Pentagon chief says US to deploy coastguard ship to Papua New Guinea but no permanent military base amid China tensions

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said the vessel would strengthen the island nation’s maritime security after the two sides recently signed a defence pact

PNG leader James Marape welcomed the move, saying the US ‘never tampered with our sovereignty’ as Washington and Beijing intensify their rivalry in the Pacific

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Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape (right) shakes hands with US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin in Port Moresby on July 27. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:30pm, 27 Jul 2023Updated: 3:06pm, 27 Jul 2023

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday announced the deployment of a US coastguard ship to Papua New Guinea, as Washington seeks to boost its military footprint in the region amid fierce competition for influence with China.

“A US coastguard cutter will be here in August,” Austin said as he became the first Pentagon boss to visit Papua New Guinea.

The move capitalises on a recently signed defence pact between the two countries that offers the United States greater military access to a strategically important part of the South Pacific.

Washington is keen to show that regional partners can benefit from increased US security cooperation and to allay local fears that Papua New Guinea is being dragged into a US-China battle for influence in the region.

Perched between Taiwan and US ally Australia, Papua New Guinea is the largest and most populous state in Melanesia – an area that was pivotal in deciding the outcome of World War II in the Pacific.

Austin stressed that the coastguard deployment would help Papua New Guinea stop the plundering of its thinly protected maritime resources, stopping activities like illegal fishing and trafficking.

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