Papua New Guinea's prime minister becomes the first Pacific leader to address Australia's parliament

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Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, right, greets Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape, left, at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (Mick Tsikas/AAP Image via AP)

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Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape addresses members and senators in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (Mick Tsikas/AAP Image via AP)

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Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape, top left, addresses members and senators in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (Mick Tsikas/AAP Image via AP)

SYDNEY (AP) — Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape on Thursday become the first Pacific leader to address Australia’s parliament, vowing “nothing will come in between our two countries.”

The nations announced that Australia will spend AU $100 million (US $65.3 million) on Papua New Guinea’s internal security, including the development of a police recruiting and investigation training facility and a police barracks.

The speech, Marape’s meeting with Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, and the neighbors’ release of details of a security pact signed in December, come as Pacific nations deal with China’s growing ambitions.

Resource-rich Papua New Guinea has rebuffed overtures from China, which struck a security pact with Solomon Islands in 2022 that caused worry among some in the region.

Papua New Guinea, which is in a strategically important part of the South Pacific, struggles with tribal violence and civil unrest and wants to increase its police numbers from 6,000 officers to 26,000. Anger over high unemployment and cost of living led to rioting and looting last month in its two biggest cities.

Papua New Guinea and Australia “reaffirmed their commitment to the region’s existing security architecture as a key driver of security cooperation,” a joint statement between Marape and Albanese said.

In this image supplied by the Australian Prime Ministers office, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, centre right, walks with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape as they start their trek along the Kokoda Track at Kokoda Village, Papua New Guinea, Tuesday, April 23, 2024. The prime ministers on Tuesday began trekking into the South Pacific island nation’s mountainous interior to commemorate a pivotal World War II campaign and to underscore their current security alliance that is challenged by China's growing regional influence. (Prime Ministers office via AP)

Australia and Papua New Guinea leaders trek toward WWII South Pacific battleground

FILE - Papua New Guinean Prime Minister James Marape, left, listens during a meeting with Pacific Islands Forum leaders during the U.S.-Pacific Islands Forum Summit in the East Room of the White House, Monday, Sept. 25, 2023, in Washington. Prime Minister Marape accused Joe Biden of disparaging the South Pacific island nation by implying that an uncle of the U.S. president had been eaten by “cannibals” there during World War II. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Papua New Guinea leader takes offense after Biden implies his uncle was eaten by cannibals

In this undated photo provided by the Australian Defence Force, wreckage of a World War II bomber lays on the seabed of Gasmata Harbour in West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea. Officials have confirmed the identities of an Australian bomber and the remains of two air crew members more than 80 years after they crashed in flames off the coast of Papua New Guinea, Australian Air Force said in a statement on Wednesday, April 10, 2024. (Australian Defence Force via AP)

Australian bomber shot down with 4 crew in 1943 identified off the coast of Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is a nation of mostly subsistence farmers where some 800 languages are spoken. With 10 million people, it is the most populous South Pacific nation after Australia, which is home to 26 million.

Australia Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Marape’s historic speech elevated Australia’s relationship with the Pacific.

“We know that China is a great power asserting its interests,” she told reporters. “What we are doing is reemphasizing our part in the Pacific family and the importance of that engagement.”

After last month’s civil unrest, a number of Papua New Guinea ministers resigned and an under-pressure Marape may soon face a vote of no confidence.

“We must become a strong country standing on our own two feet, economically independent and strong so we too can help Australia maintain democracy, preserve peace and ensure stability.... in our Pacific,” he said in his speech.

Papua New Guinea’s prime minister becomes the first Pacific leader to address Australia’s parliament