According to a soft diplomatic agreement announced on Thursday, Papua New Guinea (referred to as PNG) will have its own team in the Australian Rugby League, aiming to curb China’s expansion in the South Pacific.
Under the agreement, the Australian government will invest 600 million Australian dollars (approximately 3.8 billion US dollars) over the next ten years to help this nearest neighbor of Australia join the National Rugby League starting from 2028.
Rugby is the most popular sport in Papua New Guinea.
Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese of Australia and James Marape of Papua New Guinea announced this agreement at a press conference in Sydney.
The two countries also announced that a bilateral security agreement reached a year ago has officially taken effect.
China has been seeking bilateral security agreements with Papua New Guinea and other South Pacific island nations, while Australia and other US allies are concerned that this could jeopardize regional security.
Papua New Guinea, with a population of 12 million, most of whom are subsistence farmers, has long suffered from tribal conflicts, escalating violent crimes, and internal turmoil.
Marape stated that the security agreement reached with Australia is “very fitting” to meet the needs of ensuring the safety of players and officials who will be operating in Port Moresby, the capital of PNG.
Marape said, “As long as our police forces have harmonious relations, players will feel very safe.”
When asked if this agreement would hinder Papua New Guinea from reaching security agreements with China, Albanese did not directly answer but clearly stated, “Pacific regional security is primarily the responsibility of the Pacific family, this is our shared principle.”
Marape also expressed that the security agreement with Australia aligns with Papua New Guinea’s interests.
Marape said, “Australia is the preferred security partner for Papua New Guinea.”
Marape added, “But this does not prevent us from establishing relationships with any country, especially our Asian neighbors, such as our good trade relations and bilateral relations with China. But in terms of security, we are more focused on neighboring regions that need protection, defense, and overseeing our shared territories.”
Later, the Australian government revealed that the rugby league agreement is supported by a “strategic trust” agreement between the two governments.
Additionally, Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Pat Conroy, stated that one clause in the agreement allows Australia to withdraw funding and request the National Rugby League to remove the PNG team from competitions if trust in Australia is compromised.
Conroy mentioned that the details of the trust agreement are confidential, but he pointed out that the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Papua New Guinea, Justin Tkatchenko, publicly stated that they would not reach any security agreements with China.
Chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission, Peter V’landys, stated that the Papua New Guinea government would never jeopardize Australian taxpayer support for the team by reaching a security agreement with Beijing.
V’landys mentioned, “Rugby league in Papua New Guinea is a religion, they would never risk losing the league team in exchange for a deal with another country.”
Marape described the deal to establish a rugby team based in Port Moresby as a “key” to strengthening the relationship between Papua New Guinea and Australia.
The security agreement signed by Albanese and Marape in November 2023 solidified Australia’s position as the preferred security partner. The agreement was signed six months later than initially planned.
The agreement scheduled for signing in June 2023 was abandoned as a security agreement reached a month earlier between the US and the Marape government sparked protests in the country, with concerns that the agreement could compromise Papua New Guinea’s sovereignty.
(Source: This article referenced reports from the Associated Press)