US Secretary of States Antony Blinken (3rd-R) holds a bilateral meeting with Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape (L) during the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation at APEC Haus in Port Moresby on May 22, 2023. (ADEK BERRY / AFP)
PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea -- Papua New Guinea signed a defence pact with the United States on Monday, giving US forces access to its airfields and ports as Washington vies with China's expanding footprint in the Pacific region. Washington has growing concerns about China's rise in the Pacific, where it is trying to woo nations with an array of diplomatic and financial incentives in return for strategic support. Defence Minister Win Bakri Daki inked the deal with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken before the start of a US meeting with the leaders of 14 South Pacific island states in the capital Port Moresby. "A defence cooperation agreement is done," Prime Minister James Marape said at the signing ceremony, adding the Pacific island was "elevating" its relationship with the United States. Blinken said under the "fully transparent" deal each of the two nations would be able to board the other's vessels, share technical expertise and "better patrol" the seas together. "We are working together to shape the future. We are very much looking forward to taking our partnership to the next level," he said.

Intensifying rivalry

In a sign of the intensifying rivalry over the South Pacific, Blinken was not alone in representing major powers aiming to counter Beijing's growing economic, political and military presence. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew into town just hours before him on the eve of his own meeting, asserting his nation's role as a regional power. "We support a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific. We respect the sovereignty and integrity of all countries," Modi told Pacific leaders. After making the first visit to the country by an Indian premier, Modi tweeted it was a "historic" trip. By signing the security deal with PNG, Blinken will also expand the US military's capacity to deploy in the region. Beijing has snapped up mines and ports across the Pacific and last year inked a secretive security pact with the Solomon Islands that allows China to deploy troops to the country. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning on Monday said Beijing would not object to "normal exchanges" between nations but must be on guard for the use of cooperation "as a pretext for engaging in geopolitical games" in the Pacific.

Student protests

The agreement has also prompted student protests at several universities, PNG's biggest newspaper the Post Courier reported, over fears it gives US forces too much autonomy at some of the country's key entry points. In Port Moresby, scores of students gathered at the University of Papua New Guinea into the evening with some setting tyres on fire. A private security guard at the university said stones were being thrown at passing vehicles. Security was high in the capital on Monday, with roads blocked and bomb squad cars stationed around its downtown beach area close to where the leaders were meeting. Officers were also patrolling nearby waters on speedboats and jet skis. Blinken replaced Joe Biden at the meeting after the US president cancelled the trip to take part in debt ceiling talks in Washington. On top of the deal, the US pledged to PNG $45 million in funding to tackle organised crime, climate change and HIV/AIDS, as well as protective equipment for its military, the State Department said. Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral John Aquino, also visited a barracks in Oro Province on Monday where he was met by a military parade, the Courier reported.