Australia Inks ‘Historic’ Security Deal With PNG to Counter Beijing

The deal will allow PNG to recruit Australian police officers to serve in the PNG police force as the Pacific island grapples with domestic security issues.

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (2nd R) participates in an official signing ceremony with Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape (2nd L) at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Dec. 7, 2023. Hilary Wardhaugh/AFP via Getty Images

Australia and its nearby Papua New Guinea (PNG) have inked a landmark security deal to deepen defence ties as Canberra seeks to counter the Chinese regime’s influence in the Indo-Pacific.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and PNG’s James Marape signed the wide-ranging treaty at Australia’s Parliament House in Canberra on Dec. 7, two months after the PNG Prime Minister met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.