Australia has signed a new defence agreement with Papua New Guinea, its first in more than 70 years, as Canberra seeks to block China from expanding its security presence in the Pacific.
Under the Pukpuk defence treaty, which is the first signed by Papua New Guinea, Australia and its northern neighbour are obliged to come to each other\u2019s aid if attacked.
“This is a historic agreement,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told press in Canberra. \u201cBy continuing to build our security relationships in the region, we safeguard our own security.\u201d
The treaty allows as many as 10,000 Papua New Guineans to serve with the Australian Defence Force, under dual arrangements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Australia has signed a new defence agreement with Papua New Guinea, its first in more than 70 years, as Canberra seeks to block China from expanding its security presence in the Pacific.Under the Pukpuk defence treaty, which is the first signed by Papua New Guinea, Australia and its northern neighbour are obliged to come to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n