China Threatens Papua New Guinea Over Defence Pact With Australia

Papua New Guinea is delaying forging closer military defense ties with Australia, as Beijing ramps up pressure on the island nation.

Papua New Guinean Prime Minister James Marape at APEC Haus in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, on July 28, 2023. Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images

China is pressuring Papua New Guinea not to agree to a mutual defense pact with Australia.

In a post on X on Sept. 18, the Chinese Embassy in Papua New Guinea warned the island nation against agreeing to the mutual defense treaty with Australia, suggesting it “properly handle issues bearing on its sovereignty and long-term interests” and ”work with China“ to develop ”China-PNG relations and mutually beneficial cooperation.”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sept. 17 signed a defence communique with his PNG counterpart James Marape in Port Moresby. PNG is a constitutional monarchy and Australia’s closest neighbour.

However, the event fell short of finalising the treaty, known as the Pukpuk Treaty, which Albanese said in a Facebook post would be signed following “Cabinet processes in both countries.”

Some of the core principles of the Pukpuk Treaty will include a mutual defense alliance, which recognises that an armed attack on Australia or PNG would be a danger to the peace and security of both countries.

It would also implement a plan for Australia and PNG to recruit citizens from each other’s countries into their defense forces, and would establish joint military exercises each year.

“I made a conscious choice that Australia remains our security partner of choice,” Marape said, adding that his country could not defend its land and ocean space alone and that the deal was in the national interest.

The failure to seal the treaty was the second setback to defence ties for Australia in the Pacific islands in a month.

Albanese traveled to Vanuatu last week, but was unable to sign a AU$500 million (US$326.5 million) security partnership because a coalition partner in the Vanuatu government called for further scrutiny.

As of late 2022, Chinese loans accounted for nearly 40 percent of Vanuatu’s external debt, according to Sydney-based think tank the Lowy Institute.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) says that PNG is its “largest trading partner and largest investment destination among the Pacific Island countries.”

It said that PNG was the first Pacific island country to sign a bilateral document on the Belt and Road initiative with China, which is a major part of Beijing’s economic thrust to become the dominant power in the region.

It is also the largest recipient of Chinese aid in the Pacific.

As the island nation of PNG looks out over the south-western Pacific, the ocean increasingly appears set to remain a flashpoint in the struggle for geopolitical dominance.

The people of the Cook Islands, a self-governing country, are historically and culturally aligned with New Zealand and possess New Zealand passports.

However, in June, New Zealand cut millions of dollars in funding to the Cook Islands because of the archipelago’s deepening ties with China.

A spokesperson for New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement on June 18 that New Zealand had decided to suspend payment of NZ$18.2 million (US$10.9 million) in development funding for 2025–26 as this “relies on a high trust bilateral relationship.”

Communist China has been New Zealand’s largest trading partner since 2017, and New Zealand has a policy that does not recognize Taiwan.

In early June, defense and security think tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) said in a report that the Cook Islands, an archipelago with an extensive exclusive economic zone, has emerged “as a focal point for China’s broader Pacific strategy.”

RUSI said the Cook Islands maritime domain, which is rich in marine resources and critical minerals such as manganese, cobalt, and polymetallic nodules, is difficult to manage effectively.

Its vastness and remoteness, however, make it susceptible to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and exploitation of marine and mineral resources, waste dumping, and a range of potential nontraditional security risks.

The think tank said Beijing’s engagement with Pacific island nations follows a consistent pattern: Economic assistance, grants and loans without due diligence, untenable infrastructure investments, and diplomatic recognition maneuvers.

“Through a clever mix of ‘cheque-book diplomacy’ and ‘no-strings-attached’ aid policy, China has cultivated strong ties with several Pacific island countries, including Tonga, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea,” the report stated.

Rex Widerstrom, James Xu, and Reuters contributed to this report.