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United States Vice-President Mike Pence has declared his nation will partner with Australia and Papua New Guinea to boost operations at a Manus Island naval base amid rising tensions over China’s growing influence in the Pacific.
The federal government had been working with PNG to develop the strategically important base at Lombrum, announcing in September a $5 million contract to upgrade wharf and shore-based infrastructure.
Mr Pence told a meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation in Port Moresby on Saturday that the United States will also contribute to the military expansion, which is likely to be interpreted as an attempt to prevent China from stepping in to expand the base.
“Today it’s my privilege to announce that the United States will partner with Papua New Guinea and Australia on their joint initiative at Lombrum naval base on Manus Island,” he told the APEC meeting. He did not elaborate on the extent of the US contribution.
Mr Pence said the US was also forging “new and renewed security partnerships”, including recent trilateral naval exercises with India and Japan.
Mr Pence’s announcement comes as Australia seeks to balance its allegiances to both China and the US.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who met with Mr Pence on Saturday, said the Lombrum cooperation helped take US-Australia relations to a "new level".
Asked if the US involvement would be seen as an attempt to counter China in the region, Mr Morrison said PNG invited both the US and Australia to cooperate in the expansion, which was "their initiative".
"This is a strong partnership designed to make a stronger Pacific, a more prosperous Pacific. For Australia, this is our family of nations that we work with here in the Pacific and we’ll be there very much as an equal family member," he said.
Mr Morrison said details such as whether US and Australian ships would be based at Lombrum were yet to be confirmed.
Earlier, he told reporters that China and the US were equally important as Australian allies.
The HMAS Choules, sitting off the Lombrum base in 2013, after a border protection operation.CREDIT: KATE GERAGHTY
Mr Pence's strongly-worded speech warned developing nations to be wary of accepting large infrastructure loans – increasingly used by China to increase its presence in the region – saying the terms of the deals were “often opaque at best”.
“Projects they support are often unsustainable and poor quality. Do not accept foreign debt that could compromise your sovereignty,” he said.
“Protect your interests, preserve your independence and just like America, always put your country first.”
As Fairfax Media reported in April, China has approached Vanuatu about building a permanent military presence in the South Pacific.
Such a base would allow China to exert military power into the region, and may increase the risk of confrontation between China and the US.
Defence Minister Christopher Pyne last month said the Lombrum upgrades will support the safe and secure berthing of PNG’s four new Guardian-class patrol boats. It builds on existing security cooperation between Australian and PNG defence forces, including a recently established $2 million communications centre at Lombrum.
At the time Labor’s Defence spokesman Richard Marles supported the move, saying “the more cooperation we have with the Pacific, with countries like Papua New Guinea, and that includes military cooperation, I think the better.”
US Vice-President Mike Pence (right) speaks as Prime Minister Scott Morrison listens during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Port Moresby.CREDIT: AP
Mr Pence’s announcement fuels an already tense bilateral relationship between the US and China, including the threat of a full-blown trade war. The US imposed tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports in September and has threatened to extend this to almost all of China's exports to the US.
China retaliated by saying it would impose duties on $60 billion worth of US goods.
In an earlier speech, Prime Minister Scott Morrison mounted a spirited defence of the benefits of free trade, saying “tit-for-tat protectionism and threats of trade wars are in no-one’s interests economically and undermine the authority of the global and regional trading rules that benefit us all”.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/...-manus-island-naval-base-20181117-p50goi.html
The federal government had been working with PNG to develop the strategically important base at Lombrum, announcing in September a $5 million contract to upgrade wharf and shore-based infrastructure.
Mr Pence told a meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation in Port Moresby on Saturday that the United States will also contribute to the military expansion, which is likely to be interpreted as an attempt to prevent China from stepping in to expand the base.
“Today it’s my privilege to announce that the United States will partner with Papua New Guinea and Australia on their joint initiative at Lombrum naval base on Manus Island,” he told the APEC meeting. He did not elaborate on the extent of the US contribution.
Mr Pence said the US was also forging “new and renewed security partnerships”, including recent trilateral naval exercises with India and Japan.
Mr Pence’s announcement comes as Australia seeks to balance its allegiances to both China and the US.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who met with Mr Pence on Saturday, said the Lombrum cooperation helped take US-Australia relations to a "new level".
Asked if the US involvement would be seen as an attempt to counter China in the region, Mr Morrison said PNG invited both the US and Australia to cooperate in the expansion, which was "their initiative".
"This is a strong partnership designed to make a stronger Pacific, a more prosperous Pacific. For Australia, this is our family of nations that we work with here in the Pacific and we’ll be there very much as an equal family member," he said.
Mr Morrison said details such as whether US and Australian ships would be based at Lombrum were yet to be confirmed.
Earlier, he told reporters that China and the US were equally important as Australian allies.
The HMAS Choules, sitting off the Lombrum base in 2013, after a border protection operation.CREDIT: KATE GERAGHTY
Mr Pence's strongly-worded speech warned developing nations to be wary of accepting large infrastructure loans – increasingly used by China to increase its presence in the region – saying the terms of the deals were “often opaque at best”.
“Projects they support are often unsustainable and poor quality. Do not accept foreign debt that could compromise your sovereignty,” he said.
“Protect your interests, preserve your independence and just like America, always put your country first.”
As Fairfax Media reported in April, China has approached Vanuatu about building a permanent military presence in the South Pacific.
Such a base would allow China to exert military power into the region, and may increase the risk of confrontation between China and the US.
Defence Minister Christopher Pyne last month said the Lombrum upgrades will support the safe and secure berthing of PNG’s four new Guardian-class patrol boats. It builds on existing security cooperation between Australian and PNG defence forces, including a recently established $2 million communications centre at Lombrum.
At the time Labor’s Defence spokesman Richard Marles supported the move, saying “the more cooperation we have with the Pacific, with countries like Papua New Guinea, and that includes military cooperation, I think the better.”
US Vice-President Mike Pence (right) speaks as Prime Minister Scott Morrison listens during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Port Moresby.CREDIT: AP
Mr Pence’s announcement fuels an already tense bilateral relationship between the US and China, including the threat of a full-blown trade war. The US imposed tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports in September and has threatened to extend this to almost all of China's exports to the US.
China retaliated by saying it would impose duties on $60 billion worth of US goods.
In an earlier speech, Prime Minister Scott Morrison mounted a spirited defence of the benefits of free trade, saying “tit-for-tat protectionism and threats of trade wars are in no-one’s interests economically and undermine the authority of the global and regional trading rules that benefit us all”.
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/...-manus-island-naval-base-20181117-p50goi.html
