What to Expect From Australia’s Potential Defence Pact With Papua New Guinea
Udumbara
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese leaves for Port Moresby on Sept. 15 to be part of Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) Golden Jubilee celebrations but also with hopes of returning with a sought-after defence pact with Australia’s closest neighbour.
The PNG is one of only three Pacific nations with its own military, the other two are Fiji and Tonga.
Vanuatu ministers hinted at concerns that inking a deal with Australia could affect its relationship with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), one of its major creditors.
On a practical level, the current deal will allow PNG nationals to serve in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) with the same pay as citizens, and give them a pathway to citizenship.
Details of the agreement to be worked out between Albanese and PNG Prime Minister James Marape are yet to be revealed, including whether it contains an exclusivity clause, which would mean PNG could not pursue similar deals with other countries, such as China, and whether both countries would be compelled to consult one another if they faced a security threat, similar to NATO’s Article Four clause.
It’s the Pacific nation’s first defence agreement with another country and deeply significant for PNG, Lowy Institute research fellow Oliver Nobetau told AAP.
“We can define that as a sort of the holy grail of security partnerships in the Pacific, and if you can get that, it can signal a return to greater regional stability,” Nobetau explained.
PNG viewed itself as a “big brother” in the Pacific and was seeking a more dominant role as it marked 50 years since gaining independence from Australia, he said.
“This sets the tone of what the biggest country in the Pacific wants to do in terms of security, and we may see PNG play a greater role in influencing other countries as well.”
Before departing for Port Moresby, Albanese emphasised the two nations were expanding their partnership as equals and had the same vision for a stable and prosperous Pacific.
“Our relationship now is a relationship about security,” he told reporters. “It’s an economic relationship; it’s about people-to-people relations.”
The treaty speaks to a shared ambition between the two nations, Defence Minister Richard Marles said.
“What we'll be saying in the next few days is a genuinely historic agreement between our two countries,” he said.
