Dounan dates back to 1983. In the 1990s, local residents began commercial cultivation and trading. In 1999, China’s first professional flower trading market was established in Dounan.

    Since then, the market has expanded its flower industry chain, solidifying its position as a major flower trading hub. Now, seven out of 10 fresh-cut flowers in China come from Dounan.

    Dounan’s blooming flower industry highlights China’s prominence in the global flower market.

    With about 1.5 million hectares dedicated to flower cultivation and more than 5 million people involved in the industry, China has become the world’s largest flower producer and an important flower trader and consumer.

    A guideline jointly issued by China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs proposed that by 2025, the annual sales of the country’s flower industry will reach 300 billion yuan, and more than 700 billion yuan in 2035.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Over 9B trips estimated in Spring Festival rush

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    Passengers wait to board a train at Tengzhou East Railway Station in Zaozhuang City, east China’s Shandong Province, Feb. 22, 2025. The total number of inter-regional passenger trips across China during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, is estimated to reach 9.03 billion, official data showed. The travel rush concluded on Saturday. (Photo by Li Zongxian/Xinhua)

    The total number of inter-regional passenger trips across China during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, is estimated to reach 9.03 billion, official data showed.

    Driven by family reunions and leisure travel for the Chinese New Year, the country saw railways, highways, waterways and airlines operating at full capacity during the period, which concluded on Saturday.

    About 8.39 billion trips were made by road, the busiest mode of transportation. Passenger volume reached 513.63 million for railways, 90.19 million for air travel, and 31.15 million for waterways.

    The travel rush, often referred to as the world’s largest annual human migration, highlights China’s vast mobility and economic activity. With a steadily recovering economy and rising demand for travel, this year’s chunyun saw a robust transportation network handling unprecedented passenger volumes.

    The Spring Festival, an occasion for family reunions, fell on Jan. 29 this year.

    Passengers check in to take a train in Zaozhuang Railway Station in Zaozhuang, east China’s Shandong Province, Feb. 22, 2025. The total number of inter-regional passenger trips across China during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, is estimated to reach 9.03 billion, official data showed.

    The travel rush concluded on Saturday. (Photo by Sun Zhongzhe/Xinhua)

    An aerial drone photo shows a bullet train running on China-Laos Railway in Jinghong City, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Feb. 22, 2025. The total number of inter-regional passenger trips across China during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, is estimated to reach 9.03 billion, official data showed.

    The travel rush concluded on Saturday. (Photo by Li Yunsheng/Xinhua)

    A bullet train runs on the Lijiang-Shangri-la railway with the Yulong Snow Mountain in the background, in Lijiang, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Feb. 22, 2025. The total number of inter-regional passenger trips across China during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, is estimated to reach 9.03 billion, official data showed.

    The travel rush concluded on Saturday. (Photo by Zhao Qingzu/Xinhua)

    Passengers wait to board a train at Luoyang Longmen Railway Station in Luoyang, central China’s Henan Province, Feb. 22, 2025. The total number of inter-regional passenger trips across China during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, is estimated to reach 9.03 billion, official data showed.

    The travel rush concluded on Saturday. (Photo by Zhang Yixi/Xinhua)

    A passenger takes a bus at a bus station in Luocheng Mulao Autonomous County, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Feb. 22, 2025. The total number of inter-regional passenger trips across China during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, is estimated to reach 9.03 billion, official data showed.

    The travel rush concluded on Saturday. (Photo by Wu Yaorong/Xinhua)

    Passengers arrive at Nanjing Railway Station in Nanjing, east China’s Jiangsu Province, Feb. 22, 2025. The total number of inter-regional passenger trips across China during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, is estimated to reach 9.03 billion, official data showed.

    The travel rush concluded on Saturday. (Photo by Yang Suping/Xinhua)

    A drone photo shows a bullet train running at Changzhou North Railway Station in Changzhou, east China’s Jiangsu Province, Feb. 22, 2025. The total number of inter-regional passenger trips across China during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, is estimated to reach 9.03 billion, official data showed.

    The travel rush concluded on Saturday. (Photo by Chen Wei/Xinhua)

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Meeting with Secretary of the Treasury of the United States

    Source: Australian Treasurer

    Tonight, I will fly to Washington, D.C. Once there, I plan to meet with the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.

    Our established relationship predates this meeting, but this will be our first discussion since confirmation in his new role.

    We will meet at an important time for the global economic outlook.

    The United States – Australian economic partnership brings significant benefits to both sides. From capital markets to critical minerals and trade, there is much to discuss.

    Before flying back to Australia on Tuesday afternoon, I will also address the Australian Superannuation Investment Summit being convened by U.S. Ambassador Kevin Rudd.

    This Summit will bring together some of Australia’s largest super funds with leading figures from the U.S. investment community at the Australian Embassy in Washington.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI China: China reinforces ‘one PE class a day’ for students’ physical, mental health

    Source: China State Council Information Office 2

    Passengers wait to board a train at Tengzhou East Railway Station in Zaozhuang City, east China’s Shandong Province, Feb. 22, 2025. The total number of inter-regional passenger trips across China during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, is estimated to reach 9.03 billion, official data showed. The travel rush concluded on Saturday. (Photo by Li Zongxian/Xinhua)
    The total number of inter-regional passenger trips across China during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, is estimated to reach 9.03 billion, official data showed.
    Driven by family reunions and leisure travel for the Chinese New Year, the country saw railways, highways, waterways and airlines operating at full capacity during the period, which concluded on Saturday.
    About 8.39 billion trips were made by road, the busiest mode of transportation. Passenger volume reached 513.63 million for railways, 90.19 million for air travel, and 31.15 million for waterways.
    The travel rush, often referred to as the world’s largest annual human migration, highlights China’s vast mobility and economic activity. With a steadily recovering economy and rising demand for travel, this year’s chunyun saw a robust transportation network handling unprecedented passenger volumes.
    The Spring Festival, an occasion for family reunions, fell on Jan. 29 this year.

    Passengers check in to take a train in Zaozhuang Railway Station in Zaozhuang, east China’s Shandong Province, Feb. 22, 2025. The total number of inter-regional passenger trips across China during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, is estimated to reach 9.03 billion, official data showed.
    The travel rush concluded on Saturday. (Photo by Sun Zhongzhe/Xinhua)

    An aerial drone photo shows a bullet train running on China-Laos Railway in Jinghong City, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Feb. 22, 2025. The total number of inter-regional passenger trips across China during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, is estimated to reach 9.03 billion, official data showed.
    The travel rush concluded on Saturday. (Photo by Li Yunsheng/Xinhua)

    A bullet train runs on the Lijiang-Shangri-la railway with the Yulong Snow Mountain in the background, in Lijiang, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Feb. 22, 2025. The total number of inter-regional passenger trips across China during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, is estimated to reach 9.03 billion, official data showed.
    The travel rush concluded on Saturday. (Photo by Zhao Qingzu/Xinhua)

    Passengers wait to board a train at Luoyang Longmen Railway Station in Luoyang, central China’s Henan Province, Feb. 22, 2025. The total number of inter-regional passenger trips across China during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, is estimated to reach 9.03 billion, official data showed.
    The travel rush concluded on Saturday. (Photo by Zhang Yixi/Xinhua)

    A passenger takes a bus at a bus station in Luocheng Mulao Autonomous County, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Feb. 22, 2025. The total number of inter-regional passenger trips across China during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, is estimated to reach 9.03 billion, official data showed.
    The travel rush concluded on Saturday. (Photo by Wu Yaorong/Xinhua)

    Passengers arrive at Nanjing Railway Station in Nanjing, east China’s Jiangsu Province, Feb. 22, 2025. The total number of inter-regional passenger trips across China during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, is estimated to reach 9.03 billion, official data showed.
    The travel rush concluded on Saturday. (Photo by Yang Suping/Xinhua)

    A drone photo shows a bullet train running at Changzhou North Railway Station in Changzhou, east China’s Jiangsu Province, Feb. 22, 2025. The total number of inter-regional passenger trips across China during the 40-day Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, is estimated to reach 9.03 billion, official data showed.
    The travel rush concluded on Saturday. (Photo by Chen Wei/Xinhua)

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Fatal crash, Hadlow, Timaru District

    Source: New Zealand Police (District News)

    One person has died after a single-vehicle crash on Spur Road, Hadlow, in the Timaru District.

    The crash was discovered about midday today and is thought to have occurred overnight.

    The Serious Crash Unit is examining the scene, and diversions are in place.

    Motorists should avoid the area if possible.

    ENDS

    Issued by Police Media Centre

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