AUSTRALIA – FOREIGN RELATIONS – PAPUA NEW GUINEA

PNG treaty trip-up as great game afoot in Pacific

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 17-Sep-25

The federal government’s push to forge closer ties with Pacific nations has received a second setback in as many weeks. Papua New Guinea’s cabinet has yet to endorse a defence treaty with Australia, which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had hoped to sign today; he is visiting PNG to mark its 50th anniversary of independence from Australia. PNG’s Prime Minister James Marape stated on Monday that his government is "not yet" at the point of signing the treaty, which will commit the two countries to defend each other in the event of war. Former Biden administration adviser Kurt Campbell has suggested that the delay in signing the treaty could be due to Chinese influence. The Vanuatu goverment refused to sign a bilateral security agreement last week during Albanese’s visit to Port Vila.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, PAPUA NEW GUINEA. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER

China rebuff in PM’s Anzac Day PNG push

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 23-Apr-24

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has arrived in Port Moresby ahead of a week of Anzac Day commemorations, with Albanese and PNG Prime Minister James Marape to walk part of the Kokoda Trail during his visit. Speaking at PNG’s parliament, Albanese said that Pacific nations should be "free to pursue their own destiny and secure their own future", with his visit just days after China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi criticised jostling for regional influence, with Wang claiming that Pacific countries "are not the backyard" of any nation".

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET