The federal opposition in Papua New Guinea has urged the government of Prime Minister James Marabe to reveal the details of the ‘Defense Cooperation Treaty’ with the US, which was scheduled to be signed during President Joe Biden’s visit to the Pacific nation.
In a statement, opposition leader Joseph Lelang expressed concern that the “contents of the Defense Cooperation Treaty with the United States were sketchy”.
Lelang underlined that this “created a lot of confusion and uneasiness around the country as to what this means for us.” The Opposition is calling on the Prime Minister to come out and tell the nation the details of the Defense Cooperation Treaty,” as per the statement.
As reported by Japanese publication Nikkei Asian Review last week, the proposed US-Papua New Guinea defence pact would have allowed American troops to access the Pacific nation’s ports and airports.
Tensions in the south Pacific region are on the rise amid Beijing’s growing economic and security footprint in the region, where the US has traditionally been the pre-eminent power.
Last year, Beijing signed a security cooperation pact with the Solomon Islands, which raised security concerns among western allies.
Biden Cuts Short His Indo-Pacific Visit
The statement by opposition leader Joseph Lelang on Wednesday came after the White House announced that Biden would be returning to Washington on Sunday after attending the G-7 Summit in Hiroshima.
The US statement noted that Biden needed to be in the US to ensure that the US Congress “takes action” by the 1 June deadline to “avert default” by raising the debt ceiling from the current value of $31.4 trillion.
As per his original itinerary, Biden was scheduled to meet Papua New Guinea PM Marabe and the other Pacific island nations (PINs) leaders in Port Moresby on 22 May.
The 14 Pacific leaders are scheduled to be in Papua New Guinea at the time for the Forum for India–Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) meeting, which will also be attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Biden was also scheduled to attend the Quad Leaders’ Summit in Sydney on 24 May. The Australian PM said on Wednesday that the leaders’ meeting had been called off after Biden informed him that he would be returning home from the G-7 meeting.