US, PNG sign military pact as Washington seeks more footprints in Pacific against China

The US and Papua New Guinea have signed a military pact amid growing concerns among regional leaders about increasing militarisation by Washington in the Pacific.

The US State Department announced the new pact covers "security, defense and maritime surveillance" and would provide $45 million to help improve bilateral cooperation, including "protective equipment" for the Papua New Guinea defense force.

The US and PNG signed the agreement during a ceremony following this week's visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“The defense cooperation was drafted by the United States and Papua New Guinea as equals and sovereign partners,” Blinken said in the signing ceremony on Monday.

PNG’s prime minister, James Marape, said on Monday that to implement the deal there would be an increased presence of US military personnel and contractors over the next two years.

However, he insisted that the Americans will not establish a US military base on the island.

Marape also denied reports that US staff would have legal immunity and said no amendments would be made to the constitution or laws of the country.

He said the island faced significant security challenges. “I need to strengthen and protect my country’s borders and ensure the safety of my people,” he said. “So this has nothing to do with geopolitics, this cooperation will strengthen our defense and help build our capacity.

“And it is just an elevation of the SOFA [status of forces] agreement that is already in place, and this agreement will not stop us from signing other similar agreements with other countries, including China. We are free to sign defense cooperations with any country that shares our values and principles, and that may include our friends from the east or the west, including our longtime traditional friends Australia, US or even China.”

In the meantime, Marape, also on Monday, rolled out the red carpet for India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi.

Marape hailed India as the “leader of the global south” and promised to rally behind it as the visiting Modi took part in a summit with Pacific island leaders in PNG.

Addressing the summit, Modi told the 14 leaders of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation that India would be a reliable partner to small island states amid difficulties caused by supply chain disruptions and the climate crisis.

Modi said India is committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

He clarified on social media earlier that he had discussed “ways to augment cooperation in commerce, technology, healthcare and in addressing climate change” in a bilateral meeting with Marape on Monday.

PNG, with a population of nearly 10 million people, is the most populous Pacific island nation located just north of Australia.

The region has witnessed increasing militarization in past years by the US and China, raising concerns among civil society groups and student unions with talks of protests spreading online over the weekend.

Marape has been accused of setting the stage for future hostilities between the US and China.

PNG's former Prime Minister Peter O’Neill accused his successor of placing the country “at the epicenter of a military storm between China and the USA by agreeing to enter into defense arrangements with both superpowers without consultation with our people”.

"We … should not be blinded by the dollar sign or be coerced into signing deals that may be detrimental to us, in the long run,” opposition leader Joseph Lelang from the People's National Congress said last week.

He said the foreign policy of Papua New Guinea is "friends to all and enemies to none."

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