Treaty will allow PNG nationals to gain Australian citizenship by serving in defence forces and comes as the country sits at the centre of a geopolitical battle
As Papua New Guinea prepares to mark 50 years as an independent nation next month, the country will sign a defence treaty with Australia, binding it closer again to its former colonial overseer.
The treaty will allow Papua New Guinea nationals to gain Australian citizenship by serving in its defence forces, deepen defence cooperation, and give both countries’ militaries greater access to each other’s bases.
“Our security and prosperity is entwined with their security and prosperity: this defence treaty will take that to an even higher level,” Australia’s minister for defence industry and the Pacific, Pat Conroy, said this week.
His PNG counterpart, Billy Joseph, described the treaty as an agreement that “sends a message: with all these competing interests in the region, PNG stands with Australia”.
