Papua New Guinea (PNG) said it would sign a defense agreement with the US, ahead of a deal with Australia and despite opposition party concerns that it could upset China, because the Ukraine conflict shows the need for military capability.
Today, the Pacific island nation is to host visits by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and other Pacific island leaders.
While Modi’s visit is expected to focus on trade, Blinken is to sign a defense cooperation agreement (DCA) with PNG Prime Minister James Marape, the two nations have said.
Photo: Reuters
The agreement would boost PNG’s defense infrastructure and capability after decades of neglect, a government statement said on Saturday.
Highlighting domestic political sensitivity over taking sides in strategic competition between the US and China, the statement said the deal would “not stop Papua New Guinea from working with other nations including China.”
The defense agreement would also not give visiting US military personnel immunity for criminal conduct, the statement said.
“Assets developed under DCA will be owned by PNG Government,” it added.
The DCA is about building defense capabilities because border disputes are “inevitable in the future,” it said.
“Papua New Guinea does not have enemies, but it pays to be prepared,” it said, citing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
China, a major infrastructure provider to the Pacific islands, has sought to increase its security role, signing a security pact with the Solomon Islands that prompted criticism from the US and its allies about Beijing’s intentions.
While in PNG, Blinken and Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr are today to sign a strategic agreement, before the US state secretary heads to Micronesia to sign a similar deal tomorrow, US Special Presidential Envoy for Compact Negotiations Joseph Yun said.
Yun said he hopes to conclude a deal with the Marshall Islands soon.
“We have made progress over my three-day visit to Marshall Islands and we hope to sign an agreement with the Marshall Islands in the coming weeks,” he said.
Washington reached what are known as Compact of Free Association (COFA) accords with the three island states in the 1980s, under which it retains responsibility for their defense and provides economic assistance while gaining exclusive access to huge strategic swathes of the Pacific in return.
Renewing them has become a key part of US efforts to push back against China’s bid to expand its influence in the region. Chinese diplomats have been courting the region and China’s construction and mining companies have expanded their business in many Pacific island nations.
The Marshall Islands’ COFA is due to expire this year. Yun gave no reason for the holdup in renewing it, but a parliamentary election is expected there in November.
Yun called the deals “strategically important.”
“We’ve achieved two out of three,” he said. “Compacts are very important for the United States. It defines the relationship between us and northern half of the Pacific.”
The Central Weather Bureau could issue a sea alert for Super Typhoon Mawar, as it is forecast to turn north and come closest to Taiwan from Tuesday to Wednesday next week. Mawar was downgraded from a super typhoon to a typhoon after sweeping across Guam on Wednesday night, knocking down trees and leaving much of the US territory without power. Many residents of Guam yesterday remained without power and utilities after Mawar tore through the remote US Pacific territory the previous night, ripping roofs off homes, flipping vehicles and shredding trees. There were no immediate reports of deaths and injuries, but the
ADJUSTMENTS: Over the next five years, every year except 2026 would have only one makeup workday to compensate for national holidays, the government said The Executive Yuan (EY) yesterday announced the official workday calendar for next year, which includes one makeup day and four holidays with more than three days off. It also announced new standards for makeup days in the event of consecutive holidays. The Directorate-General of Personnel Administration cited the importance of the Lunar New Year and Tomb Sweeping holidays to the public as its reason to mandate flexible off-days. The 115 total off-days dovetail with dates that international financial markets are closed, minimizing the effects of state holidays on stock and currency exchange trading, it said. Over the next five years, only the calendar for
INVASION UNPOPULAR: Chinese would likely accept their government having a softer stance toward cross-strait relations, one of the coauthors of the article said Interest among the Chinese public in the issue of China’s unification with Taiwan is low, researchers said, citing the results of a poll. An article titled “Assessing Public Support for (Non-)Peaceful Unification with Taiwan: Evidence from a Nationwide Survey in China,” published in the Journal of Contemporary China on May 14, showed that only 55 percent of those surveyed in China would support the use of military force to achieve unification with Taiwan. In the survey, which polled 1,824 people on the question of how they would like to see the issue of Taiwan’s unification with China resolved, “only one out of
EMBRACE CHANGE: Jensen Huang told NTU graduates that instead of worrying about AI itself, they should worry that people with expertise in AI would be taking their jobs Artificial intelligence (AI) is redefining the computer industry, and Taiwanese companies could play a major role in replacing the world’s traditional computers as they are the foundation of the industry, Nvidia Corp cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said in Taipei yesterday. Huang made the remarks while giving the keynote speech at National Taiwan University’s (NTU) commencement ceremony. AI has created immense opportunities, and versatile companies can be expected to take advantage and boost their position, while less flexible firms would perish, he said. “In every way, this is a rebirth of the computer industry and a golden opportunity for the companies of