Stephen Dziedzic

Pacific leaders are descending on Palau for what could be a particularly politically charged Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting.

There are real concerns within the Australian government about what US President Donald Trump is doing in regards to sanctioning the International Criminal Court, government sources tell the ABC.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong will use a high-profile speech on Friday to declare that the rise of populism threatens Australia's national security, saying the "melancholic fantasy of monoculture" risks making Australia "lonely in a dangerous world".

Australia's former ambassador to China says the relationship between the two countries remains fragile and vulnerable to shocks, saying stability will "remain a goal, not a given" for Canberra.

Naoero and Kiribati stir frustration at the opening day of the Pacific Islands Forum by blocking a regional statement criticising China's ballistic missile test.

Australia supplants China as the dominant lender and infrastructure investor across the Pacific as the government ploughs billions of dollars into the region through both foreign aid and loans.

A former senior naval officer will face charges in a military trial set down for up to six weeks from September 14 with the military court ordering their identity remain suppressed.

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has demanded Australia stop "exaggerating tensions and inciting confrontation" over the South China Sea after Penny Wong warned Beijing against "destabilising" conduct in the region.

More than 20,000 people have given a rapturous welcome to Narendra Modi at Melbourne's Docklands Stadium as Anthony Albanese heaps praise on Australia's Indian diaspora.

China has test-fired a long-range missile with a dummy warhead in the Pacific Ocean, prompting concerns from the Australian government.