US to sign new security pact with Papua New Guinea amid competition with China
The Toronto Star
23-05-21 22:50
The United States is set to sign a new security pact with Papua New Guinea as it continues to vie for influence with China in the Pacific. The State Department said the five-year agreement would enhance the capacity of Papua New Guinea’s defence force and increase regional stability. Papua New Guinea is the most populous Pacific Island nation, with a population of almost 10 million, and its location just north of Australia makes it strategically significant. Yet some in the Pacific have responded warily to the US’s competition with China for influence, citing concern over the increasing militarisation of the area.
Papua New Guinea is set to sign a defence agreement with the US as concerns rise about China’s growing influence in the Pacific. The US State Department said the pact would boost security and strengthen bilateral relations. It has raised questions about Papua New Guinea’s relation with China, an important trading partner, and the militarisation of the region. Protests took place at several university campuses in the country. The US wants to shore up regional stability after Beijing signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands last year.
US and Papua New Guinea poised to sign defense pact as Washington, Beijing vie for influence in the Pacific
CNN
23-05-22 04:00
The US and Papua New Guinea are set to sign a new bilateral defense cooperation agreement. While the specifics are unknown, this new agreement is expected to expand US access to military facilities in Papua New Guinea, boosting Washington's presence in the South Pacific as China also jostles for influence in the region. Beijing has become a significant player in Papua New Guinea's economy as both an investor and consumer of its natural resources. The US had planned to include Papua New Guinea in US President Joe Biden's recent Asia visit but he scrapped the visit earlier this month.
The US has signed a security pact with Papua New Guinea (PNG) that will allow the two countries to work more closely together amid growing concern about heightened Chinese influence in the Pacific. The pact for defence co-operation was signed by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the PNG government, which argued that internal security and border issues required stepping up sovereignty. The new agreement is predicted to improve security co-operation, enhance the capacity of PNG's defence force and increase regional stability. Last year, Solomon Islands signed a security pact with China, causing alarm throughout the Pacific.
The US and Papua New Guinea signed two security agreements on 24 May aimed at shoring up Pacific relations and countering China's influence in the region. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Prime Minister James Marape in Port Moresby, and the Defence Cooperation Agreement signed on Monday allows for bilateral and multilateral exercises as well as emergency situations, including disaster relief. A second deal allows Papua New Guinea to participate in the US Coast Guard's Shiprider programme to protect natural resources. The move follows April 2022's Solomon Islands security deal with China, which was seen as a coup for Beijing.
The US and Papua New Guinea have signed a security pact and maritime surveillance agreement aimed at countering increased Chinese influence in the Pacific region. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken flew to the Pacific island nation after President Biden cancelled his trip there in favour of staying in Washington to handle the debt ceiling crisis. The security pact was reportedly supposed to be a definitive moment for Biden, who would have been the first US president to visit a Pacific island nation, and was seen as a show of American commitment to the region, which is viewed as being strategically important to both the US and China.
Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State, has stated that a diplomatic pact reached with Papua New Guinea on its defense capabilities was established to aid its military's training with the US. Blinken met with 14 Pacific island leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who supported the region’s priorities of health, development and climate change. The US seeks to prevent Pacific island nations from forming security links with China amid ongoing tensions over Taiwan and after Beijing signed a security pact with Solomon Islands. Climate change and rising sea levels are these island states' most pressing concern.
The US and Papua New Guinea (PNG) signed a defence pact designed to enable increased military training from the US to PNG. The deal comes amid concerns about China’s increasing influence in the Pacific region. Prime Minister James Marape and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken denied that the agreement was targeted at any specific country. The US and Australia have previously seen the Pacific region as their area of influence, and have sought to balance China’s moves to establish closer ties with island nations in the area.
Papua New Guinea (PNG) has said that the defence agreement it signed with the US earlier this week prohibits “offensive military operations” and will not be used as a base for launching wars. The agreement expands PNG's capabilities and will make it easier for the US military to train with its forces. The signing of the deal was opposed by student activists amid fears that it could result in PNG becoming involved in strategic competition between the US and China. China has invested heavily in PNG.
