A long-delayed defense agreement between Australia and Papua New Guinea will be ready for review by both countries’ cabinets soon, the Pacific nation’s deputy prime minister said, underscoring Canberra’s re-engagement with the strategically-contested region.
There has been “great progress” on the military accord between Australia and Papua New Guinea, Deputy Prime Minister John Rosso said in an interview with Bloomberg on the sidelines of the Pacific Island Forum on Wednesday.
“It should be going to both cabinets shortly,” Rosso said. In both countries, the cabinet comprises the government’s senior ministers and is the focal-point for its decision-making processes.
The Australian defense minister’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had called for a “swift conclusion” to the defense accord talks during his visit to Papua New Guinea in January. However, Australian media later reported that the pact had been delayed over sovereignty concerns for the Pacific nation.
There is no information on the final version of the agreement at this stage.
Australia has signed or strengthened a series of security agreements with Pacific nations following the election of Albanese’s center-left Labor government in May last year. It’s trying to roll back Chinese gains in the region following the shock revelation of a security agreement between Beijing and the Solomon Islands in early 2022.
Australia signed a security pact with Vanuatu in December, just two months after sealing a defense agreement with Fiji. These allowed for greater military cooperation between Canberra and its Pacific partners on issues ranging from domestic security to disaster relief.
In January, Albanese said Australia and Papua New Guinea needed “a treaty based on deep trust and a treaty that builds on the family-first approach to regional security.” The Australian prime minister will be in the Cook Islands this week to attend the 2023 Pacific Islands Forum summit.
Australia has dramatically ramped up its diplomatic efforts in the Pacific following the China-Solomon Islands accord. Although no final version of that agreement was ever released, a draft showed it would allow Chinese warships to be given safe harbor just 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of the Australian coast.
