“We deal with China at this stage only at economic and trade level. They are one of our biggest trading partners, but they have offered to assist our policing and security on the internal security side,” Tkachenko said on Monday.
Revelations of Papua New Guinea’s security talks with China come a month after it signed a $200 million policing deal with Australia.
That is we gave them $200m to help them with their policing, not PNG paying Australia.
We donate about half a billion every year to help them out.
Riots in the PNG capital Port Moresby earlier in January left at least 16 dead, with major retail stores burnt and looted, after police held a strike over pay
I wonder where the money to pay their cops goes…
Pretty nothing news really.
PNG would be mad not to flirt with China occasionally just to demonstrate the importance of all the free money flowing in from Aus & US.
Nah it’s pretty important.
Chinas already basically taken the Solomon Islands and is supporting their anti democratic leader with their own forces.
Vanuatu has elected a pro-China PM who wants to undo commitments with Australia in favour of China.
Timor Leste is following suite.
And now they’re looking into PNG.
China isn’t doing this to flirt with nations, they’re trying to undermine democratic principles through the use of security forces who are happy to suppress people.
It’s only important if you didn’t realise China is trying to exert influence in the area.
I think we can safely assume that China has their foot in the door of every nation in the area.
The easiest way for PNG to increase support from their allies (Aus & US) is to demonstrate that they have other options.
You think most of the world knows about what’s going on in Oceania and the Pacific?
Anyone who’s interested in reading an article about PNG talking to China certainly does.