Nine visits in nine months. High standing. What is the Foreign Minister promising the s..tholes. We will never know. More money (borrowed) is a good bet.

It's hard to figure which is the most dangerous to Australia: China; the blackmailing Pacific Islands, or the Australian government itself. Probably all three, equally. At the moment, the ALP is a bigger problem than the CCP.

It seems the honeymoon phase is going well for the new Australian government. But may well be short-lived when the Pacific discover how much our coal and gas exports are contributing to climate change and Island inundation.

We do the talk, talk well, hand over enough crumbs to placate most friendly neighbours, but not the fair dinkum walk, walk!

Sport is and remains the opiate of the masses/the great unwashed, even as significant parts of Pacifica sink slowly into the sunlight sea! As craven cowards mill around having a feel-good gab feast.
Alan B.

Come on Alan, do try to keep up.

A number of surveys have shown that rather than sinking into your sunlit sea, every atoll type island of more than 10 acre extent is expanding, growing land. It is the nature of coral islands, & was first explained by Darwin. You should have had time to understand the system by now.

Islands can rise or subside, it all depends on the tectonic plate mood. Those islands at the precipice of ocean canyons may or may not be gone one morning & no-one knows how many times that scenario has played out already. NZ has had a few severe rumblings & when one looks at the Philippines, Java, Japan & all deep water islands are probably not registered as permanent in the scheme of things. Baja California & the nearby San Andreas fault are simply waiting for the gong.
That's the harsh reality of it all. As Hasbeen said, coral atolls are growing but not up ! Be it Climate change, man-made or otherwise, humans have a lot of control over nature but not that much.
My imagination shows me a picture of cavities pumped clear of oil & gas eventually collapse causing severe earthquakes on top of natural tectonic activity.
Ah well, people just want more of everything & more people will cause more problems, no surprises there ! Something tells me that Penny Wong's jaunts have only momentary feel-good moments for the people living on dices in the middle of the ocean.

Gee, forgot to mention atomic & other underwater blasting !

"There will be challenges such as the future of Bougainville but for now our standing is excellent."

- 'Standing' you say?

The Foreign Minister, Penny Pong, has visited the region nine times in nine months. Unprecedented.

- Sounds to me more like she's 'bent over and presenting'.