{"id":9738,"date":"2023-05-30T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-29T22:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/?p=9738"},"modified":"2023-08-07T12:05:43","modified_gmt":"2023-08-07T02:05:43","slug":"the-significance-of-bidens-almost-papua-new-guinea-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/the-significance-of-bidens-almost-papua-new-guinea-visit\/","title":{"rendered":"The significance of Biden\u2019s (almost) Papua New Guinea visit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SEAN JACOBS<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The late US Secretary of State George Shultz noted that \u201cdiplomatic visits are an important expression of presidential priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite President Biden\u2019s last-minute cancellation to Papua New Guinea (PNG), the significance of Secretary of State Anthony Blinken\u2019s brief visit<\/a> should not be overlooked, let alone the signing<\/a> of the US-PNG Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) \u2013 an agreement that reflects not only a changing strategic atmosphere but PNG\u2019s emergence, scale and its challenges and internal politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, while working with Port Moresby\u2019s National Capital District Commission in 2010, I recall the fanfare of then-US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton\u2019s whistlestop tour<\/a> \u2013 the first of its kind \u2013 and noting PNG had not received any comparable senior US government leader since Douglas MacArthur in World War II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things have clearly changed. US Vice President Mike Pence attended PNG\u2019s APEC 2018, signing<\/a> the PNG Electrification Partnership (PEP) and a commitment<\/a> for Lombrum Naval Base upgrades. This is now Blinken\u2019s second visit to PNG and the wider Pacific islands region in under two years \u2013 an unprecedented level of focus among US Secretaries of State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Certainly, PNG is clearly now on the strategic map and the DCA, while provoking concerns<\/a>, is broadly reflective of two factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first is an acknowledgement not just of priority but of PNG\u2019s scale. At nine million people and growing fast, PNG is the largest of the Pacific\u2019s 15 nations. The country possesses a range of internal challenges, from climate change displacement issues to law and order concerns. Its <\/a>demographic growth<\/a>, expanding economy<\/a> and trade links<\/a> are creating expectations on its strategic intent. The DCA is both an acknowledgement and a much-needed signal of this intent from the Marape Government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second reason is strategic. Beijing has strong links to PNG as a Comprehensive Strategic Partner \u2013 the highest form of China\u2019s diplomatic relationship \u2013 and it has developed a range of hard in-country infrastructure projects, while also creating toeholds for potential future deliverables, as seen by the 2020 MOU for a fisheries facility<\/a> at Daru \u2013 mere kilometres from Australian waters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden brings PNG closer to the US, especially \u201cin the midst of the most consequential strategic realignment since the Second World War\u201d \u2013 to borrow<\/a> from Australian policymakers \u2013 and Beijing, while putting forward a measured<\/a> DCA response, will no doubt be concerned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within PNG, broader DCA-related issues have also been raised around creeping militarisation<\/a>, the exemptions<\/a> offered to active US personnel, and the wider disproportionate attention<\/a> currently being paid to Beijing\u2019s increasing security ties in the Pacific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are all valid. However, it is worth noting the nature of the DCA itself, which is fundamentally motivated by<\/a> a \u201cdemocratic partnership\u201d between \u201clike-minded democratic countries\u201d. PNG, after all, is a \u2018noisy\u2019 democracy but a democracy, nonetheless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also worth acknowledging is the DCA\u2019s context in the mix of other revamped US commitments, such as the US Pacific Partnership Strategy<\/a>. Although a regional strategy, PNG-specific features include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n