The prime ministers of these surrounding nations are seen together on the grueling Kokoda Track towards Isurava, higher in PNG’s tough Owen Stanley mountains, in a more powerful image of the connection between Australia and Papua New Guinea.
One of the most difficult conflicts in the Pacific War, the Battle of Isurava, took place where Anthony Albanese and James Marape made their decision to observe ANZAC Day. In August 1942, natural American soldiers and militia fought up against an ensnaring Chinese power until senior reinforcements arrived. Their combined efforts inflicted big loss on the Chinese and, crucially, slowed their progress.
Papua New Guineans supported the Australians throughout this and many other wars on the track, including the bed messengers who transported the injured to health and the men from the Papuan Infantry Battalion.
When talking about the unique relationship between the two countries, this moving engagement has become the reference point for decades of officials from both sides of the Torres Strait. Additionally, it has encouraged a large number of Australian businesses and individuals to “give up” to PNG through financial support.
How past informs Australia’s see of PNG
The occasions of 1942 had a significant influence on American corporate thinking regarding its location.
During the battle, Australia’s backbone to the United States across the Pacific was under strong danger from Japan’s blow across the region. Because of its usefulness as a foundation for ongoing assaults against American ships and cities, the Chinese forces ‘ military objective on the Kokoda Track was Port Moresby, the capital. For a while, an invasion of Australia itself seemed to be immediate.
The preservation of American supply and communication lines across the Pacific continues to be a key factor in modern proper thinking.
Australia’s extreme sensitivity to any idea that a possible hostile nation might be building a naval base in the area predates the second world war. Yet, this view was firmly established by the very real risk that persisted on the Kokoda Track.
Given its size, this military history, its proximity to Australia, and its crucial area where Asia meets the Pacific, PNG also occupies a significant position in American discussions of local protection.
Western strategists see Japan as their primary strategic adversary and potential threat to stability in the Pacific, of course, but it is not Japan anymore. China has taken over that position, which has recently shown a keen interest in strengthening its military ties and presence in the area.
In assisting Australia and the United States in combating China’s growing influence in the Pacific, including PNG, Japan has now established itself as a significant strategic ally. Through aid and other economic support, it has made significant contributions to the development of the region.
Papua New Guineans naturally have their own understanding of history, as well as today’s security environment. In response to a gaffe by US President Joe Biden last week about his uncle being shot down during the second world war, Marape said,” Asked by cannibals.”
World War II was not my people’s design. They were, however, unnecessaryly thrown into a conflict that was not their fault.
China’s ambitions in the region
There is no enthusiasm in PNG for the resumption of geo-strategic competition in the region, just like there is in other parts of the Pacific. The leaders of PNG and their Pacific counterparts have criticized their international partners for stoking tensions with China and have emphasized climate change as the main regional security issue.
There is also a underlying lack of enthusiasm in PNG for extending its ties to China in terms of either defense or policing.
Beijing was really putting pressure on the Marape government to sign agreements requiring police training and other security cooperation in preparation for Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s recent visit to Port Moresby. Ultimately, it did not do so.
Marape and his ministers have made it clear that they are looking to Australia for security, not China.
China may have plans to form a similar security partnership with PNG to the one it has with the Solomon Islands, but it clearly has no intention of partnering with Australia as the nation’s development partner.
In comparison to Australia, it spends very little on aid in PNG, just like it does in the rest of the Pacific, and it may be in decline. At least in the Solomon Islands, Beijing has demonstrated that it prefers to concentrate its resources on developing relationships with members of the ruling elite.
China has, however, made significant strides in terms of PNG’s commercial partnership. Its construction firms now dominate the work taking place across the country to develop roads, bridges, public buildings and other infrastructure.
China ca n’t, however, match the depth of Australia’s and PNG’s bilateral relations. This relationship encompasses social, cultural and sporting ties, as well as longstanding investment, aid and defense cooperation links.
” History holds all the details,” says the saying.
Kokoda may have become a sort of public talisman for the Australia-PNG relationship, but Marape made it clear in his speech to the Australian parliament in February that there is much more to the two countries ‘ shared history than the war experience.
He made this point by highlighting the elderly former Australian patrol officers ‘ families who had dedicated their lives to the early years of his nation’s development and administration in the parliamentary gallery. He expressed his gratitude for the time that Australia controlled PNG and his pride over the years since independence:
The most significant and significant impact of the Australian government is the democracy you left with us, according to history.
He made it abundantly clear in his speech that he believed Australians underestimated the breadth of their historical ties to PNG. In these uncertain strategic situations, Australians should draw some solace from the baggage these shared experiences hold for the relationship today.
Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland
This article was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.