Troops pour into Port Moresby as Papua New Guinea prepares for Apec meeting
- China’s President Xi Jinping, Japan’s PM Shinzo Abe and US Vice-President Mike Pence are all expected to attend the leaders’ summit
- Military assistance has been provided by Australia, the US and New Zealand
Papua New Guinea has deployed a multinational force of warships, fighter jets and elite counterterrorism troops to protect world leaders attending a major summit in its crime-plagued capital this week.
About 4,000 military personnel, around half of them foreign, will work with hundreds of police to patrol Port Moresby for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum from Saturday, which will attract representatives from 21 nations.
Attendees are set to include China’s President Xi Jinping, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US Vice President Mike Pence, who is not even expected to sleep in the city, but stay overnight in Australia.
Up to 15,000 delegates are expected at the summit. Due to a shortage of hotel accommodation, many of them will bunk down on three cruise liners docked at the port, presenting additional security complications.
Although the threat posed by terrorism in PNG is considered minimal, the Melanesian country’s reputation for lawlessness and violent crime precedes it.