PNG celebrates independence, to sign defence treaty with Australia

The treaty will allow Papua New Guinea nationals to gain Australian citizenship by joining its military.

Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) will commit to defending each other from armed attacks as they face “emerging threats” to their security, a new defence treaty seen by the AFP news agency says.

The South Pacific Island nation celebrated its 50th anniversary of independence from Australia on Tuesday, with the treaty expected to be sealed on Wednesday.

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The pact, seen as a strident push to counter China’s rising Pacific influence, will be signed by Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his PNG counterpart James Marape in the capital, Port Moresby.

The agreement, which also enables the nations’ citizens to serve in each other’s militaries, allows PNG nationals to gain Australian citizenship.

“Each Party recognises that an armed attack on either of the Parties within the Pacific would be dangerous to each other’s peace and security and the security of the Pacific,” the pact states, according to AFP.

Under the treaty, both parties will “act to meet the common danger, in accordance with its constitutional processes”.

On Tuesday, Australia offered to gift PNG an extension to its Parliament House. Albanese was among the government leaders who gathered at Independence Hill in Port Moresby for a flag-raising ceremony.

Albanese said Australia will support the construction of a new ministerial wing for PNG’s National Parliament.

“Our support for the expansion of Parliament House is an investment in Papua New Guinea’s democracy and sovereignty that will benefit future generations,” Albanese said in a statement, according to The Associated Press news agency.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, centre right, and other dignitaries stand in front of Parliament House after a flag-raising ceremony in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, September 16, 2025 [Mick Tsikas/AAP Image via AP]

The United States was represented at the celebration by Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. Prince Edward represented his brother King Charles III, who is PNG’s head of state.

Charles had attended the first independence ceremony in 1975, representing his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

Australia is underscoring its respect for PNG’s sovereignty, which some local lawmakers fear could be undermined by a proposed bilateral defence treaty.

Several Pacific island nations, including PNG, are trying not to get caught taking sides in superpower tussles in the growing strategic competition between Beijing and Washington allies such as Australia.

Some PNG lawmakers fear the bilateral treaty with Australia would jeopardise its foreign policy of “friend to all, enemy to none”.

Albanese had originally planned to sign the treaty with his counterpart, James Marape, on Monday in advance of independence festivities. He announced on Monday, before leaving Australia, that the signing was delayed until Wednesday. “We will be able to advance the treaty tomorrow,” Albanese told reporters in Port Moresby.

PNG’s independence is widely regarded as an extraordinary success given the diversity of its people, with an estimated population of almost 12 million. It has more than 800 Indigenous languages.