Fifty years after Papua New Guinea (PNG) formed its Defence Force upon achieving independence from Australia, the nations’ troops are set to serve in each other’s forces under a proposed defense treaty.
The pact, which follows a 2023 bilateral security agreement, will build on the nations’ “unique history and closeness,” their defense ministers announced in February 2025. The enduring relationship “was born out of conflict in the Pacific” during World War II, PNG Defence Minister Dr. Billy Joseph said in a statement.
Canberra and Port Moresby are deepening engagement and enhancing interoperability amid rising tensions largely driven by the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) attempts to gain influence in the Pacific region. Beijing’s destabilizing actions include its secretive 2022 security pact with Solomon Islands and its recent live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand.
Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said the February 2025 exercise, during which three CCP warships entered Australia’s exclusive economic zone, was “not unprecedented, but unusual,” The Associated Press reported.
Under their 2023 security deal, Australia is investing $130 million for infrastructure and training to help PNG double its police force to 10,000 officers. The nations’ defense forces, meanwhile, conduct regular bilateral exercises such as Olgeta Warrior and Puk Puk, and Australia has provided PNG with assets including light transport aircraft.
In 2023, PNG troops participated in the Australia-hosted Talisman Sabre for the first time, and Joseph and Marles announced that PNG will stage a portion of the biennial drills in mid-2025 — the first time the multinational exercise has ventured beyond Australia. In another historic move, a PNG officer was appointed deputy commander of the Australian Army’s 3rd Brigade in 2024.
Days after Joseph and Marles met in Brisbane, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) fighter jets stopped for refueling in Port Moresby while en route to northern Australia after participating in exercise Cope North in Guam with Japan and the United States. They were the first RAAF F-35s to land in the island nation, the PNG Post-Courier newspaper reported.
