U.S. Leases Naval Base in New Guinea to Confront China

The U.S. military will be granted access to six facilities in Papua New Guinea, including a naval base, for 15 years.

The parties signed the relevant defense agreement.

This was reported by the Japanese publication Nikkei Asia.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit Papua New Guinea and Australia later this month. Referring to a defense agreement signed with Papua New Guinea in May, the Pentagon stressed that Austin would "discuss next steps" to put the deal into effect.

Nikkei has obtained the full text of the agreement which aims to "further strengthen their [the two countries'] defense relations and address common security challenges." It will be in effect for 15 years and will be extended on the condition that neither party objects.

The governments of both countries will officially release the text of the deal after it has been ratified by the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea.

The U.S. military will use the facilities -- Lombrum naval base, Momote airport, as well as ports and airports in the capital Port Moresby and Lae -- for “contingency operations” in addition to disaster response and humanitarian assistance efforts.

The U.S. could use Papua New Guinea as a base of operations in the event of a confrontation with China in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.

Beijing is establishing stronger ties with the neighboring Solomon Islands. Back in April 2022, they signed a security agreement, details of which have not been disclosed.

Prime Minister of Solomon Islands Manasseh Sogavare met Chinese President Xi Jinping, in Beijing, in July. The Pacific island nation opened an embassy in Beijing and signed a police cooperation agreement with China.