Albo makes history ahead of major deal

The Prime Minister has become the first foreign leader ever to address the PNG parliament, telling local politicians this is a decisive decade for peace, prosperity, unity and security in the Indo-Pacific.“Now, on the horizon, a world of opportunity awaits us,” he said on Thursday.“Because Australia and PNG are bound not just by a shared past and a shared border but by a common determination to shape our own futures.”Mr Albanese is expected to advance a new bilateral security treaty with PNG during this week’s visit, as Australia looks to counter Chinese influence in the Pacific.He foreshadowed the signing of the agreement in his speech in Port Moresby, emphasising the need for a “family-first” approach to regional security.He said the two nations should deepen their defence ties and achieve a “swift conclusion” to negotiations on the treaty.Mr Albanese said the deal would underpin their joint efforts to address PNG’s “priority needs”, including law and order challenges, strengthening the justice system and rule of law.“(It will be) a treaty based on deep trust,” Mr Albanese said.“And a treaty that builds on the family-first approach to regional security.”Mr Albanese talked up the two countries’ close relationship and their shared history, describing them as “neighbours who stand with each other and help each other in times of need”.He arrived in Port Moresby on Thursday morning (AEDT) and was driven to parliament to give his speech shortly after touching down in the PNG capital.Dressed in a navy suit, Mr Albanese donned a traditional floral lei at the airport, where he was greeted by a military guard.The Australian and PNG flags flew side-by-side from poles set up on the tarmac.Mr Albanese’s trip to PNG comes after Australia signed a separate security pact with Vanuatu last month.Security is expected to dominate the agenda when Mr Albanese meets with PNG’s Prime Minister James Marape in Port Moresby after six months of tension in the Pacific over China’s growing influence in the region.The Australian federal election in May was held not long after China signed a controversial security pact with Solomon Islands.The deal sparked deep concern among Australia officials about the prospect of Beijing expanding its military presence in the Pacific.Since taking office, Mr Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong have stressed that the “Pacific family” — which includes Australia and the smaller island nations — should be responsible for its own security.Senator Wong has also visited several Pacific island nations and made implicit references to China during her diplomatic blitz of the region, saying Australia’s support won’t come with “strings attached”.China was last year unsuccessful in its bid to sign another sweeping security and trade agreement with 10 other Pacific island nations.But Mr Albanese’s trip to PNG comes in the wake of reports Beijing is funding a hospital in Port Moresby for the Pacific nation’s defence force.China’s Ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday that Beijing’s ambitions in the Pacific were for peaceful development purposes only.“There is no military intention. There is no geopolitical intention. There is no intention to set up so-called military bases,” he said.“Let’s turn the page over. It’s already over. Let’s focus more on co-operation — where we can do something substantive to help countries in the region.”Mr Albanese’s visit to PNG will be the first time an Australian prime minister has travelled to the Pacific nation since 2018.He rescheduled the trip after being diagnosed with Covid-19 before he was due to embark on his original visit in December. Via news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site https://www.news.com.au