Australia will create new Pacific military unit to counter Chinese influence in the region

The announcement came during a six-day visit by Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape

PNG is rich in commodity resources and is considered vital in securing influence in the region but has increasingly turned to China for finance

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Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison alongside Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape. Photo: EPA

Published: 1:37pm, 23 Jul 2019Updated: 4:52pm, 23 Jul 2019

Australia will create a new military unit dedicated to training and assisting Pacific allies, Defence Minister Linda Reynolds said on Tuesday, as Canberra accelerates plans to undercut Chinese influence in the region.

Australia, which long enjoyed virtually unchecked influence in the Pacific, and its Western allies worry that the region has edged closer to China in recent years as Beijing increases aid to the sparsely populated region and its resource-rich oceans.

Australia has channelled ever larger amounts of aid to the region in a bid to counter China’s growing presence but Reynolds said Canberra would also broaden its courtship of the Pacific to include stronger military ties.

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape. Photo: Bloomberg

“The Pacific Support Force will employ a mobile training team approach to strengthen capacity, resilience and interoperability throughout the region in areas such as security operations, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and peacekeeping,” Reynolds said via email. “It will deepen long-standing ties through the conduct of exercises, training and courses.”

A source familiar with the details of the plan said the unit was likely to be operational this year.

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