Papua

Pukpuk treaty commits the two neighbours to greater military cooperation, although the text is yet to be released.

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (PNG) James Marape have signed a mutual defence treaty in Canberra, with the leaders saying the text of the agreement will be available soon.

Marape told reporters on Monday in the Australian capital that the treaty was drawn up “out of geography, history and the enduring reality of our shared neighbourhood”.

“It is about one bigger fence that secures two houses that has its own yard space,” Marape said, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

The Papua New Guinean leader disagreed that the pact was drawn up due to broader geopolitical issues, in an apparent reference to the military interests of countries like China and the United States in the Pacific region.

“This treaty was not conceived out of geopolitics or any other reason,” Marape said.

“We maintain friendships to all enemies, we advocate peace wherever we engage, in as far as foreign relations concern,” PNG’s leader added.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that the treaty “makes very explicit” that there will be “interoperability” between the two neighbouring countries’ “defence assets”, adding that “our greatest asset is our people”.

The ABC reported that this meant the two countries would share the same rights as current members of the Five Eyes agreement, which Australia shares with Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the US.

Marape’s office said last week that the agreement will create a path for 10,000 Papua New Guineans to serve in the Australian Defence Force, as his country also aims to build up its own defence force to 7,000 troops.

Papua New Guinea has a population of some 12 million people, of which about 40 percent live below the poverty line, in stark contrast to its richer neighbour, Australia.

The signing of the Pukpuk treaty comes weeks after Papua New Guinea celebrated 50 years of independence from Australia, which assumed control of its northern neighbour as a colonial power in 1902, after both countries were colonised by the UK.

In August 2013, Australia signed a memorandum of understanding with Papua New Guinea, which saw thousands of migrants arriving in Australia by boat detained on Manus Island in offshore detention.

The controversial detention centre closed in 2017, leaving hundreds of refugees stranded.

Australia is also seeking to sign a security agreement with Fiji, after a similar agreement covering both security and climate change with Vanuatu stalled last month.

Australia also recently signed a landmark treaty with Tuvalu, the world’s first agreement offering visas to help people facing displacement due to the climate crisis to resettle.

Climate change remains a key security concern for many countries in the region, with Australia bidding to host the 2026 UN COP climate change meeting, alongside its Pacific neighbours.

The bid has yet to materialise as Turkiye is also formally campaigning to host the same meeting.

May 16 (UPI) — The Papua New Guinea National Department of Health announced early Friday that a polio outbreak has struck there.

The nation’s government said it is “stepping up its response after the poliovirus was detected in wastewater samples and in two healthy children in Lae, Morobe Province.”

The World Health Organization has reported that less than 50% of the country’s population have been immunized against the disease, which is caused virally via contact with an infected person’s feces or droplets that come with sneezes and coughs. Polio mostly affects kids under five years old and cannot be cured.

The two children who tested positive in Lae are said to be symptom-free, which is commonly the case. Some may develop flu-like symptoms, but the virus can also occasionally cause paralysis and become life-threatening if breathing muscles are impacted.

The BBC reports that Papua New Guinea’s WHO representative Sevil Huseynova said “We have to do something about it and we have to do it immediately,” and that “We have to make maximum effort to get 100% [vaccination] coverage.”

In a post to Facebook Friday, the Papua New Guinea government said its Health Minister Elias Kapavore has called the situation “serious but manageable,” and “We’ve dealt with this before and know what works.”

He also added that “Vaccination is safe and effective, and we’re acting quickly to keep children protected.”

The Papua New Guinea government also announced Friday that as of Wednesday its “planned response includes at least two rounds of nationwide vaccination. These vaccines are free, safe, and widely used around the world, and the health system is working to ensure they are available to all children under five, no matter where they live.”

The country also declared it will take “immediate steps include expanding disease monitoring to detect any further cases swiftly and effectively. Testing is being increased, and surveillance efforts are being strengthened across the country to monitor for any additional signs of the virus.”

Polio has broken out before in Papua New Guinea, with the most recent incident happening in June of 2018, after a reported 20 years of the nation being considered polio-free.