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China edges closer to Papua New Guinea
Port Moseby, Papua New Guinea (UPI) Jun 30, 2009 Papua New Guinea and China have said they will expand their military ties, according to Chinese media. A military exchange cooperation agreement was with Papua New Guinea Defense Force Commander Peter Ilau on a visit to China, the report said. Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie said they will move ahead in a "stable and sustained way." The chief of staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army was party to the agreement to advance military ties to a new level, Xinhua news agency reported. China and Papua New Guinea established diplomatic relations in 1976, and the move is seen as a natural progression of increased military training visits between the two countries in the past 10 years. No more details were given on military details, but Ilau is said to have reassured China that his country still maintains its one-China policy over Taiwan. Papua New Guinea has had strong military and police ties with Australia, one of several nations it considers "donor countries" that periodically help with equipment, training and extraterritorial deployment of troops and officers. Australian police are often drafted to train and help the country's national police force. The country, the largest Pacific island nation, is about the size of California but with a population of just under 7 million. According to U.S. State Department figures, around 2,000 U.S. citizens live in the country. Since Sept. 11, 2001, security issues have been gaining importance for the government, although in 1997 a decadelong rebellion on Bougainville Island ended with the signing of a truce. An agreement between the government and former rebels was signed in 2001 under a regional peace-monitoring force and a U.N. observer mission. Security is likely to remain a high priority because of its 3,200 miles of coastline and a mountainous, isolated 450-mile land border with Indonesia. The U.S. Peace Corps stopped operating there in 2001 because of fears over security. But the armed forces number only 4,000 or so, making patrols and extensive planning difficult against determined arms and drug smugglers, analysts say. Also, maintenance of what aircraft the country owns is spotty. Media reports in 2004 noted that the majority of defense force pilots had left the military over the poor state of the aircraft through lack of maintenance. A scarcity of aviation fuel has also hampered effective defense patrols. Australia, Singapore and Japan are the principal exporters to Papua New Guinea. Petroleum, mining machinery and aircraft have been the strongest U.S. exports to the country. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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