Prime ministers Anthony Albanese and James Marape sign a communique to advance the treaty on Wednesday morning while Richard Marles, Pat Conroy (back left), PNG Defence Minister Billy Joseph and Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko (back right) look on. Photo: Anthony Albanese Facebook.
A highly-anticipated mutual defence treaty between Australia and Papua New Guinea appears to remain just out of reach as celebrations of PNG’s 50th anniversary of independence continue in the fledgling democracy.
Touted as a key element of this week’s celebration, the ‘Pukpuk Treaty’ was initially expected to have been signed off on Monday by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his PNG counterpart James Marape. Such was the significance and anticipation of the treaty being signed, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles, and Minister for the Pacific and Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy are also in PNG this week.
On top of this, a port visit to Port Moresby by the Royal Australian Navy’s landing ship HMAS Choules and a flypast by a brace of Royal Australian Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighters added to the occasion.
But by Wednesday morning (17 September) it was clear the terms of the treaty had not yet been agreed upon, with the PNG Parliament failing to form a quorum required to vote on the issue because ministers had returned to their homelands for the independence anniversary celebrations.
Despite a draft of the treaty having been circulated among and endorsed in principle by PNG’s cabinet, Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko told the ABC this morning that cabinet approval was still a “work in progress”.
Instead, the two prime ministers have this morning signed a communique signalling their intent to advance to the actual treaty at a later date.
“The text of this treaty has been agreed and it will be signed following cabinet processes in both countries,” Mr Albanese told media on Wednesday morning.
“The communique as signed, outlines precisely what is in the treaty. We’re releasing that for everyone to see today and this is very positive – there is no downside in this whatsoever.”
Mr Marape said, “Australia is our security partner of choice”, before saying PNG Defence Minister Billy Joseph “will be talking to all our bilateral partners elsewhere, from around the world, with the first port of call being China”.
“China has been an enduring friend of PNG for the last 50 years,” Mr Marape said. “We ask that [China] do respect the PNG’s government choice of security partners. It is our choice. We are here at home with Australia.”
The Pukpuk Treaty is seen as a hedge against persistent and growing influence in the region by China. Much like the ANZUS Treaty and NATO’s Article 5, it would commit Australia and PNG to defend each other in the event the other is attacked, and would provide Australian forces with unimpeded access to defence facilities and other areas within Papua New Guinea.
Last weekend, Mr Joseph said the mutual defence treaty would see the two countries work together to defend each other’s territories, and that it went beyond just being interoperable.
“We’re talking about totally integrated forces,” he told the ABC ahead of the arrival of the Australian delegation.
“Australian Defence Force (ADF) and PNG Defence Force (PNGDF) both working together closely, using the same equipment … fighting together, defending our sovereignties as an integrated force.”
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles spent a couple of days in the highlands town of Lae trying to shore up support for the treaty with PNG cabinet members. Photo: ADF.
This integration will likely also include a higher degree of common training, possibly opening up more places in institutions such as the Australian Defence Force Academy, Royal Military College Duntroon, and the Australian Defence College to PNGDF candidates.
It may also lead to a cross pollination in senior command positions, with the exemplar being the Royal Australian Air Force’s Deputy Air Commander role which is currently fulfilled by a Royal New Zealand Air Force senior officer.
There are also reports that the treaty will allow Papua New Guinea citizens to be recruited into the ADF and vice versa, and that PNG citizens who do service in the ADF will be provided a pathway to gain Australian citizenship.
But such integration comes with legal, constitutional and sovereignty issues, all of which will need to be addressed within PNG’s parliament and in the treaty.
On Monday, Prime Minister Marape said his key concern was increasing the capacity of the PNGDF.
“If someone chose to invade our country right now, as your prime minister, I don’t have the capacity to defend you,” he told a press conference.
“I have a moral obligation to build my military to a level that I can have the capacity to defend Papua New Guinea, every child.”
On Tuesday, Mr Albanese said he wasn’t concerned about the delays.
“Prime Minister Marape is very supportive,” he told SKY News.
“A lot of work has gone on to it – the Defence Minister made announcements over the weekend as well.
“And this is about our mutual security. This is about our mutual sovereignty as well – showing respect for each other. And it’s a natural progression of how closely we work together.
He said the delays were “understandable”.
“We respect the sovereignty of course of PNG. Australia is ready to go, but of course, we have to go through our processes as well, including our treaties committee,” he told a media conference.
When asked whether he thought Australian soldiers would be willing to die defending another country, Mr Albanese said sitting back and watching an attack would be ignoring the history between the two countries.
“Ignores geography and ignores practical issues as well,” he said. “This is a great democracy. This is about advancing the sovereignty and security of both of our nations.”
Original Article published by Andrew McLaughlin on PS News.
