Australia and PNG to ‘fully integrate’ military forces in treaty this week
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The news: Australia and Papua New Guinea will this week sign a landmark defence treaty that will see their military forces “totally integrated”, the ABC reported citing PNG's Defence Minister Billy Joseph.
The pact will allow both countries to recruit each other’s citizens and operate with shared equipment, according to documents cited by the ABC.
The ABC reported a submission would be put to PNG’s cabinet for approval on Monday before it can be signed by both country’s prime ministers. The Australian reported an announcement is expected Wednesday.
The agreement includes a clause similar to, but reportedly less onerous than, Article IV of NATO’s founding treaty, requiring consultations when territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened.
The ABC said Papua New Guineans would be able to gain Australian citizenship by serving in the ADF and Defence Minister Richard Marles, who will join Albanese in PNG today for celebrations to mark PNG’s 50th anniversary of independence, indirectly confirmed they would be paid the same as Australian recruits.
What they said: “It’s fair to say that a lot more ambition has been brough to this agreement. It certainly will transform the defence relationship between Australia and PNG,” Marles said when asked on the ABC’s Insiders program, declining to provide or confirm details ahead of official announcements.
“It is a really significant agreement that we will be signing.,” Marles said. “It does reflect that we are doing so many more exercises together. So many more operations together. We are really working hand in glove as to defence forces,” he said.
PNG’s Billy Joseph had earlier said told the ABC the deal would be a “mutual defence treaty” to protect each other’s territories.
"We're not talking about interoperability, we're talking about totally integrated forces," he told the ABC.
"Australian Defence Force (ADF) and PNG Defence Force (PNGDF) both working together closely, using the same equipment … fighting together, defending our sovereignties as an integrated force."
The context: The treaty is part of a broader push to reinforce Australia’s strategic ties in the Pacific, including a $600 million NRL partnership, and is being finalised amid increasing strategic competition with China. It replaces the 1977 Status of Forces Agreement and follows previous defence cooperation including joint exercises and infrastructure investment.
Formal negotiations began in January, marking what Marles has described as a “hugely significant” step in Australia–PNG security cooperation.
The sources: ABC, The Australian
