PNG looting and violence a concern for whole region

Wednesday’s deadly riots and looting in Port Moresby are a stark reminder of just how fragile peace and security are in the Papua New Guinea capital. Violence erupted after police, soldiers and public servants protested over lower wages, which the government said had been the result of a clerical error. Disgruntled police, corrections officers and soldiers reportedly gathered outside the city’s main government building, throwing stones and setting fire to a guardhouse. The lawlessness spread quickly, unleashing chaos in an already unpredictable city.

This is a tragic lapse for PNG and also a concern for regional security more broadly. While respecting the sovereign wishes of PNG, the Albanese government must be ready to step in should we be asked to help maintain law and order. We must redouble efforts to help build institutional capacity and good governance. Failures in this area were no doubt at the heart of what led to the riots and their spread.

There are worrying similarities with what has happened in PNG and events in Solomon Islands, where rioting against shop owners spiralled into a bigger security threat for Australia and our allies that stretched well beyond Honiara. Like the Solomons capital, many of the supermarkets and retail stores in Port Moresby and elsewhere in PNG are Chinese-owned and run. There is no suggestion that this week’s breakdown in law and order was in any way racially motivated. But it will not have escaped the close attention of the Chinese government, which has been building its overseas police and security presence under the pretext of offering protection for Chinese nationals wherever they may be. A repeat of the Solomons experience, where China has offered security and protection for a government that had previously looked to Australia as its major regional partner in this regard, would be an unwelcome development. Australia already is in strategic competition with China in PNG, where the government of Xi Jinping has invested heavily in public and private infrastructure as part of its Belt and Road Initiative. The growing security ambitions China has regarding PNG are of great concern to the US and Australia.

The Solomons and PNG were crucial flashpoints when the Pacific was last seized by war. A defence co-operation agreement signed by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and PNG last year is a reminder of what is at stake, given claims in Port Moresby that the deal would put PNG “at the epicentre” of a future US-China conflict.

This week’s riots are an early test of the Bilateral Security Agreement signed by Anthony Albanese and his PNG counterpart, James Marape, in December. As part of the agreement, each party “may request assistance from the other party on a security-related matter or threat affecting its sovereignty, peace or stability”. It says: “In co-operating to provide security assistance, the parties shall use their best endeavours to respond, and shall co-ordinate on matters relating to: capacity to respond; and the involvement and contribution of third parties.” Police from Australia and other Commonwealth countries were seconded to PNG to help stamp out deadly tribal violence and rampant corruption in the Highlands. Mr Albanese said on Thursday that Australia was monitoring the situation via its high commission and had not received any requests for help.

The immediate priority is for security to be restored to PNG to avoid further bloodshed and economic damage to an already fragile economy. Mr Marape must be in no doubt that Australia is ready to help. It is in both PNG’s and Australia’s interest to ensure the violence ends and the exact reasons behind the speedy breakdown are understood and do not happen again.