Political Football: The AUS-PNG Defence Delay
Among the many questions lingering about delays to Australia and Papua New Guinea officially signing the Pukpuk Mutual Defence Treaty, is the matter of a multi-million dollar investment for a PNG team to join the NRL.
Late last year, the Australian Federal Government, in concert with Australian Rugby League (ARL), signed a deal that would see Australia invest $600 million over ten years to develop a PNG team to play in the NRL by 2028.
It was touted as strengthening the alliance between Australia and PNG, furthering the country’s economic development and building relations in the Pacific.
At the time, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “It unites us, and it inspires us. It crosses borders and it fills bridges. In competing against each other, we learn from each other.”
However, the deal came with the provision that Australia remained PNG’s security partner of choice over China. It was part of a wider geopolitical strategy to shore up support against Chinese incursion into the Pacific and neighbouring regions. Australia would also be able to pull out of the deal at any time.
The failure of the Australian Federal Government and Prime Minster Albanese to secure the Pukpuk Mutual Defence Treaty as expected raises doubts about the future of the NRL deal as well as PNG’s commitment to an ongoing military alliance. At this stage, there are no reports of the NRL deal being scrapped.
It was anticipated that the Pukpuk Mutual Defence Treaty would be signed earlier this month on PM Albanese’s recent trip to PNG for the country’s 50 years of independence celebrations. The PM departed without a signed treaty from his PNG counterpart James Marape but a signed communique.
It is understood that PNG’s independence celebrations have caused much of the delay, with parliamentary members away in their home villages. Agreement from Port Moresby is expected once the Cabinet reconvenes, and Canberra is confident the treaty will be signed.
The Pukpuk Mutual Defence Treaty would be a major step forward for Australia, but it also marks a significant shift in PNG’s non-aligned foreign policy and autonomy in the Pacific. The provisions of the Treaty would align PNG to Australia, recognising any armed attack on either country as a danger to the peace and security of both nations. It would also integrate their respective military operations, paving the way for PNG citizens to serve in the ADF.
Since gaining independence from Australia in 1975, safeguarding national sovereignty has been PNG’s key political priority and there are some in Port Moresby who consider the Treaty a risk to that. The success of the Pukpuk Mutual Defence Treaty hinges on finding the balance between what Australia wants and what PNG needs.
Canberra is seeking to bolster political and military alliances in the Pacific against incursions by China, who have been encroaching and performing manoeuvres in the region. China has made no secret its intentions to expand and dominate, flexing its military might in a display of intimidation and perceived dominance. Beijing’s actions, especially in hotly contested fishing waters, comes as a threat to smaller Pacific nations as well as Australia.
Papua New Guinea certainly needs increased security partnerships, but there are also local concerns and PNG complex political system that Canberra needs to consider for the Pukpuk Mutual Defence Treaty to be truly mutual. PNG’s nine-party Cabinet makes it difficult to obtain unanimous agreement, with local politics largely outweighing the national agenda and external problems. More than an increased military presence or even a new footy team, PNG needs assistance with domestic concerns that directly affect its citizens.
Michael Kabuni from the Australian National University says: “[W]hat PNG needs are coastguard-style capabilities: maritime patrols, satellite monitoring, fisheries enforcement, customs and border policing, engineering units and disaster response teams.”
Should PNG renege on the Pukpuk Treaty, will the Federal Government or the ARL similarly pull the coveted NRL deal as they are contractually permitted to? A new national football team for Port Moresby was contingent on future participation in security deals, and it will be interesting to witness the endgame of this current round of political football.
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