Australia and Papua New Guinea opened talks Thursday on a formal treaty-level defense agreement.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles met with his Papua New Guinean counterpart Billy Joseph in Brisbane as Canberra scrambles to reinforce defense ties in the Pacific in the face of increasing pressure from China, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported.
It comes around 14 months after the two countries signed a landmark security agreement in December 2023 and after they signed an A$600 million ($382.80 million) deal handing Papua New Guinea its own National Rugby League team in return for strategic assurances designed to lock out China, with the aim of limiting Beijing’s security ambitions in the Pacific Islands.
In a statement released ahead of the meeting, Marles said he wanted to take Australia’s relationship with Papua New Guinea to the “next level.”
“The shared ambition for a treaty-level agreement would expand and modernize Australia and Papua New Guinea’s defense relationship and facilitate deeper integration,” he said.
There is no timeline to finalize negotiations, but both sides “are keen to move rapidly” on reaching an agreement, according to ABC.