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China has issued a stern warning to Papua New Guinea not to sign a new security deal with Australia that Beijing said would compromise the country’s sovereignty, in the latest sign of rising geopolitical tensions in the Pacific.
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese travelled to PNG this week to sign the Pukpuk Treaty, which would have upgraded existing ties between the neighbouring countries to a full security alliance, including a mutual obligation to defend each other in the event of an attack.
However, the formal signing of the treaty was deferred, with Albanese and James Marape, Papua New Guinea’s prime minister, only agreeing the terms of the full treaty. The leaders said it would be signed at a later date, which was not specified.
It was the second frustrating miss in Pacific diplomacy this month for Albanese, who had travelled to Vanuatu to sign the long-expected Nakamal agreement, which included $500mn of support for economic, security and cultural co-operation.
But he was sent home with a communiqué rather than a full deal, after the island’s government said it needed more time to resolve disagreements within its cabinet over conditions that would block potential investments in critical infrastructure by other countries, notably China.
In a post on Facebook and X on Thursday, the Chinese embassy in PNG wrote that the nation should uphold its own independence and sovereignty.
“We respect PNG’s right to conclude a bilateral treaty with other countries on a voluntary basis. However, such a treaty should not be exclusive in nature, nor should it restrict or [prevent] a sovereign country from co-operating with a third party for any reason,” the embassy said.
China’s foreign ministry earlier this week also delivered an indirect rebuke to Australia over the PNG treaty, saying that while it welcomed “efforts by other countries to strengthen co-operation with the island nations”, such efforts “should adhere to the principles of respecting their sovereignty, prioritising development, and being open and inclusive”.
The Pacific has become an arena of escalating geopolitical competition in recent years as countries including China, the US, Japan and France, as well as traditional regional powers Australia and New Zealand, have jockeyed for influence.
Those tensions threatened to derail the Pacific Islands Forum earlier this month, with host Solomon Islands opting to block partner nations from attending, a decision that some Pacific politicians suggested was linked to pressure from China in order to exclude Taiwan. Chinese diplomats dismissed that claim as “misinformation”.
Australian officials expressed confidence that the Pukpuk Treaty — which means crocodile in Tok Pisin pidgin language of PNG — would be signed, potentially in the coming weeks, given that it was proposed by Port Moresby.
Pat Conroy, Australia’s minister for Pacific island affairs, said in a statement: “PNG requested that we deepen our relationship through a defence treaty. We are part of the Pacific family. Our security and sovereignty is inextricably bound to that of the Pacific region.”
Australia has worked in recent years to shore up its relationship with PNG, its closest neighbour — less than 4km separate the nations in the Torres Strait — and to counter China’s influence.
That included launching a rugby league team in Australia’s national league last year at a cost of A$600mn (US$400mn), alongside a security deal that established Canberra as PING’s main provider of services such as police and soldier secondments and training.
PNG has also held talks with China over security arrangements.
Oliver Nobetau, project director of the Lowy Institute’s Australia-PNG network, said that the failure to sign the Pukpuk Treaty was “a bad start”, but noted that it reflected concerns that domestic opposition could spark protests.
“Sovereignty is a really powerful drug for PNG,” he said.
