Breaking: PNG Cabinet Approves Historic Defense Pact with Australia After Months of Stalled Negotiations
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Papua New Guinea’s cabinet has approved a landmark defense treaty with Australia that will elevate the Pacific nation to formal ally status, with PNG Prime Minister James Marape confirming Thursday the deal is set to be signed in coming weeks.
The Pukpuk defense treaty, which commits both countries to mutual defense in the event of military attack, passed PNG’s cabinet with an “absolute majority,” according to The Australian’s Ben Packham. The agreement marks Australia’s first new alliance in over 70 years.
An Australian government spokesperson welcomed the breakthrough, calling the treaty a done deal following months of diplomatic uncertainty.
“Last month, prime minister Albanese and prime minister Marape signed a joint communique for a Papua New Guinea-Australia Mutual Defence Treaty,” the spokesperson said. “As the leaders said at the time, that Treaty would be signed following Cabinet processes in both countries.”
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The treaty will make Papua New Guinea only Australia’s third formal military ally alongside the United States and New Zealand. It includes provisions allowing both countries to recruit soldiers from each other’s armed forces and requires consultation and joint action when either nation faces a security threat.
“This Treaty will elevate our relationship with PNG to an Alliance – the first in over 70 years and only our third overall,” the government spokesperson said. “It puts our relationship with PNG on the same level as we have with the United States and New Zealand and builds on the already strong bonds between our defence forces, our economies and our people.”
Marape confirmed the agreement Thursday after what sources described as political considerations in PNG delayed the pact last month. The PNG leader is expected to attend the NRL Grand Final in Australia on Sunday, where further discussions about implementing the treaty are anticipated.
The breakthrough comes after the Albanese government committed $600 million to fund a PNG-based National Rugby League team and agreed to build a new ministerial wing for PNG’s National Parliament as a 50th anniversary independence gift.
The Australian’s Ben Packham told Sky News the cabinet approval clears the path for formal signing, though scheduling complications have emerged.
“So what that means is that the next step is that it needs to be formally signed,” Packham said. “Both governments had planned to do that at a ministerial forum in Australia on October 20.”
That October 20 date now conflicts with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s scheduled meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, requiring the signing ceremony to be rescheduled either before or after the ministerial forum.
The agreement marks a diplomatic recovery after Albanese’s September visit to Port Moresby failed to produce a signed treaty despite the prime minister’s public optimism. Albanese attended a flag-raising ceremony marking PNG’s 50th independence anniversary on September 16 alongside other Pacific leaders but left without finalizing the defense pact.
The PNG cabinet proved unable to achieve the quorum necessary for approval during Albanese’s visit, creating an awkward gap between the Australian leader’s claims of progress and the political reality in Port Moresby. The delay highlighted the complex domestic considerations Marape’s government faced in approving the alliance.
The treaty negotiations demonstrate Australia’s intensifying efforts to strengthen security relationships across the Pacific region amid growing Chinese influence in the area. The Albanese government’s willingness to fund major infrastructure and sporting projects shows the strategic value Canberra places on formalizing defense ties with its nearest neighbor.
Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy framed the parliamentary wing funding as appropriate recognition of PNG’s independence milestone but declined to specify the exact cost when questioned by Sky News.
“We can’t think of any more fitting 50th anniversary present than adding a ministerial wing to the Papua New Guinea Parliament,” Conroy said.
The $600 million commitment to establish a PNG-based NRL team represents one of the largest sports diplomacy initiatives in Australian history. The team funding formed part of the broader package that helped secure PNG cabinet approval for the defense treaty.
The mutual defense provisions create binding obligations for both nations to respond to security threats facing the other. This formal alliance structure goes beyond typical defense cooperation agreements and places PNG in the same category as Australia’s ANZUS treaty partners.
The soldier recruitment provisions could address personnel challenges in both militaries while deepening operational integration between Australian and PNG defense forces. Details about how the cross-recruitment program would function have not been publicly disclosed.
The treaty’s approval comes as Australia seeks to counter Chinese infrastructure investments and security proposals throughout the Pacific. China’s 2022 security agreement with Solomon Islands alarmed Australian officials and accelerated Canberra’s diplomatic engagement across the region.
For Papua New Guinea, the treaty provides security guarantees from a developed military power while potentially opening access to Australian defense equipment, training and intelligence capabilities. The formal ally designation strengthens PNG’s position in regional security discussions.
The agreement must still be formally signed by both governments and likely faces parliamentary ratification processes in both countries before taking full legal effect. The rescheduling of the October 20 signing ceremony due to Albanese’s Washington trip adds another procedural step to finalizing the historic pact.
The Australian government’s confirmation that cabinet processes in both countries are proceeding as planned suggests the signing could occur within weeks, delivering a significant foreign policy achievement for the Albanese government ahead of an expected federal election.
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