Papua New Guinea approves defence treaty with Australia

SYDNEY (Reuters) -The Papua New Guinea cabinet has approved a defence treaty with Australia, Prime Minister James Marape said on Thursday, as Canberra seeks to block China from expanding its security presence in the Pacific.

Under the Pukpuk defence treaty, Australia and Papua are obliged to come to each other’s aid if attacked.

"Australia has only one other mutual defence treaty of this type and at our request Papua New Guinea will now sign this treaty," Marape said in a statement.

"This reflects the depth of trust, history, and shared future between our two nations."

The treaty would also allow as many as 10,000 Papua New Guineans to serve with the Australian Defence Force, under dual arrangements, the statement said.

The landmark treaty still requires ratification from both nations' parliaments.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he welcomed the treaty's formal approval by PNG.

"Our two nations are the closest of neighbours and the closest of friends, and this treaty will elevate our relationship to a formal alliance," he said in a statement.

"I look forward to signing the treaty with Prime Minister Marape soon."

The agreement was supposed to have been approved when Albanese was in Port Moresby during celebrations of PNG’s 50th independence anniversary two weeks ago.

The two countries agreed a joint communique on the text of the pact, after a meeting of PNG’s cabinet lacked the quorum required to ratify it.

Albanese also travelled to Vanuatu last month but failed to secure a A$500 million ($331 million) security partnership because a coalition partner in the Vanuatu government called for further scrutiny.

Australia has sought to use the security deals to block Chinese influence in the region, after China struck a security pact with the Solomon Islands.

The United States reached a defence pact with PNG in 2023 to counter China's security ambitions.

The Pukpuk treaty also recognises that both PNG and Australia can maintain defence relationships with other nations, Marape said. "Provisions are in place to respect third-party relationships," he said.

($1 = 1.5119 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Christine Chen in Sydney; Editing by Praveen Menon, Kate Mayberry and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

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