Papua New Guinea defense agreement grants base access to U.S.
Benar News
Papua New Guinea (PNG) will grant the United States unrestricted access to deploy forces from and develop key military bases in the Pacific Island Country under a new bilateral defense cooperation agreement.
The Defense Cooperation Agreement, which was signed in May 2023, allows the U.S.to station troops and vessels at six ports and airports, including Lombrum Naval Base and Jacksons International Airport in the nation’s capital, Port Moresby.
The U.S. will have “unimpeded access” to the facilities, which may be used for mutually agreed activities such as training, transit, maintenance and refueling of aircraft, including aircraft conducting “intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance activities.”
The bases may also be used for “staging and deploying of forces and material,” bunkering vessels, security assistance, and humanitarian and disaster relief.
The agreement is part of efforts by the U.S. and other Indo-Pacific partners such as Australia to counter the People’s Republic of China’s attempts to expand influence in the Pacific. Experts said the deal significantly expands U.S. strategic capabilities in the region.
“As far as I know, the U.S. doesn’t have a similar agreement already in place with other South Pacific countries — this would be the most forward-leaning,” said Mihai Sora, director of the Australia-PNG Network at the Australia-based Lowy Institute.
He compared it to the U.S.’s Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement with the Philippines, which recently was expanded to grant U.S. forces access to four additional military sites in the Southeast Asian nation.
In a statement to Parliament in early June 2023, PNG Prime Minister James Marape said the agreement with the U.S. would in “no way compromise PNG’s bilateral relations with any other country.”
The nation’s foreign policy remains one of friend to all and enemy to none, he said, but traditional security alliances are inadequate to deal with regional and global challenges.
Marape said the agreement “validates the presence of U.S. forces” to conduct defense-related activities but does not include or promote defense commitments or military intervention.
In 2022, Beijing signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands, alarming Australia, the U.S. and other partners over the potential for a permanent Chinese military presence in the region.
Sora said the regional security environment is changing rapidly and that traditional partners believe security arrangements must adapt.
“What we’re seeing is an effort from traditional security providers in the Pacific, such as the United States, Australia and New Zealand, to both elevate and formalize their roles as security partners of choice for Pacific countries through bilateral agreements,” he said.
