SYDNEY/WELLINGTON—Papua New Guinea’s annual debt repayments to China are forecast to increase 25 percent by 2023, new budget figures show, at the same time as the Pacific nation falls to its largest ever deficit.
The resource-rich archipelago, which is at the center of a diplomatic tussle between China and the United States, has blamed extravagant spending by the previous administration for its souring finances, which will require the government to borrow even more to pay the bills.
