Opposition Leader Joseph Lelang has responded to the news of the cancellation of the stop-over trip to PNG by U.S President Joe Biden with dismay and said many citizens who wanted to catch a glimpse of President would be disappointed.
“We do understand that there are domestic issues back in the United States that needed his attention.”
“However, the cancellation of this trip would give the opportunity for the Prime Minister to tell the country what this Defense Cooperation Treaty is all about.”
Mr. Lelang said the information on the contents of the Defense Cooperation Treaty with the U.S are sketchy.
“This has created a lot of confusion and uneasiness around the country as to what this means for us.”
The Opposition is now calling on the Prime Minister to come out and tell the nation the details of the Defense Cooperation Treaty.
“We have a foreign policy of ‘Friends to All and Enemies to None’. We need to stand firm on this foreign policy position.”
“We should not be coerced into signing deals that may be detrimental to us in the long run.”
He added that this was a matter of national security and while the details are sketchy, there may be constitutional implications and Parliament must be allowed to be informed of the details of this Agreement and debated prior to signing of this military pact.