This report discusses Australia's strategic alliance with the United States and their economic ties with China and ways these two interests may conflict. Relations between the U.S. and Australia and recent tensions between U.S. President Trump and Australian President Turnbull are also discussed.

Interview with George Holcombe, a Methodist pastor and civil rights activist from Houston, Texas, and his wife and associate Wanda, from Sims, Texas. The Holcombes discuss their family origins, initial exposure to racial problems and civil rights, their respective educations, pastoral work in Baton Rouge and Chicago, the Ku Klux Klan and dangers encountered, work with the Ecumenical Institute of Chicago and empowering black communities, the 1968 Chicago riots, Fifth City, and similar work in Australia and the Philippines.

This report provides background on the Pacific Islands region and discusses related issues for Congress. It discusses U.S. relations with Pacific Island countries as well as the influence of other powers in the region, including Australia, China, and other external actors. It includes sections on U.S. foreign assistance to the region, the Compacts of Free Association, and issues related to climate change, which has impacted many Pacific Island countries.