PNG and Australia to Integrate Militaries in ‘Historic’ Defense Treaty 

Papua New Guinea and Australia are set to sign a defense deal this week, which would move to integrate the two militaries in an effort to counter China’s rising Pacific influence, Agence France-Presse reported. 

Under the deal, PNG nationals will be able to serve in the Australian Defense Forces with the same pay as Australian personnel while starting the pathway to citizenship. Meanwhile, Australian nationals would be allowed to serve in the PNG Defense Forces. 

PNG’s Defense Minister, Billy Joseph, underlined the deal’s importance for national security, adding that the safety of PNG means safety for Australia and vice versa. “We’re not talking about interoperability, we’re talking about totally integrated forces,” he told ABC Australia. 

According to Joseph, the deal would contain a provision similar to NATO’s Article Four, which says that member countries must consult with other parties to the deal when they feel their territorial integrity, political independence, or security is threatened. 

Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles called the deal “historic,” adding that Australia’s military had been open to foreign nationals from New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States since last year. 

The agreement, which will be signed on Wednesday in the capital, Port Moresby, by the country’s Prime Minister James Marape and his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, as part of the celebrations marking 50 years of PNG’s independence from Australia, comes as Pacific countries’ concerns over China grow. 

China invested billions of dollars in Pacific nations over the last decade, committing to projects such as hospitals, sports stadiums, and roads. This strategy has yielded some results, with countries like the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, and Nauru severing diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of China. Some islands, such as Kiribati, allow Chinese police to operate on their territory. 

In response, Australia has boosted its involvement in the region. Marles told ABC Australia that Canberra long intended to focus on the Pacific and the deal with PNG, located less than 120 miles from Australia’s northernmost border, reflects this goal.  

Last week, Albanese visited Vanuatu to review a deal aimed at deepening Australia’s links to the Pacific nation. However, the agreement fell through, with Vanuatu Prime Minister Jotham Napat raising concerns that the terms of the agreement would limit the country’s ability to access funds for “critical infrastructure” from other nations, namely China.