SYDNEY: Two Indian navy ships docked in Papua New Guinea today, underscoring the strategic importance of the country to global superpowers the US and China, and their allies.
The US and its allies are seeking to deter Pacific Island nations from forming security ties with China, a rising concern amid tension over Taiwan, and after Beijing signed a security pact with Solomon Islands. PNG struck a defence agreement with Washington in May. The leaders of both France and Indonesia, as well as senior US and UK officials, have also visited PNG in quick succession. US president Joe Biden was forced to cancel a visit because of debt ceiling negotiations in Washington.
After World War Two, the US was “determined to keep the former Japanese islands out of the Communist bloc because they were critical to protecting the southern flank below Japan and above Australia,” he said. With China’s rise, Pacific Islands airfields and undersea cables have again come into play, he added.