On January 29, according to Reuters, Papua New Guinea (PNG) Foreign Minister Justin Tkachenko said the country will soon negotiate with China on a potential security agreement.
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| Papua New Guinea (PNG) Foreign Minister Justin Tkachenko highlighted the prospect of security cooperation with China. (Source: The Australian) |
Foreign Minister Tkachenko said China had approached PNG in September 2023 with an offer to assist the police force with training, equipment and surveillance technology. The two sides continued talks last week.
"At this stage, PNG is only cooperating with China in the economic and trade fields. China is one of PNG's largest trading partners, but they have offered to support us in terms of internal security," he affirmed.
Foreign Minister Tkachenko said PNG would assess whether China's offer was similar to the security assistance already offered by Australia and the United States.
"China has made an offer to us but we have not agreed at this time," he said.
It also stressed that PNG would not do anything to jeopardise its defence and security relationship with Australia or the United States.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has not commented on this issue.
(according to Reuters)
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