https://www.scmp.com/rss/523158/feed The latest news and top stories on Penny Wong, Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs since May 2022. She has a background in law and previously held portfolios including Minister for Climate Change and Water, and Minister for Finance and Deregulation. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Matthew Cheng,Natalie Wong Matthew Cheng,Natalie Wong A Hong Kong court has dismissed appeals by 12 opposition activists to overturn their convictions or reduce their sentences in the city’s largest national security case, upholding a finding that an unofficial 2020 primary election was subversive and that the seven-year starting point for jail terms was not “manifestly excessive”. The Court of Appeal on Monday also upheld the acquittal of barrister Lawrence Lau Wai-chung, one of the 47 activists prosecuted in the landmark case of conspiracy to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3344367/hong-kong-court-dismisses-appeal-12-activists-over-landmark-subversion-case?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3344367/hong-kong-court-dismisses-appeal-12-activists-over-landmark-subversion-case?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Feb 2026 12:15:17 +0000 Fiona Sun Fiona Sun The Chinese foreign ministry’s arm in Hong Kong has lodged “solemn representations” with local envoys for Britain, the US, Australia and the EU over remarks made by their officials and politicians about the sentencing of former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying. The Commissioner’s Office of China’s Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong issued a statement on Saturday, saying it had summoned representatives from the countries and the bloc on Wednesday and Thursday. “The commissioner’s office lodged solemn... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3343589/beijing-slams-us-uk-australia-and-eu-over-jimmy-lai-sentencing-remarks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3343589/beijing-slams-us-uk-australia-and-eu-over-jimmy-lai-sentencing-remarks?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Feb 2026 12:01:26 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Australia has summoned the Laotian ambassador to protest against what a victim’s family described as an “absolute injustice” after 10 people linked to a deadly methanol poisoning case received suspended sentences and fines equivalent to US$130. The case stems from a fatal incident in the riverside town of Vang Vieng, a popular tourist destination in Laos, in November 2024. Melbourne teenagers Bianca Jones and Holly Morton-Bowles, both 19, died after drinking methanol-tainted alcohol at Nana... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3343154/australia-demands-answers-laos-over-methanol-poisoning-injustice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3343154/australia-demands-answers-laos-over-methanol-poisoning-injustice?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Feb 2026 05:20:48 +0000 Brian Wong Brian Wong Hong Kong’s High Court jailed former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying for 20 years on Monday for national security crimes, in what mainland Chinese authorities described as a “powerful declaration” that severe punishment awaited those who dared to challenge the law. In the toughest punishment to date under the city’s national security law, Lai is set to spend the rest of his life behind bars after being found guilty earlier on two conspiracy counts of collusion with foreign forces and a third of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3342970/ex-media-boss-jimmy-lai-jailed-20-years-under-national-security-law?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3342970/ex-media-boss-jimmy-lai-jailed-20-years-under-national-security-law?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Feb 2026 15:36:34 +0000 Lucy Quaggin,Khushboo Razdan Lucy Quaggin,Khushboo Razdan Australia’s former prime minister and a prominent China scholar, Kevin Rudd, will step down as ambassador to the United States a year ahead of schedule, a move some analysts say underscores a fundamental shift in how Canberra must navigate a Washington increasingly centred on the personal rapport with US President Donald Trump. The resignation follows a period of heightened friction between Rudd and Trump, punctuated by the “America first” leader’s blunt public declaration in October 2025 that... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3339796/not-trump-compatible-china-expert-rudd-exits-australias-us-ambassador-role?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3339796/not-trump-compatible-china-expert-rudd-exits-australias-us-ambassador-role?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Jan 2026 22:28:45 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth met their Australian counterparts on Monday in Washington for annual talks focused on Indo-Pacific security and countering mainland China’s increasing assertiveness in the region, including in the South China Sea and directed at Taiwan. Rubio, Hegseth, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles gathered at the State Department, with many eyes also on the Russia-Ukraine war, a fragile ceasefire in... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3335667/rubio-and-hegseth-discuss-indo-pacific-security-australian-counterparts-washington?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3335667/rubio-and-hegseth-discuss-indo-pacific-security-australian-counterparts-washington?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Dec 2025 20:23:01 +0000 Reuters Reuters Australian far-right senator Pauline Hanson wore a burka to parliament on Monday as a political prop in her push to ban the Muslim garment in public, sparking accusations of racism from Muslim senators over the stunt. Hanson wore the burka shortly after she was denied permission to introduce a bill that would outlaw burkas and other full-face coverings in public places in Australia. It was the second time Hanson had used the head garment, worn by some Muslim women, in parliament in an effort to... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3333922/australian-senator-slammed-racist-wearing-burka-parliament?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3333922/australian-senator-slammed-racist-wearing-burka-parliament?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Nov 2025 07:33:04 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Australia signalled lingering unease on Thursday over whether Russia may seek access to an airbase in eastern Indonesia, stressing that Jakarta has an obligation to consult Canberra on matters affecting regional security. Foreign Minister Penny Wong was pressed over reports earlier this year that Moscow was looking for entry points in Indonesia’s Papua region, about 1,400km (870 miles) north of Darwin. Indonesia has publicly ruled out such access, but Wong noted the close ties between Moscow and... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3332594/russian-airbase-unease-hangs-over-australia-indonesia-defence-treaty?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3332594/russian-airbase-unease-hangs-over-australia-indonesia-defence-treaty?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Nov 2025 05:52:54 +0000 Orange Wang Orange Wang Australia should lead the creation of a formal Five Eyes-style intelligence club in the Pacific amid China’s growing presence in the region, a prominent foreign policy think tank has suggested. Dubbed “Pacific Eyes”, the proposed intelligence-sharing alliance could help to plug institutional gaps that “external powers” – particularly Beijing – were eager to exploit, the Sydney-based Lowy Institute said in a report released on Tuesday. It recommended that the dedicated framework initially consist... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3329818/pacific-eyes-intelligence-body-would-offset-chinas-growing-presence-region-report?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3329818/pacific-eyes-intelligence-body-would-offset-chinas-growing-presence-region-report?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Oct 2025 11:30:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters Australia on Wednesday dismissed suggestions by Israel that its interventions prompted Canberra to expel Iran’s ambassador as it blamed Tehran for directing at least two antisemitic arson attacks in the country’s biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne. “Complete nonsense,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told ABC Radio when asked about Israel claiming credit for Australia’s decision to order Tehran’s ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi to leave the country. “There was not a minute between us receiving this... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3323277/australia-furious-after-israel-claims-credit-iran-envoy-expulsion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3323277/australia-furious-after-israel-claims-credit-iran-envoy-expulsion?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Aug 2025 03:35:07 +0000 Reuters Reuters Australia said on Tuesday it would expel Iran’s ambassador to Canberra, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused Tehran of executing two antisemitic attacks in the key cities of Sydney and Melbourne. Since the Israel-Gaza war began in October 2023, Australian homes, schools, synagogues and vehicles have been targeted in antisemitic vandalism and arson. Australia’s security agency had gathered credible intelligence that the Iranian government had directed at least two attacks, Albanese told a... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3323148/australia-expel-iranian-ambassador-over-antisemitic-attacks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3323148/australia-expel-iranian-ambassador-over-antisemitic-attacks?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Aug 2025 04:20:37 +0000 Connor Mycroft Connor Mycroft The Hong Kong government has hit out at “irresponsible remarks” by Western countries for the second straight day following its decision to pursue overseas-based activists for alleged national security violations related to a group called “Hong Kong Parliament”. Authorities said on Sunday that they strongly opposed and disapproved of “smears with distorted facts” that had been communicated by officials and politicians from countries such as the US, Canada and Australia, as well as “anti-China... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3319755/hong-kong-slams-western-countries-over-criticism-bounties-second-straight-day?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3319755/hong-kong-slams-western-countries-over-criticism-bounties-second-straight-day?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Jul 2025 11:50:17 +0000 Daryl Guppy Daryl Guppy Chinese media outlets were keen to accentuate the positives of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to China. However, sections of the Australian media played up the idea that China was attempting to drive a wedge between Australia and the United States and members of the Australian opposition criticised the visit, calling some of Albanese’s stops “indulgent”. The visit achieved much in some areas, but otherwise made little progress. Despite reported efforts by Elbridge Colby, US... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3318707/australia-should-not-sabotage-its-own-efforts-boost-ties-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3318707/australia-should-not-sabotage-its-own-efforts-boost-ties-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Jul 2025 21:30:08 +0000 Huw Watkin Huw Watkin For much of its history, Australia’s identity has been defined by distance – geographical, political, psychological. Now, with global tensions rising, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is testing whether that distance might yet be a source of strength. The answer, he seems to believe, lies in recalibrating Australia’s relationships with friends and rivals alike. As both critics from the political left and independent observers assail the cost and risks of Aukus – and the right demands ever-greater... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3317927/us-china-tug-war-australia-puts-itself-first?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3317927/us-china-tug-war-australia-puts-itself-first?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Jul 2025 00:00:12 +0000 Junaid Kathju Junaid Kathju India’s failure to rally international backing for its claims that Pakistan was behind a recent deadly militant attack in Kashmir has exposed the limits of its diplomatic influence. The setback has raised questions about India’s ability to mobilise multilateral platforms in its favour, despite being a prominent member of the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the US-backed Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), according to analysts. At the SCO meeting in Qingdao on June 25,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3317231/indias-global-clout-doubt-after-failing-sway-sco-quad-pakistan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3317231/indias-global-clout-doubt-after-failing-sway-sco-quad-pakistan?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Jul 2025 10:00:16 +0000 Jeoffrey Maitem Jeoffrey Maitem The presence of the USS George Washington aircraft carrier in the South China Sea this week and its port call at Manila signals renewed American commitment to the Philippines, though observers warn that Beijing could view the move as a “containment” effort and ramp up its own naval activity in the disputed waters. Flight deck operations were opened to the media aboard the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered vessel, with commanding officer Captain Timothy Waits telling reporters his ship’s mission... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3316925/south-china-sea-us-aircraft-carrier-marks-american-commitment-also-crowded-region?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3316925/south-china-sea-us-aircraft-carrier-marks-american-commitment-also-crowded-region?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Jul 2025 08:30:13 +0000