What is the role of the US–PNG Relationship in an increasingly complex Pacific? - Ambassador Amet

What is the role of the US Papua New Guinea relationship in an increasingly complex Pacific region? Today I'm joined by Papua New Guinea's Ambassador to the US, Sir Arnold Amet. I'm Katherine Pack, Deputy Director and Senior Fellow with the Australia Chair, and this is Pacific Policy Pulse. Thank you, Ambassador, for joining us here today. >> So, Ambassador, you've been Papua New Guinea's Ambassador to the US for just over a year. And in that time, there have been some really major developments, not least of which is Papua New Guinea's first mutual defense treaty with Australia. Amidst all of this activity, what is the current state of US-Papua New Guinea relations, and what does that partnership look like in the broader context of Papua New Guinea's outlook? >> Yeah, good question. Um, actually the the defense pact with Australia was last year in '25, following our defense cooperation agreement with the US, actually in '23. And so, that's elevated our bilateral relationship with America significantly, from just being a diplomatic relationship going back 50 years, to now a very strategic partnership with uh the Americans, and then of course followed by the Australians, who have been traditional partners for a long time, and uh others in the region. So, it has elevated our strategic partnership with uh uh the US. And whilst the uh description is defense cooperation agreement, it's uh an umbrella for developmental partnership, very strategic, and it articulates a whole range of uh um national developmental aspirations on the part of PNG. Uh the Americans of course have investment in Papua New Guinea over many, many years in some of our major resource developments like gold and copper with Newmont and LNG with ExxonMobil. Uh and so whilst uh the a part of this agreement with the uh US is defense uh that that is a long way down the track in developing um some infrastructure assistance to our defense force capacity uh for national security and so the large range of uh areas uh uh holistic developmental, health, education um maritime security, internal law and justice and so and so it's really elevated significantly uh in writing uh in very specific terms our partnership with the US that hadn't been there apart from a number of uh specific um uh agreements before. >> As we think about broader security in the Pacific China on 6 July [clears throat] launched a submarine-launched ballistic missile SLBM into the Pacific. Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister, Prime Minister Marape said we ask all major powers to refrain from using Pacific waters for missile testing, military weapons trials or any activity that contributes to conflict or militarization. How does Papua New Guinea view this growing militarization of the Pacific and what role should partners like the US, Australia, New Zealand play in ensuring the region remains stable and secure? >> Yeah, I think what you've just said uh just now that uh our uh geopolitical global partners um uh uh development partners, um uh the Europeans, the NATO alliances, the Japanese, the Koreans, the um uh the Chinese, Americans. Uh our preference, and I think that's the essence uh and sentiment of what the Prime Minister was saying, we'd prefer to partner with all of you in our developmental aspirations, our security, and maritime uh security, and we would ask and uh and prefer you to respect our sovereignty, so that we did not have to align with any of you in particular. Uh we respect your uh developments of your defense uh technology, but we would ask that you uh respect our territorial waters and uh the vulnerabilities of our region. Uh we're small island states. Uh issues of um climate uh resilience, uh our the culture, our maritime resources, the fishing and so on that uh uh this kind of tests, the nuclear tests, uh do not have the potential of affecting. And so um uh and uh we do not get embroiled in uh in that, we would respect your um developmental uh activities, but we would uh ask that you respect our sovereignty in these respects as well. I think that's the Papua New Guinea's position. Uh it's not uh uh saying to one or the other um and uh but that uh we would respect uh your uh technological advancement uh uh exercises, but please uh respect our the sovereignty in our region. >> Mhm. >> Well, and lastly, what book are you reading these days? >> I've just actually finished um an interesting book by Clive Hamilton, an Australian think tank academic um called um Silent Invasion. Uh the influence of the communist uh the Chinese Communist Party into Australia in the political, in economical, in academia. An interesting, eye-opening for uh us in the region. And of course uh the potential for that in many of our countries globally. I think there's a sequel to that uh of a global impact that as we know um the Chinese influence regionally as well as throughout the world presently. Uh very interesting. Yes. >> I haven't read that one yet. I'll have to check it out. Well, thank you so much, Ambassador, for joining us on Pacific Policy Pulse. >> It's been a pleasure, Catherine. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> [music]