“Papua New Guinea does not have enemies but it pays to be prepared.

In a statement Saturday, PNG framed its agreement with the US as an opportunity to advance its infrastructure and capacity for national defense at a time of growing global security concerns.

Those concerns were heightened last year after Beijing signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands – and tried, but failed, to win support for a sweeping, regional trade and security communique with Pacific Island nations.īlinken’s visit to PNG comes after US President Joe Biden last week cut short an Asia trip that would have included stops in Port Moresby and Sydney, Australia, due to ongoing debt ceiling negotiations at home. The region has taken on renewed importance for Washington as it seeks to bolster its relationships and presence in Asia amid rising tensions with an assertive China that’s rapidly expanded its naval capabilities in recent years. The Pacific Islands, for example, were the site of decisive battles during World War Two. That region – a constellation of sparsely populated island and archipelago nations and territories as well as New Zealand and Australia – has outsized strategic significance. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Papua New Guinea (PNG) Prime Minister James Marape signed the pact and a maritime security agreement on Monday during Blinken’s visit to the capital Port Moresby.Īdvance text of the agreements were not released by either side, but the new defense cooperation was expected to expand US access to military and other facilities in PNG, bolstering Washington’s security ties in the South Pacific. The United States and Papua New Guinea have signed a new bilateral defense cooperation agreement – a move that has sparked controversy in the Pacific Island nation and comes as Washington and China jostle for influence in the region.

Noted vs duly noted