The budget increases funding for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade by over $450 million, in what’s a positive first step towards remedying our long-term reduction in diplomatic resources.
Under the shadow of World War II, Australia began to form its own foreign policy, separate from the British Empire. A legation in China was Australia’s third foreign outpost.
High-power microwave weapons are useful for disabling electronics. A new report says they ‘plausibly explain’ some ailments suffered by US diplomats and CIA agents in Cuba, China and other countries.
Data show that the US intervenes more in other countries’ affairs than it did in the past. It also currently hires fewer career professionals for ambassadorial or foreign affairs positions.
Australia has joined its allies in expelling Russian diplomats as retaliation for a nerve-agent attack on a former Russian agent and his daughter. But the action is unlikely to trouble Russia.