Albanese Announces Historic Defense Treaty with PNG as Opposition Demands Action on Pacific Security
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a landmark defense agreement with Papua New Guinea during the nation's 50th independence celebrations, with the treaty to be signed and made public Wednesday, as the opposition criticized the government's broader defense spending as inadequate.
The treaty, to be formalized Wednesday during celebrations in Port Moresby, represents what Albanese called "an upgrade in our security relationship to a treaty level, to the sort of level that we have with the United States and our important allies."
Speaking to ABC Afternoon Briefing from PNG, Albanese said the agreement involves "increased interoperability" and "increased engagement" between the two nations' defense forces, though he declined to provide specific details about mutual defense obligations until the Wednesday signing.
"It's an upgrade in the relationship and it's increased interoperability, it's increased engagement," Albanese said. "Our security relationship is important and our economic relationship is important and of course our people to people relations as well."
When pressed about whether the treaty would compel both countries to consult each other during security threats similar to NATO's Article 4 clause, Albanese repeatedly deferred to Wednesday's formal announcement.
"You'll get it on Wednesday, Patricia," he told ABC's Patricia Karvelas. "People will get to see the agreement. It's certainly an upgrade in the relationship."
The treaty announcement comes as Australia seeks to counter China's growing influence in the Pacific region. Shadow Minister Angus Taylor welcomed improved Pacific relations but demanded the government deliver action rather than rhetoric.
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"We welcome any improvement in relations in the South Pacific at a time when we know the Chinese Communist Party is seeking to increase its influence in the South Pacific," Taylor told Sky News. "But it has to be real. It can't just be rhetoric."
Taylor criticized the government's broader defense approach, saying Australia falls approximately $25 billion short annually of necessary defense spending according to the government's own strategic review.
"We need about another $25 billion a year on the current size of our economy to get to where we need to get to," Taylor said. "The Chinese Communist Party is militarising at an unprecedented rate and right now we're well short of what's necessary."
The PNG treaty has faced some domestic opposition within Papua New Guinea, with former military officials expressing sovereignty concerns. Albanese addressed these concerns directly.
"This respects the sovereignty of Papua New Guinea, I assure you of that," he said. "We respect national sovereignty across the board. That's one of the ways that we deal with countries in our region."
When asked whether the treaty would draw PNG into potential conflict with China, Albanese dismissed the question as getting "way ahead of yourself" and emphasized Australia's respect for PNG's sovereignty.
The agreement comes during a significant milestone for PNG, marking 50 years since independence from Australia in 1975. Albanese participated in celebrations alongside Prince Edward, who represented the Royal Family.
Albanese emphasized the historical significance of the Australia-PNG relationship, particularly bonds forged during World War II on the Kokoda Track, where he walked with PNG Prime Minister James Marape last year.
"Without the support of the people of PNG, the Australian diggers who were fighting in such thick jungle against what was an invasion force from Japan, they would have had it even tougher," Albanese said.
The Prime Minister described the Kokoda Track as containing "our largest war grave anywhere in the world" and praised the support provided by Papua New Guineans, historically known as the "Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels."
"There's no doubt that Australian casualties would have been much, much higher were it not for that support," he said.
The defense treaty announcement coincided with the government's release of a climate risk assessment that Albanese called a "wake-up call" for climate change deniers.
Taylor used the climate report to criticize the government's upcoming 2035 emissions targets, saying the real question is "what it's going to cost the Australian people, what it's going to mean for the cost of a vehicle, what it's going to mean for industry in this country."
"They're clearly not on track to meet their 2030 target. They've barely moved emissions since they came to government," Taylor said.
Albanese defended the government's climate approach, saying the cheapest form of new energy is renewables and criticizing Taylor's previous tenure as energy minister.
"Angus Taylor, you know, was all over the shop at various times. He was the energy minister who hid the rise in energy costs, in wholesale costs in 2022," Albanese said.
The Prime Minister is expected to announce the government's 2035 emissions reduction target later this week. He confirmed the Climate Change Authority's recommendations will be considered alongside Monday's climate risk report.
Taylor also addressed internal Liberal Party matters, confirming he had spoken with Senator Jacinta Price following her removal from the frontbench by Opposition Leader Sussan Ley.
"Jacinta wasn't prepared to support her leadership, but I am very confident that Jacinta will play an important role in the Liberal Party in years to come," Taylor said.
Price, whom Taylor helped recruit to the Liberal Party, was removed from her Indigenous Australians spokesperson role last week after reportedly declining to publicly support Ley's leadership.
When asked about the Liberal Party's poor polling performance, Taylor acknowledged it had been "a big distraction over the last week or so" but said the party had significant work ahead.
"We didn't need a news poll to know we've got a lot of work to do," Taylor said. "We've got to knuckle down and make sure that we've got strong positions in key areas, whether it's the level of immigration, whether it's energy policy."
The PNG visit also sets up Albanese's potential meeting with US President-elect Donald Trump at the United Nations General Assembly next week, though the Prime Minister remained coy about confirmed arrangements.
"I've had four discussions with President Trump," Albanese said. "We will meet when we meet."
He confirmed extending an invitation for Trump to visit Australia but declined to specify whether this would include addressing Parliament.
"Every US President would always be welcome in Australia, of course," he said.
The defense treaty represents Australia's most significant Pacific security initiative since the AUKUS submarine partnership with the United States and United Kingdom, as the government seeks to strengthen regional partnerships amid strategic competition with China.
PNG's strategic location north of Australia and its role as the Pacific's largest economy make the defense partnership particularly significant for Australia's regional security architecture.
The agreement is expected to include provisions for increased military exercises, training cooperation and potential base access arrangements, with full details to be revealed during Wednesday's formal signing ceremony.
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