Australia seals Papua New Guinea security deal with eye on China
The agreement comes just days after Canberra signed a similar treaty with the small Pacific nation of Nauru
The Australian government has signed a confidential agreement with Papua New Guinea, its second security pact in the Pacific in just under a week, in the latest move by the US ally to attempt to contain China’s growing strategic presence in the region.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stood alongside Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape in Sydney on Thursday to announce a deal that would see the Pacific nation enter a team in Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL) from 2028, at the cost of A$600 million (US$383 million) over 10 years to Canberra’s budget.
The sporting deal is accompanied by a second confidential security agreement between Canberra and Port Moresby, which underpins the understanding between the two countries that Australia will remain Papua New Guinea’s security partner of choice, according to a government official who asked not to be identified as they weren’t authorised to speak publicly.
“We belong to one region, our shared space is important in a world that is currently conflicted all over,” Marape said at the press conference. “We want to preserve our Pacific – safe, peaceful, good for all of us to live in, especially our children.”
Albanese said that Australia and Papua New Guinea “are the nearest of neighbours and we are the truest of friends”.
The agreement is confidential and will not be released publicly, but it is believed to bear similarities to statements from the Papua New Guinea leadership that Australia is the Pacific nation’s security partner of choice. Under the agreement, it is understood that any move by Papua New Guinea on security that Australia disapproved of could lead to the NRL deal being cancelled.
