Stephen Dziedzic is the ABC's Foreign Affairs (Asia Pacific) reporter, based in the Parliament House bureau. He covers foreign policy and Australia's relationship with countries in the Asia Pacific region. Stephen has worked for the ABC since 2007, and spent five years covering federal politics.
Anthony Albanese begins a long Pacific tour this week ahead of the Pacific Islands Forum meeting in Solomon Islands, as the battle for influence between China and Australia continues to create headlines.
Australia is responding to China's display of military power by building closer ties with partners like Japan and racing to "modernise and build our defence force", Richard Marles says, as Penny Wong cautions Daniel Andrews over his decision to attend.
The concert was set to take place in the Great Hall of Parliament House and celebrate Japan's defeat in World War II, but it was blocked by Australian officials, sparking a diplomatic blame game.
A flying trip to the home of US politics ended with Richard Marles grappling with an age-old problem in politics.
Earlier, the Pentagon had said the pair had a "happenstance encounter", not a meeting, but it now says the meeting was scheduled in advance.
A new report urges the Trump administration not to abandon the defence agreement, but also calls on Australia to give "concrete" commitments on how it would deploy Virginia-class nuclear powered submarines in the event of war.
Australia has pressed Nauru for more detail about a claimed billion-dollar investment agreement that it has signed with a mysterious Chinese company, as federal government officials scramble to ensure the Pacific nation is not breaching a landmark treaty it signed with Australia just nine months ago.
The Pacific's leaders are grappling with Solomon Islands' contentious decision to block all outsiders from the region's most important annual meeting next month. So what does the episode say about how strategic competition is reshaping the region?
Topic:Explainer
Senior ministers from both countries journeyed to the top of Mount Yasur to initial the Nakamal Agreement, but many details linked to the deal remain under wraps.
Australian taxpayers have spent around half a billion dollars to fund the expansion of Papua New Guinea's Lombrum naval base — well over double the $175 million price tag originally flagged by the federal government.
Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles is in Papua New Guinea as the countries finalise a new bilateral defence treaty.
The Nakamal Agreement will cover infrastructure, climate change resilience and economic development, but details on travel and visa arrangements between the two countries remain under wraps.
The Defence Minister Richard Marles has been in Papua New Guinea today, as the countries finalise a new bilateral defence treaty.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele defends his move to block almost two dozen nations from a critical Pacific meeting in Honiara next month, saying he's made a "sovereign" decision in the region's best interests.
A geopolitical controversy is brewing ahead of a key Pacific meeting next month.
A geopolitical controversy is brewing ahead of a key Pacific meeting next month. Pacific leaders will gather in the nation of Solomon Islands in just over four weeks. But there's an arm wrestle underway over whether Taiwan will be able to participate.
Solomon Islands could try to defuse a potentially explosive stoush over Taiwan's participation at the Pacific Islands Forum, by excluding China, the US and a host of other countries as well.
Japanese shipbuilder Mitsubishi Heavy Industries wins a fierce contest to build the Australian navy's new fleet of warships, beating a bid from German rival ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.
Solomon Islands could try to defuse a potentially explosive stoush over Taiwan's participation in a key regional meeting next month by restricting the gathering to Pacific Islands Forum members — effectively excluding China, the US and a host of other countries.
Australia's top domestic spy chief Mike Burgess has used a speech to give his most detailed account yet of the scale of the threat of foreign interference.
Kash Patel, who is a loyalist of US President Donald Trump, quietly stopped in Sydney before travelling to New Zealand to announce the United States would expand its FBI office in Wellington.
Tuvalu's Prime Minister, who is in Australia on a week long mission that includes top level talks, and the official opening of the country's high commission in Canberra.
The United Nations' most senior climate change diplomat has called on Australia to set itself more ambitious targets for cutting emissions.
One of the world's top climate diplomats has urged the federal government to commit to an ambitious 2035 target to cut carbon emissions.
As the United States continues to scrutinise the AUKUS deal, Australia and the United Kingdom are now deepening their AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership.