Papua New Guinea Cabinet approves defense treaty with Australia
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Papua New Guinea’s Cabinet has approved a bilateral defense treaty with near neighbor Australia, paving the way for the nations’ leaders to sign a landmark agreement that U.S. allies hope will curb Chinese influence in the region.
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape confirmed Thursday that the treaty had been formally approved by his Cabinet.
"Australia has only one other mutual defense treaty of this type and at our request Papua New Guinea will now sign this treaty,” Marape said in a statement. Australia's other alliance-status pact is the ANZUS Treaty signed in 1951 with the United States and New Zealand.
“This reflects the depth of trust, history, and shared future between our two nations,” Marape added.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he and Marape would sign the treaty soon.
“Our two nations are the...
