PNG not taking sides
PAPUA New Guinea says it isn’t looking to be caught in a battle for regional dominance between China and Australia.
The Pacific island’s Foreign Minister, Justin Tkatchenko, said the country was open to working with “all our partners”.
Anthony Albanese on Thursday became the first Australian Prime Minister to visit Papua New Guinea since 2018 and the first world leader to make a speech to the country’s parliament as part of a two-day trip to the Pacific nation.
While there, Mr Albanese is expected to announce a new defence deal with his counterpart James Marape – emphasising the need for a “family first approach” to regional security.
In his speech, Mr Albanese will make a sly dig at China – which has sought to ink security deals with other Pacific nations after securing a deal with the Solomon Islands.
Against a backdrop of China building a new military hospital in the country, Mr Albanese said the Australia-PNG deal would be a treaty based on “deep trust”.
But Mr Tkatchenko said China was an “important strategic partner” to his country’s development.
“We’ve always had that relationship. China is one of our biggest economic partners, and we work with them in many different ways on the understanding where we are and what we can do together without causing issues amongst ourselves and our partners,” he told ABC Radio.
“We’re open to working with all our partners.”
Pacific Minister Pat Conroy earlier sought to downplay claims Australia was in contest with China for influence in PNG.
He said the Australian government was committed to deepening relationships with Pacific island nations and being the “partner of choice”.
“Is it possible that Papua New Guinea might want to have multiple partners of choice on security? It’s not for us to dictate what other countries do,” he said.
Earlier this week, China’s ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian said Beijing’s intentions in the Pacific were for peaceful development only, maintaining there was “no military intention”.
Mr Conroy said Australia’s bilateral defence treaty is about “opening up legal mechanisms for greater cooperation”.
“It’s about making it easier for Australia to support the security aspirations of Papua New Guinea and vice versa,” he said.
“That could include hypothetically allowing more visits by Australian naval vessels or Papua New Guinea naval vessels to Australia … it’s about putting in place the legal framework to allow greater co-operation.”