The Biden administration announced that it'll be strengthening U.S. ties with Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the broader Pacific by posting a Coast Guard vessel to the country in August.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made the announcement on July 27 during his visit to PNG, which is the first time a U.S. secretary of defense has visited the Pacific nation.
“The Indo-Pacific is our priority theatre, and partnerships like ours are critical to keeping this vital region free and open,” he said.
The posting comes after Mr. Austin and PNG Prime Minister James Marape signed an agreement on maritime law enforcement that will allow PNG to participate in the U.S. Coast Guard’s shiprider program, designed to bolster U.S. allies’ capacity to counter a range of shared maritime threats.
The move follows the signing of a landmark Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) between the two countries in May, which the PNG Parliament is currently considering.
The Epoch Times hasn’t viewed a copy of the DCA.
The PNG government sees the agreement as a pathway to modernizing the country, with Mr. Marape saying that one of the keys to the agreement is the economic growth and the modernization of defense capabilities it'll offer PNG.
“Our economy needs to grow in this DCA conversation, as well as all the other subsidiary arrangements that will take place, like employment, job creation, contract opportunities, as well as further U.S. business, including manufacturers that will be coming into the country,” he said.
Agreement Not Setting Up for War: Marape
Both leaders denied that the deepening engagement was part of a greater pushback against China, which has been working on increasing its bilateral ties with the region.“In respect to China, some nations you have specific defense bilateral with. China, we have a specific economic relationship. It sticks in that place. They have not made any request to us for military relationships,” Mr. Marape said.
“It is the media that keeps on going on and on about China where we were signing the DCA with the USA, the Chinese government, though the embassy here related to us that they have no issue whatsoever with us signing a DCA with the USA. They are mindful of the fact that some shared values we have with the USA are not shared with other nations around the world.”
However, he did note the impetus behind the agreement came after U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Oliver Henry was denied entry to the Solomon Islands port of Honiara to refuel and resupply. PNG then stepped in to provide the ship with a harbor for its provisioning.
The denial was said by the Solomon Islands government, which has just recently signed a defense agreement with China, to have been a misunderstanding.
“As a partner, we invited a ship to come to Port Moresby to refuel up and set sail. That was a relationship that was happening on an ad-hoc basis; today under the DCA, we have a more structured relationship,” Mr. Marape said.
“This is not about setting up for war; rather, it is about setting a presence for nation-building in Papua New Guinea.”
The PNG prime minister also said his country held to the diplomatic position that Taiwan was part of China, as stated under the “One China, Two Systems” policy, which is adhered to by the United States and other allies such as Canada, Australia, and the UK.
Mr. Austin said the agreement was solely focused on strengthening peace and stability in the region and the Indo-Pacific as a whole.
“We have a long-standing relationship with Papua New Guinea, and we share that vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, and we both really respect and value the rules-based international order,” he said.
“The DCA builds upon decades of defense work, defense relationships, and defense cooperation.”
Mr. Austin will now join Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a visit to PNG’s close neighbor Australia for defense talks.
