Papua New Guinea approves defence treaty with Australia

Sydney (Reuters) -Papua approved a defense agreement with the new Guinea Cabinet Australia, Prime Minister James Marape said in a statement on Thursday that Canberra is trying to prevent China from expanding its security presence.

In accordance with the Pukpuk Defense Treaty, Australia and Papua have to come to each other if they are attacked.

“Australia has only one more mutual defense agreement, and Papua New Guinea will now sign this treaty.” He said.

“This reflects the depth of the confidence, history and the future of the shared future between our two nations.”

The agreement will also allow 10,000 Papua New Guinea to serve with the Australian defense force under bilateral arrangements.

The turning point treaty still requires approval from the parliament of both countries.

Two weeks ago, during the PNG’s 50th anniversary of independence, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Arbenee had to be approved when he was in Port Moresby.

The two countries accepted a joint communiqué on the text of the agreement, after not being deprived of the nuclei required to confirm a meeting of PNG’s cabinet.

Albania went to Vanuatu last month, but a coalition partner in the Vanuatu government called for more reviews, as it called for more than $ 500 million ($ 330.70 million) security partnership.

After making a security agreement with China’s Solomon Islands, Australia tried to use security agreements to prevent China’s influence in the region.

The United States made a defense agreement with PNG in 2023 to resist China’s security targets.

Marape also acknowledges that the PUKPUK Treaty can maintain both PNG and Australia’s defense relations with other nations. “There are provisions of respect for third -party relations,” he said.

(1 $ = 1.5119 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Christine Chen at Sydney; Editing Praveen Menon and Kate Mayberry)