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By REGINALD RENAGI
Good time to conduct review
THIS is an opportune time for PNG to
review its foreign and defence policies and promote broader
international relations with other countries.
Any major threat to our region can only arise within the context
of a wider and perhaps generalised breakdown in global peace,
and order.
Although there appears to be no direct external military threat
to PNG for some time to come, our national security mechanisms
must have a wider function.
As a sovereign nation, PNG must also pursue national objectives
that contribute towards regional security.
Our national interests must be tailored to greatly enhance our
strategic environment and we should start by promoting an
understanding of shared interests with regional countries.
This must include bilateral exchanges on security policy,
strategic planning issues and participating in regional
diplomatic and security dialogues.
We must also continue to maintain closer security relations with
Australia, our a key strategic partner.
Australia’s commitment to PNG is well-demonstrated. PNG is the
largest single recipient of Australian aid, including defence
and security contacts.
Notwithstanding this, with each new government in office every
five years, the degree of close contact developed over the years
has unfortunately eroded for various reasons.
A key factor for this in recent times is that certain
perceptions by Australia are formed more on the basis of
occasional and unsubstantiated media reports about PNG than on
actual first-hand experience.
Even today, many Australian media reports of PNG are still
highly biased, focusing on a generalised law and order
situation, an extremely-fluid political environment, the
Bougainville crisis in recent years, and the occasional past
border incursions with Indonesia and Solomon Islands.
Moreover, Australia officially maintains that PNG is a sovereign
state and its many governance challenges are mainly internal in
nature, thus, should be appropriately resolved by its own
government.
However, questions have being raised in Australia as to whether
PNG officials are capable of dealing with ongoing domestic
problems effectively.
Despite this adversity, PNG and Australia have enjoyed good
relations with each other since our country’s independence more
than 30 years ago, despite the odd diplomatic “hiccup” from time
to time.
Our ongoing bilateral programme was basically designed to ensure
PNG develops its domestic capacity at its own pace by providing
a secure environment for a sustainable development effort over
time.
In general, the aid programme still needs further improvement as
past trends indicate that end-state outcomes have not been
entirely effective, or have yielded satisfactory benefits to
both countries.
During the early post-independence years, our aid programme was
perceived as mainly serving Australia’s strategic interests;
despite its inherent shortcomings.
However, to PNG’s credit, successive administration has
periodically asserted somewhat strongly to Australia in raising
its concerns of the overall benefits of the aid arrangements,
and calling for a more equitable review and outcome.
Australia has fortunately addressed the growing dissatisfaction
about its aid with PNG in recent times.
At the same time, our new government also needs to do more this
year to ensure strategic outcomes are realised for our mutual
benefit. This is imperative as without a proper in-depth review
and evaluation, many observers both here and abroad will only
speculate in future of the programme’s obvious downside.
Previously PNG got part of the blame for initial difficulties in
our early relationship with Australia.
On the other hand, Australia’s “selective engagement policy”
could perhaps have had some unfavourable influence on its
long-term political relationship, and growing economic ties with
a former colonial master.
Moreover, PNG’s initial efforts to establish a secure and stable
security and economic environment were for many years largely
underplayed by Australia, causing some to believe that Canberra
regarded its PNG as a minor-league player globally.
PNG saw the new shift in its relations with Australia as a
process of development and political maturity, which allowed
flexibility for a diversified strategy in promoting other
international interests.
As a developing nation, this ensured that PNG got other added
economic benefits and opportunities and not only from a
traditional benefactor south of the border.
Additionally, it is also important to promote new relationships
on a global scale whilst strengthening existing ones.
Australia on the other hand, now feels more comfortable about
our realigned global positioning strategy.
It fully appreciates that it is good for PNG to internationally
diversify, rather than continue depending too much on Australian
aid.
It is in the interest of both countries to now review present
aid arrangements with a long-term strategy of transforming PNG
into a developed, stable and economically viable regional
partner.
It is also an essential Australian foreign and security policy
objective within the region that this happens.
PNG’s new government should undertake a total review of our
existing AusAID programme arrangement to ensure we get maximum
mutual benefit from it.
Note: The author is a former PNG
defence official.
 
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