Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Australia remains “the security partner of choice for Papua New Guinea” despite reports PNG is in talks with China on a potential security deal.
“PNG, of course, is a sovereign government, but it's a sovereign government that has no closer friend than Australia,” Mr Albanese said during a media conference.
“Prime Minister Marape will be visiting Australia in coming weeks and will be the first prime minister of Papua New Guinea to address our Australian parliament on February 8 - that will be an exciting time.
“In December, we signed our security agreement between Australia and PNG - we are the security partner of choice for Papua New Guinea, as we are for most of the countries in the Pacific.
“We’re family, and we’ll continue to engage.”
