The recently signed Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) with the United States (US) government is not in force yet until it gets past parliament in the June sitting. The Secretary for Foreign Affairs Elias Wohengu said that there is still time for debate on the DCA and that the public should allow the process to take place on whether to fully approve the signed agreement, or not. “What I would like to inform the nation is that signature does not for PNG, signal the entry into force of the agreement. The signature signals that it is an authentic text between the…
Author: Emmanuel MAIPE
The Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) has welcomed the recently signed Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) and the Ship Rider Agreement with the United States (US) Government and Military, because of the massive assistance the military will be receiving from these agreements. The Commander of Defence Force (CDF), Major General Mark Goina, said that his five lines of effort, aimed at improving the capacity of the defence force to Force 2030, will be greatly supported through these agreements, especially with the DCA. The five lines of effort are People (the welfare of soldiers), Organizational Reform, Operational Proficiency, Infrastructure, and Nation…
The lack of proper dissemination of information and awareness on a matter of national importance has resulted in protests from the public and students from the universities in the country. That was the point put forward by the Chancellor of the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) Prof. Robert Igara when speaking this afternoon at the Public Information Seminar on the Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) at the Murray Barracks in Port Moresby, which was hosted by the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF). Prof. Igara made a genuine point by saying that students’ safety is important and that by going…
Prime Minister (PM) James Marape has said that the Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) between the United States of America (USA) and Papua New Guinea (PNG) does not in any way encroach into the sovereignty of the country and assured people that all aspects of the Agreement will be made available to the public through a Parliamentary Statement that he will make. “I am working to release the agreement for public knowledge, and on Thursday this week, we will send the State Solicitor and Foreign Affairs and Defence Secretaries, to go through the DCA with students and interest groups to ensure they are informed correctly.” PM Marape said this during the…
The Defence Cooperation and the Ship Rider Agreements between the United States and Papua New Guinea (PNG) has been signed this evening amidst protests from the public and university students on it’s implications to the country’s constitution and sovereignty. US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken officially signed the Agreements with PNG Defence Minister Win Bakri Daki in front of Prime Minister James Marape, the PNG delegates and the US delegates at the APEC Haus, Port Moresby. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the agreement will ensure greater cooperation between the two countries in terms of security and prosperity in…
Prime Minister (PM) James Marape, on behalf of his fellow pacific island leaders, has asked the Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, to be the advocate for smaller pacific states on the global arena on the issues affecting the pacific. In his opening remarks at the Forum for India- Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIIC) Summit today, Marape said the pacific will continue to be place for trade and commerce and a place for movement of people, if the matters of climate change and geopolitical issues impacting the pacific nations are addressed at the top by leading global economies. Marape said India…
Pacific Island leaders have been urged to be vocal on the matters affecting the island states when meeting with India and the US today in the Forum for India and Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) Summit. Prime Minister James Marape in his opening speech at the official FIPIC opening dinner on Sunday night, said that climate change and access to green energy are two of the important topics to bring across to the world leaders because of their impacts on the island economies. Meanwhile, all the leaders of the island states have arrived in Port Moresby on Sunday in preparation for the…
Papua New Guinea (PNG) will go through with the signing agreement of the Defence Cooperation with the United States of America despite concerns from public and concerned professionals about its implications to the country. Prime Minister James Marape in a press conference just before the official opening dinner of the Forum of India and Pacific Island Cooperation (FIPIC), made it known again that there is no reason to be skeptical as the agreement does not breach any of the provisions in the country’s constitution. In fact, Marape clarified that there won’t be any immunity given to US troops and contractors…
The Moitaka Power Station in Port Moresby is back in operation boosting power supply to the city after PNG Power Limited (PPL) announced the recommissioning this week. The Moitaka Power Station which was established in 1980 has been a reliable source of electricity in Port Moresby for several decades until it was decommissioned in 2019 after several Independent Power Producers (IPP) were introduced into the Port Moresby Grid. Initially, the Moitaka Power Station had a station output of 16 Megawatts (MW) from two Hitachi Zosen Z40 Diesel Engines (Unit 1 & 2). It was later increased to the capacity of…
Papua New Guinean’s relationship with other nations including China, will not be impacted in any way from a Defence Cooperation Agreement that will be signed with the United States (US), as the agreement is merely to protect the country’s waters from illegal activities. Prime Minister (PM) James Marape when addressing the media this week, made it clear that the country’s bilateral relationship with other nations will remain the same despite the upcoming defence agreement, which is for the Ship Rider Program where local law enforcement officers are allowed to embark on U.S. Coast Guard vessels, including boarding and searching suspected…