Tonga discusses debt with China, Australia's Wong to visit

Australia's foreign minister Penny Wong will travel to the Pacific island kingdom of Tonga on Friday, days after her Chinese counterpart visited and discussed Tonga's heavy debts to Beijing, Tonga's government said.

Wong (above) will also visit Samoa for its 60th anniversary of independence celebrations, in her second visit to the Pacific islands since being sworn into office last week, her office said. The trip comes as China's foreign minister Wang Yi continues an eight-nation tour of the region, and the United States and its allies express concern about Beijing's ambitions for security ties.