Prime Minister
Photo: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
JOURNALIST: What can you tell us about the meeting Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER: It was great to meet with Vice President Pence, it’s great to have the United States here in Papua New Guinea as part of the APEC Leaders Forum.
The partnership that we have with the United States is a broad one and it’s importantly focused here in the Pacific. That relationship is now going to a new level, we’ve got the trilateral partnership with the United States and Japan and Australia, investing and supporting infrastructure development throughout the region. But on top of that we’ll be working closely together with the United States under the PNG-led initiative at Lombrum in Manus Island.
So, by working together there under the leadership of the PNG initiative at Lombrum, that further enhances our level of cooperation.
The Australian Government is stepping up in the Pacific and we’re stepping up with important partners like the United States, like Japan. We’re keen to work with others but this initiative at Lombrum together under the PNG-led process, is I think, just another step in our big step up.
JOURNALIST: Won’t the US involvement in the naval base redevelopment be seen as the US trying to counter China in this region?
PRIME MINISTER: Well the US’s participation at Manus at Lombrum is at PNG’s invitation, as is ours. It’s their sovereign territory, that’s why we’re working together under their leadership. It’s their initiative and we’re pleased to be part of it. We will be working with Pacific Island nations at their invitation wherever we have that opportunity consistent with the programmes that we’re running. Those programmes are cultural programmes, they’re educational programmes, they’re strategic defence programmes, they’re communications and infrastructure and the cable and all of these sorts of measures. We’re looking to build up the Pacific.
JOURNALIST: Will US and Australian ships be based at the naval base?
PRIME MINISTER: All of the details we’ll be working through in the time ahead and the investments that we’ll be making. But the key thing here is the PNG Government has invited us to participate at Manus Island in the Lombrum initiative and they’ve invited the United States to do the same thing, so we’re pleased to be working together. This is a strong partnership designed to make a stronger Pacific, a more prosperous Pacific. For Australia, this is our family of nations that we work with here in the Pacific and we’ll be there very much as an equal family member.
Thank you.