PNG approves landmark defence treaty with Australia before Marape’s NRL visit

Up to 10,000 Papua New Guineans could serve in the Australian Defence Force after PNG’s cabinet approved a historic defence treaty with Australia, tying the Pacific nation to the west as China seeks to expend its influence in the region.

PNG Prime Minister James Marape, who has hailed the treaty for elevating the Australia-PNG relationship to its “highest level in history”, is expected to attend the National Rugby League grand final in Sydney on Sunday alongside Albanese, creating an opportunity for the treaty to be signed in the following days.

PNG’s cabinet approved the text of the treaty, which would commit the nations to come to each other’s defence against a “common danger”, putting the relationship on par with Australia’s military alliances with the United States and New Zealand.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Marape had hoped to sign the treaty during PNG’s 50th anniversary of independence celebrations last month, but those plans were shelved when PNG’s cabinet could not assemble a quorum to approve the pact.

The leaders instead signed a communique supporting the treaty, and vowed to agree to it as soon as possible.

Marape confirmed PNG’s cabinet had approved the treaty, saying in a statement on Thursday that the pact would serve as a “foundation for the next chapter of PNG’s history”.

Describing Australia as PNG’s “foundational relationship country”, Marape said the treaty would allow up to 10,000 Papua New Guineans to serve in the Australian military and enable PNG to expand its own defence force from 4000 to 7000 personnel.

“Our sovereignty is defined by our national security. This treaty strengthens PNG’s security and defence capacities as we embark on the next 50 years,” he said.

“It is about ensuring Papua New Guinea is safe, secure, and prepared to protect its people and borders.”

Australian and PNG officials had planned to sign the agreement on October 20, but Albanese will be in Washington, DC, on that day to meet US President Donald Trump.

Albanese said he looked forward to signing the treaty. “Our two nations are the closest of neighbours and the closest of friends, and this treaty will elevate our relationship to a formal alliance,” he said.

To be known as the Pukpuk Treaty, after the Pidgin word for “crocodile”, the pact would grant the Australian Defence Force unimpeded access to designated facilities in PNG and allow Papua New Guineans and Australians to serve in each other’s militaries.

The Albanese government last year announced it would spend $600 million to help a PNG team enter the NRL from 2028 as part of its push to deepen ties in the Pacific and ensure Australia, rather than China, remains the security partner of choice in the region.

The treaty faced some resistance in PNG, with former defence force commander Jerry Singirok saying he regarded it as “an ambush on behalf of the Australian government”.

“The proposed treaty undermines our Constitution and our sovereignty and needs to be debated on the floor of parliament and taken to the public,” he said.

Marape addressed these concerns in his statement on Thursday, saying that PNG’s “sovereignty is never compromised” despite the military’s integration with Australia.

“Our Constitution is not offended by this agreement. Section 206 of our Constitution allows for our defence force to work in synergy with other visiting defence forces, and this treaty is consistent with that provision,” he said.

“Our defence force will always report to the commander of the PNG Defence Force.”

A security pact between Australia and Vanuatu, which Albanese also hoped to strike last month, is looking more difficult to finalise because of concerns about how it would affect Chinese investment in the nation.

Defence Minister Richard Marles described the Nakamal agreement, as that pact is known, as a “challenging and difficult agreement” on Wednesday, but still believed it would be signed.

“There’s an enormous amount of goodwill on both sides,” Marles said.

“It’s going to take a bit of time to get it done, but I’m confident that will happen as well.”

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