Foreign Affairs Secretary clarifies PNG’s proposed Pukpuk Treaty with Australia

Papua New Guinea’s proposed Mutual Defence Treaty with Australia, now formally referred to as the “Pukpuk Treaty,” is designed to enhance the country's sovereignty and defence capabilities, not undermine them, according to the country's lead negotiator.

Elias Wohengu, Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and PNG’s lead negotiator, issued a public statement on Thursday to dispel mischievous and inciteful misinformation circulating about the treaty.

The treaty, which was negotiated at the request of PNG, is currently undergoing formal processes in both countries' parliaments. Once ratified, it would represent Papua New Guinea’s first mutual defence alliance and only the second such treaty for Australia in 75 years, after the ANZUS Pact.

The Pukpuk Treaty centers around two key elements:

Mutual Defence: Establishing a framework for joint response to security threats.

Defence Cooperation: Enhancing capability and interoperability between the PNG Defence Force [PNGDF] and the Australian Defence Force [ADF].

Wohengu emphasized that the treaty is rooted in addressing longstanding capability and capacity gaps within the PNGDF, identified through decades of defence assessments.

“This treaty does not cede sovereignty, it reinforces and strengthens it,” Wohengu stated, citing sections of PNG’s Constitution that allow for mutual defence arrangements, including Sections 202(b), 205, and 206, along with provisions under the PNG Defence Force [International Obligations] Act 2010."

A notable feature of the Pukpuk Treaty is the mutual recruitment provision, which will allow eligible citizens from either country to apply for military service in the other’s defence force.

“This is not about integration,” Wohengu clarified. “This is about expanding employment pathways, Papua New Guinean school leavers will now have the opportunity to apply to join the Australian Defence Force, and vice versa.”

Operational integration, he noted, will be limited to training, asset use, and platform standardization to improve interoperability in the field, especially during joint operations or disaster response.

Addressing concerns about foreign control or exclusive rights, Wohengu reaffirmed that the treaty does not contain exclusivity clauses. PNG will continue to work with other defence partners including the United States, Japan, China, France, Indonesia, and the UK.

“Military alliances are normal under international law and under the collective security provisions of the United Nations Charter,” he said. “This treaty is not being done at the exclusion of any country.”

The treaty also contains robust monitoring and termination clauses, including a three-tiered annual review mechanism and a provision allowing either party to exit the agreement with written notice.

In the face of global uncertainty and increasing geopolitical competition, Wohengu likened PNG’s need for defence preparedness to historic events like Kuwait’s invasion in 1990, suggesting early deterrence is key to avoiding future conflict.

He said the Pukpuk Treaty aligns with PNG’s foreign policy principles of universalism, as well as the Marape-Rosso Government’s “Strategic Partnerships for Security and Prosperity” agenda.

Wohengu also highlighted recent defence cooperation with Japan, which in September 2025 launched a K11.6 million Official Security Assistance Program to support the PNGDF Engineering Battalion.

The treaty has already received legal clearance from PNG’s State Solicitor, and no legislative amendments are required for it to come into force. The final step is for the National Parliament to deliberate and vote on ratification.

“Let us work together to strengthen and enhance our sovereignty, our human rights, and our destiny,” Wohengu concluded.