Backing for PNG call on breakaway Bougainville region

Richard Marles says Australia will back Papua New Guinea’s ­decision on the future of Bougainville.

Papua New Guinea PM James Marape, left, and Defence Minister Richard Marles in Port Moresby on Thursday.

Richard Marles says Australia will back Papua New Guinea’s ­decision on the future of Bougainville – one of the region’s ­potential flashpoints – as PNG considers its response to the autonomous ­region’s overwhelming vote for independence.

The Defence Minister made the pledge as he called for a new defence treaty being negotiated between Australia and PNG to be as “ambitious” as possible, strengthening the countries’ military co-operation on land, at sea and in the air.

As flagged by The Australian, Mr Marles offered support to meet PNG’s capability gaps, which will likely see fresh Australian investment to deliver an ­aviation capability to the PNG Defence Force. The support is ­potentially sensitive after Australian-donated helicopters were fitted with machine guns by the PNGDF and used to kill rebel fighters during the 1988-98 ­Bougainville conflict.

It’s believed PNG may also ask for Australia to arm its donated Guardian-class patrol boats, which were supplied without weapons.

The 2019 Bougainville referendum delivered a 98 per cent vote for independence, but the ­result must still be ratified by PNG’s parliament to take effect.

PNG has been reluctant to grant Bougainville’s independence amid fears it could encourage other provinces to break away, while Australia is concerned it could destabilise the ­region and require massive ­additional aid.

The Defence Minister said that as a witness to the Bougainville Peace Agreement with PNG in 2001, Australia would take its lead from Port Moresby.

“Our job is to support Papua New Guinea in the decisions that it makes,” Mr Marles said. “It is absolutely not our role to articulate views there. Our role is to support the Prime Minister and the government of Papua New Guinea, in the decisions that it makes in ­respect of the future of Bougainville, and we stand ready to do that.”

The referendum results have been the focus of talks between PNG and the Autonomous Bougainville Government, and must be tabled in the country’s parliament by next year.

Autonomous Bougainville Government President Ishmael Toroama wants independence by 2025, but under an agreement with the national government, an outcome could be delayed until 2027. In a 2019 report for the Lowy Institute, writer Ben Boh­ane warned a refusal to ratify the referendum could lead to a second unilateral declaration of ­independence, requiring the ­deployment of another regional peacekeeping force.

He warned some Pacific countries, and potentially China, could back such a declaration, sparking a regional crisis.

Mr Marles said Australia and PNG had close defence tiers, with most of the country’s military ­officers having trained in Australia. “But (we are) looking at how we can take that engagement, and build upon it to make our defence forces even closer,” he said.