Albanese to trek Kokoda in campaign for PNG’s hearts and minds

Port Moresby: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has brushed off Beijing’s attempts to expand its influence in Papua New Guinea, insisting no country can match the depth of Australia’s relationship with its closest neighbour as he prepares to undertake a gruelling hike of the Kokoda Track alongside counterpart James Marape.

Albanese’s arrival in Port Moresby on Monday came a day after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited the Papua New Guinean capital, a rapid turnaround underscoring the increasingly intense conflict for geopolitical influence in the Pacific.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape at the PNG parliament in Port Moresby on Monday night.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

As well as signing lucrative deals for Papua New Guinea to export cocoa and coffee into the Chinese market, Beijing’s top diplomat used his visit to criticise the AUKUS pact and favourably compare China’s approach to international development with Australia’s.

In a pointed reference to comments by past Australian politicians, including former prime minister Scott Morrison, Wang declared that the Pacific was not part of any other country’s “backyard”, and that countries in the region should be free to co-operate with whichever international partners they chose.

Australian officials were alarmed earlier this year when Papua New Guinea Foreign Minister Justin Tkachenko said PNG was exploring a policing deal with Beijing.

Tkachenko later played down such a prospect, saying that Australia would continue to be PNG’s international security partner of choice.

Albanese used a speech on Monday night to highlight Australia’s historical bonds with Papua New Guinea and an array of current joint projects, drawing an implicit contrast with Beijing’s one-party rule by describing the two nations as proud “free societies” and democracies.

“As regional leaders, together we can play a role in helping shape a region that is stable and at peace, where all Pacific nations are free to pursue their own destiny and secure their own future,” Albanese said in an address at the PNG parliament.

“Both our nations share a desire to shape the future, rather than let it shape us.”

Albanese will become the first sitting prime minister to walk part of the Kokoda Track this week, embarking on a 15-kilometre walk in 30-plus degree temperatures and stifling humidity alongside Marape.

Anthony Albanese and James Marape in Port Moresby on Monday.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

The prime minister will camp in key locations where Australian soldiers fought in close combat with invading Japanese forces during World War II, culminating in an Anzac Day service on Thursday morning.

Albanese said the 1942 Kokoda campaign formed “part of our national story and our shared history”.

“Our two people fighting alongside each other for the same thing: home,” Albanese said. “From that great crucible of courage, suffering, resilience and mateship, what emerged was the powerful bond between the people of our two great lands.

“From the darkness of war to the joyous dawn of your independence and through the decades since, it is a bond that has only grown stronger.”

Albanese pointed to Australia’s work upgrading six major ports in PNG to make it easier to export local goods and connecting 40,000 households, schools and health clinics to grid power for the first time.

Australia is also supporting the redevelopment of a crucial naval base on Manus Island and the construction of PNG’s first solar farms, Albanese said.

Asked about China’s efforts to expand its clout in the Pacific while en route to PNG, Albanese said he did not regard Wang’s visit to Port Moresby as “anything other than business as usual”.

“China seeks to improve its standing in the region. We know that that is just a fact that we are dealing with. But I am very confident that PNG has no stronger partner than Australia,” Albanese said, pointing to a historic joint Australia-PNG defence and security pact signed in December.

A view from Hoi Village back to the Kokoda Plateau where the leaders’ trek will begin.Credit: Ryan Stuart

In a pleasant surprise to Australian officials, Marape has indicated he wants to join Albanese for all of the walking trip.

“The Anzac spirit is as much ours as it is Australia and New Zealand’s,” Marape told reporters at the weekend. “I will very much be privileged to walk that leg of the journey until the prime minister decides to call it enough.

“As the chief host of Prime Minister Albanese, it would be unfair on him and the Australian people if the PM of PNG does not accompany him for his stay in PNG.”

It is understood that the trip emerged from private discussions between Albanese and Marape, who have formed a close bond since Labor came to power.

In February, Marape became the first PNG prime minister to speak to the Australian parliament, reciprocating the honour earlier granted to Albanese in Port Moresby.

Albanese’s first day of trekking will pass through Hoi Village and finish at Deniki, where he will camp overnight.

On Wednesday, Albanese will continue to Isurava, where a dawn service ceremony will be held on Thursday.

This masthead is travelling with the PM on the trek as part of a five-member media contingent.

The Kokoda campaign, which lasted from July to November 1942, played a crucial role in preventing the Japanese forces from isolating Australia from its allies.

Anthony Albanese’s two-day Kokoda trek will culminate at the Isurava memorial. Credit: Sandra Harrison

An estimated 625 Australians were killed and more than 1600 were wounded along the track, which was part of Australian territory at the time.

During his trip to Port Moresby, during which PNG signed a deal to export cocoa and coffee to China, China’s top diplomat said the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine pact was “instigating division” in the region.

“It causes serious nuclear non-proliferation risks, threatening regional peace and security,” Wang said.

Calling for the “non-interference in the domestic affairs of Pacific Island countries”, Wang said: “Both China and Pacific Island countries are members of the global south and are developing countries ... Pacific Island countries are the home of the people in this region; they are not the backyard of any major country.”

Prime Minister Paul Keating kisses the Kokoda monument during a official visit in 1992.Credit: Peter Morris

As prime minister in 1992, Paul Keating famously kissed the ground at the Kokoda Memorial during a visit, while John Howard and Malcolm Turnbull paid respects at key memorial sites during their prime ministerships.

Kevin Rudd walked the Kokoda Track while opposition leader in 2006 alongside then Liberal cabinet minister Joe Hockey

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.