{"id":134891,"date":"2023-12-03T09:48:11","date_gmt":"2023-12-03T09:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/?p=134891"},"modified":"2023-12-03T09:48:11","modified_gmt":"2023-12-03T09:48:11","slug":"a-country-three-hours-away-from-australia-is-the-next-frontier-of-chinas-ambitions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/world-news\/a-country-three-hours-away-from-australia-is-the-next-frontier-of-chinas-ambitions\/","title":{"rendered":"A country three hours away from Australia is the next frontier of China\u2019s ambitions"},"content":{"rendered":"

By <\/span>Eryk Bagshaw<\/span> and Natalie Clancy<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

China has been expanding its ambitions across the Pacific.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Matthew Absalom-Wong<\/cite><\/p>\n

Save articles for later<\/h3>\n

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.<\/p>\n

The bright lights of a $120 million stadium complex built by China tower over the Solomon Islands capital. Below, the national hospital is so overwhelmed its patients are being treated with intravenous drips inside a tent in the car park.<\/p>\n

Just three hours by plane from Brisbane, downtown Honiara is the centre of a country beset by contradictions, fast money and a growing power struggle. Now it finds itself on the next frontier of China\u2019s political, economic and military ambitions.<\/p>\n

\u201cChina is beautifying the country,\u201d says 27-year-old Junita Javi as she lines up outside Honiara\u2019s new national stadium with her four kids. \u201cThey give us more inspiration.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Chinese-funded police vehicles outside Honiara stadium. <\/span>Credit: <\/span>Jack Donohoe<\/cite><\/p>\n

Tarcisius Kabutaulaka, a Solomon Islander and Pacific diplomacy expert from the University of Hawaii, says the country is in a tussle for its economic and diplomatic future as it hosts the region\u2019s largest sporting event for the first time: the Pacific Games.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne game is inside the stadium,\u201d he says. \u201cBut there is a bigger game going on as well. It\u2019s between the big powers China, Australia, and the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

Australian officials were shocked last year by the sudden acceleration of a security deal between Solomon Islands and China, but The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age <\/i>and 60 Minutes <\/i>can reveal fresh allegations of intimidation in the Pacific as Beijing\u2019s influence grows to encompass everything from infrastructure to media, mining, policing and healthcare in one of Australia\u2019s closest neighbours.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy is it taking so long to realise that there is a potential vacuum here that someone could take advantage of?\u201d says Alfred Sasako, the vice president of Solomon Islands-China Friendship Association.<\/p>\n

Sasako is also an editor at The Solomon Star<\/i>, one of the country\u2019s largest newspapers. He says it would be a struggle to print the newspaper each night without hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding the company now receives from Beijing.<\/p>\n

\u201cChina says that democracy is with Chinese characteristics,\u201d says Sasako. \u201cI strongly believe that if China had not offered what it did, I don\u2019t think we would be in a position to host the Games.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many Solomon Islanders feel their government has no choice but to turn to China for help as one of the Pacific\u2019s poorest countries struggles under the weight of endemic unemployment and growing allegations of neglect by the United States and Australia.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Aldred Sasako, an editor at The Solomon Star and vice president of the Solomon Islands-China Friendship Association. <\/span>Credit: <\/span>Jack Donohoe<\/cite><\/p>\n

The push is winning over locals who want their country to aim for more than an economy dominated by logging. But it is also dividing communities that say the government is too focused on optics while struggling to provide basic services.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are lots of Solomon Islanders who think \u2018why do we have a flashy, huge-looking national stadium when we have a hospital next door that is collapsing?\u2019\u201d says Kabutaulaka.<\/p>\n

Beneath the glistening new stadium, tales of exploitation are rife in villages that believe they have been caught between the ambitions of the Solomon Islands government and Chinese state-backed investment with little oversight.<\/p>\n

In 2018, Chinese company Win Win Mining said it was confident it had found an ore reserve containing 200,000 ounces of gold in Turarana, two hours outside Honiara, a haul that would be worth more than $590 million in today\u2019s gold prices.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Junita Javi (right) with her four children outside the Pacific Games stadium. <\/span>Credit: <\/span>Jack Donohoe<\/cite><\/p>\n

Win Win Mining\u2019s initial investment report boasted of attracting \u201cChinese multi-millionaires\u201d but some landowners say they have seen little since.<\/p>\n

Locals were promised a school, a clinic, a community hall and a bridge by Win Win to get across a creek that divided their village. They say they ended up with the trailer from a mining dump truck for a bridge instead.<\/p>\n

In August 2021, the company was found guilty of breaching the Customs Act after it attempted to smuggle almost two kilograms of gold out of the country. It was fined $350. Last year it had its license to mine nickel in a neighbouring province approved.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Turarana landowner Joel Jackson.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Jack Donohoe<\/cite><\/p>\n

\u201cThey are treating us like animals,\u201d says Turarana landowner Joel Jackson who claims he has only received $4 from the company to date after he protested proposed royalty payments of only 1.2 per cent for mining his village\u2019s land.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is one bag of rice. They regard us like nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Win Win, which did not respond to requests for comment, has been feted by the Chinese embassy as an example of commercial co-operation between China and Solomon Islands.<\/p>\n

Celsus Talifulu, a former political advisor to Prime Minister Mannaseh Sogavare and his rival Daniel Suidani, says the Chinese company\u2019s approach is to win government contracts and local favour through a divide-and-conquer strategy.<\/p>\n

\u201cChina is beyond everyone in terms of reading what is happening,\u201d he says. \u201cThey have successfully captured the political elites of this country. And silenced their critics.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen they use that as a platform for the influence to go down to the ordinary people.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The national stadium complex was funded by China. <\/span>Credit: <\/span>Jack Donohoe <\/cite><\/p>\n

The structure of government in Solomon Islands has fuelled this power imbalance. It allows MPs to distribute millions of dollars in funds in their own electorates, through a constituency development fund, and for Chinese state-linked companies to negotiate directly with local landowners.<\/p>\n

That system has made it difficult for targeted Australian government aid to compete with bags of cash from an ambitious new regional player that does not have to justify to voters how it spends its money.<\/p>\n

Between 2008 and 2022, Australia contributed $3.2 billion in aid to Solomon Islands according to the Lowy Institute. But there is little evidence of that on the streets of Honiara, where Chinese branding covers everything from the national stadium to the new cardiac hospital wing, to new police vehicles.<\/p>\n

Asked in Beijing last month if he was concerned by China\u2019s intentions in the Solomons, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was important for Pacific nations to look after their own interests.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the Pacific family is also made up of sovereign states, so we respect the fact that sovereign states have a right to make their decisions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

As it grapples with its own domestic economic woes, China has shifted its aid strategy for much of the region from \u201cloud and brash\u201d to \u201csmall and beautiful,\u201d according to the Lowy Institute\u2019s Pacific Aid Map. <\/p>\n

But throughout the Solomons, the four years of spending by Beijing that followed Honiara\u2019s diplomatic switch from Taiwan to China in 2019 has paved the way for Chinese-run projects to proliferate throughout the South Pacific\u2019s second most populous country.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe constituency development fund, in my view, is the main culprit,\u201d says Talifulu. \u201cThe officials from the Chinese embassy were clearly saying that if you join the camp here, you could be supported.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Sogavare\u2019s former advisor Celsus Talifulu says China is beyond everyone in terms of reading what is happening in the Solomon Islands. <\/span>Credit: <\/span>Jack Donohoe<\/cite><\/p>\n

The deputy leader of the national opposition, Peter Kenilorea jnr, claimed in 2020 that government MPs were offered bribes of more than $200,000 to switch diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to China. These allegations were denied by the government. Then in 2021, Sogavare survived a no-confidence motion after riots broke out in Honiara fuelled by COVID-19 isolation and concerns over the government\u2019s shift from Taiwan.<\/p>\n

Budget documents show that in that year China provided $16 million to the constituency development fund \u2013 double what Taiwan paid into the scheme.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo that\u2019s a direct connection between Chinese money in our political leaders,\u201d says Talifulu.<\/p>\n

Asked in Honiara last week what China expected in return for its funding Sogavare said he had to go to another engagement for the Pacific Games. An advisor said: \u201cNothing\u201d.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Celsus Talifulu.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Jack Donohoe<\/cite><\/p>\n

China\u2019s representative at the Games, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People\u2019s Congress Cai Dafeng, said in a statement that \u201cdiplomatic relations between the two countries had developed rapidly\u201d and \u201chad become a role model of co-operation between developing countries\u201d.<\/p>\n

But Sogavare is not the only leader of a country competing at this year\u2019s Pacific Games to have been courted by Beijing.<\/p>\n

Until May this year, David Panuelo was the president of the Federated States of Micronesia, a country of 100,000 people spread across 600 islands.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare. <\/span>Credit: <\/span>AP<\/cite><\/p>\n

\u201cToday I am just as concerned if not more about the Chinese activities in the Pacific,\u201d he says. \u201cI think they are getting bolder by the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

New documents seen by this masthead and 60 Minutes<\/i> reveal that Chinese officials re-drafted agreements to suit Beijing\u2019s interests and wrote entire statements on behalf of foreign elected leaders.<\/p>\n

In one internal email, Panuelo\u2019s Foreign Secretary Kandhi Elieisar says China\u2019s Ambassador to Micronesia Huang Zheng urged him to sign documents committing the country to a new development deal with Beijing without the president\u2019s knowledge.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe did not give up and even suggested to me that I sign it despite the instruction to hold off,\u201d Elieisar said in an email to colleagues. \u201cI don\u2019t want wolves in our backyard.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

David Panuelo with Anthony Albanese and Jacinda Ardern.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe even asked what would happen if I signed ignoring the instruction. Did he even have to ask that? I told him I would not have my job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Panuelo says development agreements were carved out by China and then presented as a done deal to Pacific leaders who had limited resources to get across the legal and economic implications of the proposals.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t see the fine line in what they are trying to get and do, it can sort of trap your nation in ways that you would not know about,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was going to allow China to come into our Exclusive Economic Zone [sea territory] and basically do what they want.\u201d<\/p>\n

During his time in office, officials including Vice President Aren Palik were offered cash in envelopes by Chinese officials.<\/p>\n

One Micronesian attendee of a week-long trip to China received a little red envelope filled with cash worth more than $5000 in \u201cpocket money\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey may call it gifts, but these people can be influenced deeply,\u201d says Panuelo.<\/p>\n

Panuelo says he has been the target of Chinese government hostility since he opposed Beijing\u2019s Pacific-wide economic and security deal in May 2022. Chinese officials first followed him overseas at the Pacific Islands Forum in Suva in September that year.<\/p>\n

The Chinese Foreign Ministry rejected Panuelo\u2019s claims as groundless smears. \u201cThey are completely inconsistent with the facts,\u201d the ministry said.<\/p>\n

But he now claims Chinese officials went even further, tailing him outside his own home in Micronesia after he left office this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cA vehicle drove down to my house, and they were taking pictures,\u201d he says. \u201cI followed it and asked them why they were taking pictures of me. They said they were tourists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Panuelo later confirmed they were officials from the Chinese embassy. The Chinese embassy in Micronesia was contacted for comment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a small country. We\u2019re not protected by 24-hour police,\u201d said Panuelo. \u201cEven as a former president, I had that experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Panuelo, like many Pacific Island leaders, has also tried to turn the heightened geopolitical interest in the Pacific to his advantage. In March, he wrote a letter to state governors and other Pacific leaders detailing his concerns about China\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n

Then Panuelo told Taipei what it would cost for Micronesia to switch its diplomatic allegiance from China to Taiwan: $US50 million.<\/p>\n

That high-stakes game of diplomatic arbitrage is now being waged by Sogavare who hopes the Pacific Games will springboard him into next year\u2019s elections.<\/p>\n

China has tipped in more than $120 million to the Games, Australia has contributed $17 million, while the US has parked its USNS Mercy in Honiara harbour, a ship that would be the eighth-largest hospital in America if it was on land.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The USNS Mercy in Honiara harbour. <\/span>Credit: <\/span>Jack Donohoe<\/cite><\/p>\n

\u201cIt continues to be in our interest to have an Indo-Pacific that is free, open, stable, and consistent with international norms and standards,\u201d says the US Commander of the Pacific Partnership, Captain Brian Quin.<\/p>\n

In August, China sent its own hospital ship, The Arc of Peace, into Honiara harbour with the capacity to treat 600 patients. The Chinese embassy in Solomon Islands did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n

Quin rejects claims that the Americans are projecting their own form of power in the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about projecting power; it\u2019s about projecting co-operation,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Kabutaulaka, the Pacific diplomacy expert, studied at university with Sogavare. He says Sogavare has played Australia, the US and China \u201coff against each other\u201d.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The US Commander of the Pacific Partnership, Captain Brian Quinn. <\/span>Credit: <\/span>Jack Donohoe<\/cite><\/p>\n

\u201cI sometimes feel that what they\u2019re doing, especially towards Australia and the US and other Western countries, is not so much because they think that it\u2019s the right thing, but because they can do it now that China is there,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cChina is projecting [this] image, not only to the Solomon Islands but to the rest of the Pacific in saying that if you have a relationship with China, this is what you can expect.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Honiara, one of the most visible impacts of China\u2019s investment is the two giant anti-riot trucks that patrol the streets next to the national stadium.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A Chinese anti-riot truck outside Honiara stadium. <\/span>Credit: <\/span>Eryk Bagshaw<\/cite><\/p>\n

The armoured vehicles are aimed at putting a stop to the violence that has dogged previous Solomon Island governments, but they have also come with a Chinese police presence and dozens of firearms.<\/p>\n

Sogavare delayed last year\u2019s election to 2024 to host the Pacific Games. Armed with a clear majority in parliament, and a development fund largely made up of Chinese financing, Talifulu says he would not be surprised if he delayed it again.<\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially with security everywhere. That could give him the opportunity to further amend the constitution, to keep his government continuing,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

When he was working in Sogavare\u2019s office in 2019, Talifulu claims he overheard Sogavare and his nephew advocating for a different type of rule in Solomon Islands.<\/p>\n

Talifulu says they admired Frank Bainimarama, the Fijian leader who installed himself as prime minister in 2007 after a coup and ruled for the next 15 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo like a dictator, but a soft one,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Get a note directly from our foreign <\/i><\/b>correspondents <\/i><\/b>on what\u2019s making headlines around the world. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Most Viewed in World<\/h2>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Eryk Bagshaw and Natalie Clancy China has been expanding its ambitions across the Pacific.Credit: Matthew Absalom-Wong Save articles for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nA country three hours away from Australia is the next frontier of China\u2019s ambitions - bluemull<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/world-news\/a-country-three-hours-away-from-australia-is-the-next-frontier-of-chinas-ambitions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A country three hours away from Australia is the next frontier of China\u2019s ambitions - bluemull\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Eryk Bagshaw and Natalie Clancy China has been expanding its ambitions across the Pacific.Credit: Matthew Absalom-Wong Save articles for…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/world-news\/a-country-three-hours-away-from-australia-is-the-next-frontier-of-chinas-ambitions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"bluemull\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-03T09:48:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.ffx.io\/images\/$zoom_0.4725%2C$multiply_0.7725%2C$ratio_1.5%2C$width_756%2C$x_0%2C$y_12\/t_crop_custom\/q_86%2Cf_auto\/f8be021c79beb6b05d4201a96b4e306ef488523d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"mediabest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"mediabest\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"12 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/world-news\/a-country-three-hours-away-from-australia-is-the-next-frontier-of-chinas-ambitions\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/world-news\/a-country-three-hours-away-from-australia-is-the-next-frontier-of-chinas-ambitions\/\",\"name\":\"A country three hours away from Australia is the next frontier of China\u2019s ambitions - bluemull\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-03T09:48:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-03T09:48:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/#\/schema\/person\/abc9aeefdadf991087d66599cfc40c8d\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/world-news\/a-country-three-hours-away-from-australia-is-the-next-frontier-of-chinas-ambitions\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/world-news\/a-country-three-hours-away-from-australia-is-the-next-frontier-of-chinas-ambitions\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/world-news\/a-country-three-hours-away-from-australia-is-the-next-frontier-of-chinas-ambitions\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"World News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/category\/world-news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"A country three hours away from Australia is the next frontier of China\u2019s ambitions\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/\",\"name\":\"bluemull\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/#\/schema\/person\/abc9aeefdadf991087d66599cfc40c8d\",\"name\":\"mediabest\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/51ffec31290e6ad73871db09a74770ba?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/51ffec31290e6ad73871db09a74770ba?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"mediabest\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A country three hours away from Australia is the next frontier of China\u2019s ambitions - bluemull","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/world-news\/a-country-three-hours-away-from-australia-is-the-next-frontier-of-chinas-ambitions\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A country three hours away from Australia is the next frontier of China\u2019s ambitions - bluemull","og_description":"By Eryk Bagshaw and Natalie Clancy China has been expanding its ambitions across the Pacific.Credit: Matthew Absalom-Wong Save articles for…","og_url":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/world-news\/a-country-three-hours-away-from-australia-is-the-next-frontier-of-chinas-ambitions\/","og_site_name":"bluemull","article_published_time":"2023-12-03T09:48:11+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.ffx.io\/images\/$zoom_0.4725%2C$multiply_0.7725%2C$ratio_1.5%2C$width_756%2C$x_0%2C$y_12\/t_crop_custom\/q_86%2Cf_auto\/f8be021c79beb6b05d4201a96b4e306ef488523d"}],"author":"mediabest","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"mediabest","Est. reading time":"12 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/world-news\/a-country-three-hours-away-from-australia-is-the-next-frontier-of-chinas-ambitions\/","url":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/world-news\/a-country-three-hours-away-from-australia-is-the-next-frontier-of-chinas-ambitions\/","name":"A country three hours away from Australia is the next frontier of China\u2019s ambitions - bluemull","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-12-03T09:48:11+00:00","dateModified":"2023-12-03T09:48:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/#\/schema\/person\/abc9aeefdadf991087d66599cfc40c8d"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/world-news\/a-country-three-hours-away-from-australia-is-the-next-frontier-of-chinas-ambitions\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bluemull.com\/world-news\/a-country-three-hours-away-from-australia-is-the-next-frontier-of-chinas-ambitions\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/world-news\/a-country-three-hours-away-from-australia-is-the-next-frontier-of-chinas-ambitions\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"World News","item":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/category\/world-news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"A country three hours away from Australia is the next frontier of China\u2019s ambitions"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/","name":"bluemull","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/#\/schema\/person\/abc9aeefdadf991087d66599cfc40c8d","name":"mediabest","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/51ffec31290e6ad73871db09a74770ba?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/51ffec31290e6ad73871db09a74770ba?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"mediabest"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134891"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134891"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":134892,"href":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134891\/revisions\/134892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}