SYDNEY, May 10 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden will sign defence and surveillance agreements with Papua New Guinea, the island nation’s foreign minister said, on a visit that renews the strategic importance of the nation where Biden’s uncle died in World War Two.
PNG, the South Pacific’s most populous nation, will also see a doubling of U.S. development assistance to $32 million, including $25 million to tackle its security priority of climate change, State Department documents submitted to the U.S. Congress show.
Washington is seeking to deter Pacific island nations, which span 40 million kilometres of ocean, from security ties with China, a rising concern amid tensions over Taiwan.
Biden will visit PNG capital Port Moresby on May 22 on his way to a summit of the Quad countries – the United States, Japan, India and Australia – in Sydney, the White House has confirmed. There he will meet 18 Pacific island leaders.
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Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/biden-sign-defence-pact-papua-new-guinea-with-eyes-china-2023-05-10/
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