Disinformation in Solomon Islands, India-Australia ties, repatriation of families from Syria

Following the Honiara riots in November 2021, the Chinese Communist Party has pushed false narratives in coordinated information operations in an attempt to shape Solomon Islands public perception and to undermine the country’s relationships with Australia and the United States. To discuss this, David Wroe speaks to Blake Johnson, lead author of ASPI’s latest report on the CCP’s information operations in Solomon Islands ‘Suppressing the truth and spreading lies’. With India’s Foreign Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar due to visit Australia in the coming days, Baani Grewal asks Professor Ian Hall for his assessment on how India sees its relationship with Australia and the role of Foreign Minister Jaishankar in shaping Australia-India relations. They also discuss India’s relationship with China and Russia, including Modi’s comments to Putin at the recent SCO Summit. Recently, it was reported that the Australian Government would repatriate Australian families of Islamic State members from Syria. 16 women and 42 children have been held in Syria for over three years since the collapse of ISIS in March 2019. Olivia Nelson speaks to Katja Theodorakis about the risks associated with bringing the women and children home, and risks of leaving them there, and how international partners are approaching this challenge. Mentioned in this episode: https://www.aspi.org.au/report/suppressing-truth-and-spreading-lies Guests (in order of appearance): David Wroe: @davidwroe (Twitter) Blake Johnson: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/blake-johnson Baani Grewal: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/baani-grewal Dr Ian Hall: https://www.griffith.edu.au/griffith-business-school/departments/government-international-relations/contact-us/ian-hall Olivia Nelson: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/olivia-nelson Katja Theodorakis: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/katja-theodorakis Music: "Ten Petal Rose" by Ketsa, Independent Music Licensing Collective (IMLC) via the FreeMusicArchive.org