Paparo Leads Delegation to Papua New Guinea
US-PNG relationship, Japan's Pacific Islands strategy
Hub Story: Paparo Leads Delegation to Papua New Guinea
Spoke Story: Japan Hosts Pacific Leaders in Tokyo
Hub Story: Paparo Leads Interagency Delegation to Papua New Guinea
INDOPACOM Commander Paparo lead a high-level interagency delegation to Papua New Guinea. It shows the high level of importance that Washington puts on the US relationship with the island nation.
The list of high profile delegation members included:
Dr. Mira Rapp-Hooper, Special Assistant to the President and National Security Council Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania
Daniel Krittenbrink, Department of State Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Michael Schiffer, U.S. Agency for International Development Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Asia
Anka Lee, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia
Ann Marie Yastishock, US Ambassador to Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and the Republic of Vanuatu Hub Story: Japan and the Pacific Islands
It’s worth diving into US-PNG interactions for each of these categories.
Political Importance:
The US-Papua New Guinea relationship began during World War II. During the war, Papua New Guinea became a critical battleground in the Pacific theater. The United States, along with its allies, fought against Japanese forces in key campaigns such as the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Kokoda Track campaign. The island's strategic location was vital for controlling the Pacific, making it a focal point for intense combat. Allied victories in Papua New Guinea played a significant role in turning the tide against Japan, securing the region, and advancing towards victory in the Pacific.
Now, as the US-China rivalry rages, PNG has become a strategically important partner. China's influence in PNG is expanding through strategic investments and trade agreements, such as easing agricultural export restrictions. While often overshadowed by the China-West rivalry narrative, PNG leverages China's infrastructure funds and market access to meet its development goals. Simultaneously, PNG maintains pragmatic relations with Western nations, benefiting from diverse partnerships in infrastructure, security, and trade, balancing its economic ambitions with the potential risks of foreign investments. As PNG Prime Minister James Marape seeks further engagement with global markets, PNG's strategic partnerships highlight its balancing act between maximizing economic opportunities and managing external influences.
Diplomatic Significance:
In many ways, PNG is key to the US’s diplomatic engagement with the Pacific Island nations. Strategically located between Indonesia, Australia, and the Pacific Island nations to its east, PNG is the nexus connecting three critical regions in the South Pacific. In 2022, the White House announced PNG as a focus country for its Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability. This initiative has brought new attention and goods to the Pacific Island nation.
Elevating the Rights and Roles of Women and Youth for Sustainable Peace in Papua New Guinea:
Through the ten-year plan, the United States elevates the rights and roles of women and youth in target communities in Papua New Guinea. Overcoming the marginalization and disempowerment of women and youth provides a critical opportunity for peacebuilding while addressing a key risk for instability.
USAID supports programs to strengthen communities’ capabilities to respond to violence while also supporting equitable livelihood opportunities. The Department of State invests in efforts to address gender-based violence (GBV), including by improving law enforcement capacity on case management, increasing utilization of police services for GBV survivors, and improving services for GBV survivors.
The Department of State is expanding the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs into Papua New Guinea and is currently recruiting the inaugural cohort for the global exchange program that equips women with the practical skills needed to create sustainable businesses and enterprises.
The Department of Defense is delivering Women, Peace, and Security courses to train and develop a gender advisory workforce with the Papua New Guinea Defence Force focused on gender-based violence prevention and response.
In 2023, Biden was set to be the first president to visit PNG but canceled his trip at the last minute due to debt ceiling negotiations with Congress. Of course, this was a disappointing decision for those who recognize the strategic importance of the US-PNG relationship, but it was also a hit toward US diplomatic strategy in the larger Pacific Islands region. Washington sent Secretary Blinken and Secretary Austin for two high-profile trips to PNG, but not the same as a presidential trip. Regardless, State has continued its diplomatic push with PNG.
Security Relationship:
The growing security relationship is at the foundation of the US engagement with PNG. Just as PNG is diplomatically and politically important for US policy in the region, it is also militarily significant. PNG’s geography is paramount in that importance.
The Strategist: The Rising Value of Papua New Guinea’s Strategic Geography:
The island of New Guinea, of which PNG forms the eastern half, is often depicted as sitting at the foot of the ‘second island chain’. Alternatively conceived, it constitutes the biggest link in Australia’s own first island chain. Either way, its importance is clear: it’s not just the closest country to the Australian mainland but, with an 820-kilometre land border with Indonesia, also the hinge between Southeast Asia and the southwest Pacific. The Torres Strait, between PNG and Australia, controls access between the Indonesian archipelago and the Coral Sea. Cape York, the northernmost part of the Australian continent, points directly to Guam, in the Marianas, America’s bulwark base in the second island chain. PNG is the only country in between.
Just as in World War II, PNG will be essential in any future regional conflict. Due to this, the US and PNG signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) in 2023. This agreement is somewhat similar to the US-Philippines Visiting Forces Agreement but not as extensive or permanent. Under the agreement, the United States will have access to six sites for 15 years, including Lombrum Naval Base and Momote Airport in northern Papua New Guinea. The bases can be used for contingency operations, which during peacetime means response to natural disasters and providing humanitarian aid, but potentially could be used for future conflicts.
For PNG, this is part of a push by the government to modernize the PNG military. In a mutually beneficial exchange, the US will increase arms transfers, exercises, and joint operations in exchange for base access. This is not the only agreement between the two countries. In addition to the DCA, the two countries also signed an Agreement Concerning Counter Illicit Transnational Maritime Activity Operations.
The new Agreement Concerning Counter Illicit Transnational Maritime Activity Operations addresses a range of maritime threats including illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, drug trafficking, migrant smuggling, and illicit transport of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). This agreement adds to the 11 existing agreements within the Pacific Island region and strengthens maritime governance and enforcement globally.
US Aid:
The US Government, through USAID, announced $5 million to support Papua New Guinea's COVID-19 response, including $1 million for technical assistance to the National Department of Health and $4 million for liquid medical oxygen systems at Port Moresby General Hospital and Angau General Hospital. This funding is part of over $24 million provided by the US to strengthen PNG's health system, including infection prevention, vaccination rollouts, and healthcare training. USAID's Deputy Mission Director highlighted the importance of sustainable investments in building a resilient health infrastructure in PNG.
This week, USAID announced an additional $3.5 million to support disaster preparedness in Papua New Guinea, enhancing local government capacity and prepositioning relief commodities. This funding, with the support of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), aims to improve rapid disaster assessments, management strategies, and community-driven preparedness.
Overall, a stronger US-Papua New Guinea relationship is developing and is increasingly important for US national interests. PNG is strategically important for the United States due to its location in the Indo-Pacific region, providing a critical point for monitoring and securing maritime routes vital for global trade. Strengthening relations with PNG helps counter China's growing influence in the Pacific, reinforcing the US's strategic interests and promoting regional stability.
Spoke Story: Japan Increases Outreach to Pacific Islands
This week, the Pacific Islands leaders gathered in Tokyo to hold the 10th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM10). Japan’s engagement with the Pacific Islands has amplified as tensions with China rise. However, they have always played an important role in Japanese foreign policy.
At the core of Japan’s foreign policy toward the Pacific Islands is the Kuranari Doctrine. The Kuranari Doctrine was put forth in Foreign Minister Tadashi Kuranari’s speech, “Working Towards the Pacific Future Community,” in Fiji in 1987. This doctrine crafted five diplomatic principles toward the Pacific Islands:
“respect for independence and self-help”
“support for regional cooperation”
“ensuring political stability”
“economic cooperation for development”
“promoting people-to-people exchange”
These principles have guided Japan’s approach for the most part. Notably absent from this list is security cooperation. However, Tokyo has begun to step up security interactions in recent years. Japan’s increased security presence complements the growing American presence and is largely a response to Chinese efforts in the Pacific. In a recent interview, Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr. expressed concern about Chinese coercion after a recent cyber attack targeting the small nation’s customs and border functions.
In 2021, during PALM9, Japan announced its Pacific Bond (Kizuna) Policy as part of a new initiative to better incorporate the Pacific Islands into its larger Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) strategy. Japan’s primary tool for promoting policy under its new Kizuna approach is through its Interagency Committee for Promoting Cooperation with Pacific Island Countries. Development aid, climate change cooperation, and other assistance are heavily emphasized, but the Ministry of Defence has become more involved, and the PLAM10 highlighted the importance of it.
Reinforce capacity for maritime security and maritime safety: The PALM Partners will continue cooperation in building capacity of the coast guard authorities based on national request, respect for national sovereignty, policies and processes, through dispatch of the Mobile Cooperation Team (MCT) from the Japan Coast Guard, building capacity for developing navigational charts, technical cooperation for Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) by Japan and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and supporting the development of a fisheries and maritime training school. The PALM Partners, based on national request, respect for national sovereignty, policies and processes, will also strengthen maritime security and maritime safety through JICA’s technical cooperation and Japan’s new cooperation framework, Official Security Assistance (OSA).
Additionally, earlier this year, Japan hosted the first in-person security dialogue with the Pacific Islands, where the Japanese Minister of Defence laid out three new guiding principles for the growing Japanese-Pacific Island security cooperation.
The 2nd Japan Pacific Islands Defense Dialogue:
Respecting Centrality, Unity, and Ownership of Pacific Island Countries
Strengthening Equal, Mutually Beneficial and Supportive Relationships
Supporting Collaboration between the Pacific Island Countries, Japan, and ASEAN
Japan is the perfect partner for many Pacific Island nations. Its great reputation as the ideal partner for development assistance makes a more robust security relationship easier. Military interactions will still be more limited than those with the United States or Australia, but this is a great development.
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