What Australia’s ‘Pukpuk’ pact with Papua New Guinea means for the Pacific

A new chapter in Pacific security began this week as Australia and Papua New Guinea signed a mutual defence agreement that draws the strategically vital yet volatile Melanesian nation further into Canberra’s sphere of influence – as China watches closely.

The “Pukpuk Treaty”, signed in Canberra on Monday by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Papua New Guinean counterpart James Marape, is Australia’s largest Pacific security pact in seven decades.

Named after the Tok Pisin word for crocodile, it comes amid domestic instability for PNG and escalating great power competition across the Pacific.

The pact follows last year’s deadly riots in Port Moresby, which left the capital smouldering and forced Marape to declare a state of emergency. Waves of clan violence in impoverished but resource-rich rural provinces have rocked the country since.

While the specifics remain under wraps, the agreement aims to integrate the 3,600-strong Papua New Guinea Defence Force with Australia’s 90,000-member military. It allows for thousands of Papua New Guineans with permanent residency in Australia to potentially join the ranks of the neighbouring country’s armed forces from next year.

  

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