Australia and PNG Sign New Defence Treaty

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is set to formalise a landmark defence treaty with Australia on 15 September, a day before marking its 50th anniversary of independence. The agreement will strengthen military cooperation between the two countries.

Australian Minister for Defence Industry and the Pacific, Pat Conroy, said the deal reflects the depth of the partnership. “Our security and prosperity is entwined with their security and prosperity: this defence treaty will take that to an even higher level,” he stated this week.

PNG’s Defence Minister Billy Joseph said the agreement signalled his country’s strategic alignment with Canberra. “With all these competing interests in the region, PNG stands with Australia,” he noted.

Strategic Competition in the Pacific

The treaty comes at a time of heightened competition for influence in the Pacific. Regional sources revealed that PNG was close to signing a policing and security agreement with China last year. However, Australia moved quickly with a counteroffer that included support for a PNG team to join the National Rugby League (NRL), a sport that holds national significance in PNG.

Australia committed $600 million over a decade to back the team, with the condition that PNG would not sign security or defense agreements outside the “Pacific family,” a term generally interpreted as excluding China. If Canberra withdraws its funding, the NRL is contractually bound to remove the PNG team.

A regional diplomatic source described the situation as a “daily battle” for influence, characterising it as a “diplomatic knife fight” involving Australia, China, and other powers seeking a foothold in the Pacific.

Defence and Diplomacy Combined

The treaty provides both militaries with greater access to each other’s bases and formalises defence ties at a time when PNG’s geopolitical position has drawn significant attention. For Australia, ensuring security cooperation with its northern neighbour is viewed as essential to regional stability.

Conroy acknowledged the competition with China during a speech in Brisbane, saying: “We’re in a permanent state of contest for influence in the region, and we’re committed, we’re fighting every day to be the partner of choice for the Pacific.”

He also highlighted rugby league as a unique instrument of diplomacy. “We are using rugby league as a tool of soft power diplomacy to bring our two countries closer together,” he said.

The signing of the treaty underscores PNG’s decision to deepen its partnership with Australia at a critical moment in its history, while navigating the wider geopolitical rivalries shaping the Pacific.