WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A high-level U.S. civilian and military delegation visited Papua New Guinea this week to stress U.S. commitment to the strategic Pacific territory, where China is competing for influence.
The visit from Sunday until Tuesday was aimed at accelerating implementation of new projects linked to a Defense Cooperation Agreement signed last year, the White House statement said on Wednesday.
It also covered other efforts, including deployment of civil affairs and medical training teams, work to help resolve an ongoing fuel crisis and support for the PNG Electrification Project, it said.
The U.S. delegation included the head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Admiral Samuel Paparo, Mira Rapp-Hooper, the White House senior director for East Asia, Daniel Kritenbrink, the State Department’s top diplomat for the region, and Michael Schiffer, the U.S. aid agency’s (USAID) assistant administrator for Asia.
“The delegation presented a number of new initiatives responsive to Papua New Guinea’s most pressing development and security priorities, advancing this critical Pacific partnership,” the statement said.
The U.S. and its regional ally Australia for decades have seen the Pacific as their sphere of influence, and are seeking to deter island nations there from forming security ties with China, after Beijing signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands in 2022.
The U.S.-PNG defense pact sets a framework for the U.S. to refurbish PNG ports and airports for military and civilian use over 15 years, but some analysts have said Washington has been slow to implement commitments.
U.S. diplomatic efforts also suffered a setback this year when President Joe Biden raised the possibility that his uncle may have fallen victim to cannibals in PNG after his plane crashed there during World War Two.
The U.S. said last year its Coast Guard would take on a bigger maritime security role across the Pacific Islands and Coast Guard officers patrolling PNG waters would have authority to board foreign vessels suspected of illegal activity.
In February, a senior U.S. State Department official urged PNG to turn down China’s offer of a potential security pact, warning that any security guarantee with Beijing comes with consequences and costs.
The World Bank is preparing a financial lifeline for Pacific Island nations, backed by the U.S. and Australia, as an exodus of Western banks from the unprofitable market prompts concern that China could fill the vacuum.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; editing by Diane Craft)
