PORT MORESBY—The United States will join Pacific ally Australia to build a naval base on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island, Vice President Mike Pence said, amid a push by regional powers to lock in alliances and secure access to key infrastructure.
The plan, which comes on the heels of China’s emergence as a possible developer of the deep-water site, was unveiled on Nov. 17, at an Asia-Pacific forum hosted by Papua New Guinea (PNG) where world leaders voiced competing visions on how trade should be conducted in the region.
