Papua New Guinea (PNG) will not be used as a base for “war to be launched,” and a defense agreement with the US prohibits “offensive military operations,” its prime minister said yesterday.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday said that a defense cooperation deal signed with Papua New Guinea earlier that day would expand the Pacific island nation’s capabilities and make it easier for the US military to train with its forces.
The deal sparked student protests amid concern it could embroil the country in strategic competition between the US and China.
Photo: AFP / Government of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinean Prime Minister James Marape said the agreement was not a treaty and did not need to be ratified by parliament, adding that he would release it in full for public scrutiny tomorrow.
“It’s not a military base to be set up here for war to be launched,” he told radio station 100FM.
“There’s a specific clause that says that this partnership is not a partnership for PNG to be used as a place for launching offensive military operations from Papua New Guinea,” he said.
The US and its allies are seeking to deter Pacific island nations from building security ties with China, a rising concern amid tension over Taiwan, and after Beijing signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands last year.
China has been a major infrastructure investor in Papua New Guinea, which sits near important sea lanes and international submarine cables linking the US and ally Australia, that were crucial in World War II.
Marape said that the PNG military is the weakest in the region amid high tensions.
The boost provided by the US would also improve domestic security and encourage more foreign investors to set up in the country of 9 million that is rich in natural resources but largely undeveloped.
“There will be substantial infrastructure investment” flowing from the deal, in airports, ports, roads, communications and electricity to benefit the public, he said, while not giving details.
Subsidiary agreements that would determine how the US military and civilian contractors come into the country are being worked out, he said.
Australia has welcomed the defense cooperation agreement between its closest neighbor and the US.
Pins hidden in her shoes, head forced down a toilet, kicked in the stomach: South Korean hairdresser Pyo Ye-rim suffered a litany of abuse from school bullies, but now she is speaking out. The 26-year-old is part of a phenomenon sweeping South Korea known as “Hakpok #MeToo,” where people who were bullied publicly name and shame the perpetrators of school violence — “hakpok” in Korean — decades after the alleged crimes. Made famous globally by Netflix’s gory revenge series The Glory, the movement has ensnared everyone from K-pop stars to baseball players and accusations — often anonymous — can be career-ending, with
One of Australia’s two active volcanoes on an island near Antarctica — known as Big Ben — has been spotted by satellite spewing lava. The lava flow on the uninhabited Heard Island, about 4,100km southwest of Perth and 1,500km north of Antarctica, is part of an ongoing eruption that was first noted more than a decade ago. The image was caught by the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite on Thursday, and is a composite of an optical picture and an infrared image. The lava is seen flowing down the side of Big Ben from near the summit, known as Mawson Peak.
SYMBOLIC: The bill sponsored by a cross-party group of lawmakers was hailed as a ‘historic moment’ in the fight for marriage equality, but is unlikely to pass Lawmakers in South Korea have proposed the country’s first same-sex marriage bill, in a move hailed by civic groups as a defining moment in the fight for equality. The marriage equality bill, proposed by South Korean lawmaker Jang Hye-yeong of the minor opposition Justice Party and co-sponsored by 12 lawmakers across all the main parties, seeks to amend the country’s civil code to allow same-sex marriage. The bill is unlikely to pass, but forms part of a trio of bills expected to increase pressure on the government to expand the idea of family beyond traditional criteria. The two other bills relate to
TIME TO TALK: Among China’s grievances were economic and trade issues related to Taiwan, but both countries emphasized the need to maintain communication US Trade Representative Katherine Tai (戴琪) on Friday raised complaints about China’s state-led economic policies during a meeting with Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao (王文濤), who objected to US tariffs and trade policies, as well as issues related to Taiwan, their offices said. However, statements from the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) office and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce emphasized the need for Washington and Beijing to maintain communication on trade. “Ambassador Tai highlighted the need to address the critical imbalances caused by China’s state-led, non-market approach to the economy and trade policy,” the USTR said in a statement released after the