Security Pact With Australia Stalled, Prime Minister James Marape Claims

Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape announced that the planned security pact with Australia has been stalled over “certain wordings and provision,” weeks after the strategically South Pacific Island country agreed to new security pact with the United States, that provoked protests,

Papua New Guinean leader James Marape notified the Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles of the holdup, while in South Korea for a global summit, a press release released from the Prime Minister office stated.

The pact is “a work in progress and required the Papua New Guinean side to consult our domestic processes and sovereign laws in relation to certain wordings and provisions,” the statement Marape read. The Prime Minister also doubles as the Defense Minister of Papua New Guinea.

Prime Minister Marape “conveyed his apologies” for the delay to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. In January, the two leaders released a joint press statement, that promised to wrap up the treaty’s fundamental deliberations by the end of April.

It has been anticipated that, the treaty, which would strengthen security relations and recognize that the two neighbors “share a mutual strategic interest in a safe, stable, peaceful, and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” would be signed in June.

According to the statement, Marape assured Marles that, Papua New Guinea “in no way would compromise its excellent existing bilateral relations with Australia,” which has been Papua New Guinea’s most generous assistance contributor.

Also, the office of Richard Marles disclosed that, the Deputy Prime Minister and Marape talked about deepening their cooperation in a variety of fields, including defense, security, the issuance of visas, and job mobility. “We have a proud history of working together in the interests of the region,” the statement read.

Australia and the United States have been on the roads to counter the growing dominance of China in the South Pacific Region, especially Papua New Guinea. The strategic importance of Papua New Guinea has been attributed to its location, thus, north of Australia; the most populated among the Pacific Island nations. The pacific nation saw intense combat during World War II, and has an estimated population of around 10 million.

A new bilateral agreement was signed last week when U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea. The treaty, according to the State Department, establishes structure to boost security cooperation, Papua New Guinea’s Defense Force capabilities, and regional stability.

The entire agreement would be released to public, after both countries’ lawmakers have had a chance to weigh in the clauses in the pact.

Marape issued a statement last week that, the agreement would be advantageous to both parties and “secures our national interests” in “becoming a robust economy in this region of the world.”

However, the security pact provoked student demonstrations in Lae, the second-largest city. Furthermore, the growing militarization of the Pacific has been causing anxiety among many people.

When it was revealed that the deal between Australia and Papua New Guinea would be delayed, Albanese was set to attend Singapore’s prestigious annual Shangri-La Dialogue to deliver the opening remarks in an important regional security event, on Friday.

Albanese recently declared that, his speech would “outline Australia’s vision for a stable, peaceful, and prosperous Indo-Pacific.”

“Australia is committed to enhancing and strengthening ties with our partners in Southeast Asia to address shared challenges and ambitions.”

Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia.

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