Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea — Australia and Papua New Guinea are set to enter a landmark defence treaty that will legally bind the two countries to defend each other in the event of a military attack, the ABC has revealed.
The agreement, expected to be signed this week, will also grant the Australian Defence Force unrestricted access to designated military facilities and areas across Papua New Guinea.
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The treaty coincides with PNG’s 50th anniversary of independence, marking a significant shift in its regional security posture. Multiple PNG ministers confirmed on Monday that cabinet had endorsed the pact, though Prime Minister James Marape said on Tuesday that the approval process was still ongoing.
Known as the Pukpuk Treaty—after the Tok Pisin word for crocodile—the pact is described in cabinet documents as a measure to ensure both militaries are “battle-ready” for any future threat. The submission states: “It has the ability to bite and like a crocodile, its bite force speaks of the interoperability and preparedness of the military for war.”
Mutual Defence and Military Integration
According to a copy of the agreement seen by the ABC, both countries acknowledge that an armed attack on one would endanger the security of the other, committing them to act against any “common danger.”
The treaty will also enable reciprocal recruitment of citizens into each other’s defence forces, annual joint military drills dubbed the Pukpuk Exercises, and collaboration in areas such as cyberspace and electromagnetic warfare.
Prime Minister Marape stressed the need to strengthen PNG’s military capacity. “If someone chose to invade our country right now, I don’t have the capacity to defend you,” he told journalists. “I have a moral obligation to build my military to a level that I can have the capacity to defend Papua New Guinea, every child.”
Strategic Context
The agreement comes amid intensifying geopolitical competition in the Pacific, with Australia and the United States seeking to counter growing Chinese influence in the region.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, joined by Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Pacific Minister Pat Conroy, arrived in Port Moresby on Monday ahead of independence celebrations. Albanese described the treaty as “a very significant upgrade” of the defence relationship.
“It provides for mutual defence, which means we will provide support for each other,” he said. “It provides for integration of our interoperability, our assets, and our respective defence forces.”
Concerns Over Sovereignty
Despite government backing, the treaty has sparked debate within PNG’s security community. Former PNG Defence Force commanders have voiced concern that deeper integration with Australia could compromise national sovereignty and contradict PNG’s long-standing foreign policy of non-alignment—“friends to all and enemies to none.”
Retired Commodore Peter Ilau, Defence Force commander from 2001 to 2010, warned: “The most important question here is, who takes ownership of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force? Loyalty number one must be to Papua New Guinea.”
Former commander Jerry Singirok said PNG should avoid being drawn into strategic rivalries. “I think we’ve been blinded by the fact that Australia is seeing China as a threat,” he argued.
China’s environment minister Huang Runqiu, visiting Port Moresby on Tuesday, declined to comment directly on the proposed treaty, saying it was unrelated to his delegation’s talks.
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