Australia and Papua New Guinea sign communique after mutual defence treaty stalls

SYDNEY – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese held security talks with his Papua New Guinea counterpart James Marape in the capital of the Pacific’s largest island nation on Sept 17, after plans to

sign a landmark mutual defence treaty

stalled, in what marked the second setback in the Pacific in September.

The two leaders instead signed a defence communique.

Mr Marape told reporters in Port Moresby that it was in the two countries’ mutual interest to work side by side on defence.

“I made a conscious choice that Australia remains our security partner of choice,” he said, adding that Papua New Guinea could not defend its land and ocean space alone and the deal was in the national interest.

The text of the communique, released by Mr Albanese’s office, said Papua New Guinea and Australia had agreed on the text of a mutual defence treaty, which would be signed following Cabinet processes in both countries.

A meeting of the Papua New Guinea government’s Cabinet of ministers on Sept 14 did not have enough members to reach a quorum to endorse the treaty and there was a “process to run”, Mr Marape said.

It was the second setback to defence ties for Australia in the Pacific islands in September, after Mr Albanese travelled to Vanuatu last week but was

unable to sign

an A$500 million (S$427 million) security partnership because the Vanuatu government’s coalition partner wanted further scrutiny.

Australia has sought to use the security deals to block Chinese influence in the region, after China struck a security pact with the Solomon Islands.

Mr Marape told reporters that China had no hand in stalling the treaty.

“They do respect PNG government’s choice of security partners,” he said, using the acronym for the country.

Arriving in Papua New Guinea on Sept 15 for the

50th anniversary of independence celebrations

, Mr Albanese said the mutual defence treaty with Australia’s closest Pacific neighbour would lift security ties to the equivalent of its alliance with the US.

The Papua New Guinea treaty is a mutual defence alliance that recognises that an armed attack on Australia or Papua New Guinea would be a danger to the peace and security of both countries, according to a statement from Mr Albanese’s office.

Mr Albanese said Papua New Guinea had requested the treaty, and he was confident it would be signed in the future.

“It will be Australia’s first new alliance in more than 70 years,” he said.

Mr Oliver Nobetau, project director of the Australia-Papua New Guinea Network at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, said the failure to sign the deal during Mr Albanese’s visit put the Australian leader under pressure and raises questions over whether Mr Marape has won enough support within his Cabinet.

Mr Nobetau said: “Has he really convinced them enough to get it over the line?” REUTERS