Planet A
China has secured a five-year agreement with Cook Islands to explore seabed minerals. The deal, signed alongside broader economic cooperation agreements, consolidates China’s growing presence in Pacific island countries. It follows recent Chinese naval exercises off Australia’s east coast, heightening concerns about Beijing’s engagement in both economic and military domains close to Australian waters.
US mining company TMC USA has indicated it will move forward with Pacific seabed mining plans, in line with an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump on 24 April. In response, global anxiety over the environmental and security consequences of seabed exploitation has intensified, with more than 30 nations calling for a moratorium on commercial seabed mining. Despite this, Australia has yet to take a clear stance, even as Pacific island countries and environmental advocates such as Greenpeace Australia Pacific press for stronger safeguards.
Democracy watch
Six Australian universities have shut down Confucius Institutes—Chinese government-affiliated educational centres—on their campuses. This follows the federal government’s 2023 decision to block the establishment of any new such institutes. This move comes amid increasing government scrutiny, as critics argue that the institutes compromise academic freedom and allow foreign influence to shape university curricula. While some universities cited the Covid-19 pandemic as a primary factor in their decision, broader concerns about national security and foreign interference also played a significant role.
Considering these closures, academics are urging New Zealand universities to reconsider their partnerships with Confucius Institutes, highlighting the potential risks to democratic values and the autonomy of academic institutions.
Research has found that, despite international efforts to shut down Confucius Institutes, Beijing has been able to maintain influence over educational institutions by rebranding many of the closed centres or forming new agreements that replicate the original model.
Info ops
Foreign interference allegations emerged days before Australia’s federal election, prompting calls for investigations by national security agencies. The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and the Australian Electoral Commission are reviewing claims that the Hubei Association of Victoria, a Chinese-Australian community group, had been organising volunteers to campaign for independent member Monique Ryan and Housing Minister Clare O’Neil.
The group has known links to the United Front Work Department, the Chinese Communist Party network coordinating domestic and foreign influence operations. This has sparked concerns that the association’s alleged involvement is part of a broader ‘three warfares’ campaign seeking to advance Chinese influence abroad through information, psychological and legal warfare.
The association’s president has denied any links to the Chinese government, claiming members were acting voluntarily. The Coalition warned of attempts by foreign-linked entities to influence the election outcome, suggesting a broader campaign threatening to destabilise Australian democracy.
Follow the money
On 24 April, the Additive Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre secured $58 million in Commonwealth funding. The AMCRC is a collaboration between Defence, universities and industry partners such as Boeing Aerostructure and shipbuilding firm Austal. Its aim is to translate Australia’s research expertise in additive manufacturing—ranked 5th in the world—into workforce capability for small and medium enterprises.
Additive manufacturing, which includes 3D printing, is already used across the defence and aerospace sectors. The Department of Industry, Science and Resources has identified the sector as ‘a critical technology in the national interest’, as has ASPI’s own Critical Tech Tracker.
Terror byte
A year after the Bondi stabbings, counterterrorism police say many Australians remain ill-equipped to respond to acts of mass terror, and that public awareness on the topic remains shockingly low. Colin Green, a member of NSW Police’s Terrorism Protection Unit, said that the ‘escape, hide, tell’ slogan should be as familiar as fire safety protocols, yet few know how to react when violence erupts in public spaces. Authorities fear that this lack of preparedness among the Australian public could extend to larger-scale military aggression.