China Harasses Australian Plane Over South China Sea Before Albanese-Trump Meet
At a historic White House meeting on October 20, Australian Prime Minister (PM) Anthony Albanese and US President Donald Trump discussed defense cooperation and signed a critical mineral deal worth US$8.5 billion. The talks came shortly after a Chinese plane fired flares at an Australian over the South China Sea. Going back to WWII, Australia has been America’s closest ally and military partner in the Pacific. Faced with Beijing’s increasingly provocative behavior, however, Canberra has sought to expand its security links in the region. That has included a new mutual defense treaty with Papua New Guinea (PNG), as well as enhanced military cooperation with Singapore. Should China be worried about these developments? In this episode, we discuss these latest security and trade deals, Australia’s defense strategy, and what it might mean for a potential conflict over Taiwan. *Recorded on October 20, 2025 at 3pm Taiwan Standard Time Host: Yin Khvat Our guests: Andrew Phelan - Former Australia-China Council Scholar Hsiao-chuan Liao - National Taiwan University Department of Political Science Associate Professor Ronan Fu - Academia Sinica Institute of Political Science Assistant Research Fellow
