PNG needs a foreign policy

PAPUA New Guinea is yet to formulate its Foreign Policy White Paper, the basis and guide of how the Government should conduct its regional and international engagements.
The completion of this important document is necessary to provide guidelines for PNG’s conduct of international relations and foreign policy dealings with other countries.
It is currently subject to a comprehensive consultative process undertaken by the Eminent Persons Group, consisting of former senior diplomats and officials, tasked to have it ready to be tabled in Parliament next month.
It will ensure PNG’s national interests are clearly outlined at the start before engaging with its regional and global partners such as Australia, China, Japan and the United States.
It will also put to rest some of the general curiosities about why some of these countries are interested in strengthening ties with PNG.
Prior to its completion, however, PNG has been under the international spotlight and has engaged with these countries on many fronts, including playing host to their high-profiled delegate visits to our shores in recent years.
PNG has also actively engaged with countries such as the US and Australia to sign defence cooperation agreements (DCA) and bilateral security agreements.
The nature of these agreements vary depending on what the agreements are about, what parties are involved and what are the focus areas.
Such agreements are important to address PNG’s national security concerns and there is nothing wrong with PNG seeking assistance in areas that it has limited capacity in.
Over the weekend, China and PNG signed five agreements focused on bilateral economic trade and cooperation. Both countries reaffirmed their support to increase mutual development in the economic sector.
PNG’s national security and economic interests are essential to its growth as an independent country. Additionally, we have to understand that the current geopolitical rivalry in the Pacific is between the US and its allies and China and its allies.
Pacific Island countries, and others not involved, should not be caught inbetween such geopolitical rivalries but freely engage with either the US or China depending on their national interests. Every sovereign state should be free to make their own decisions in engaging with other countries, and not to be lured to ally with one and despise the other.
All decisions made should be the prerogative of the sovereign state and made for its benefit.
Our foreign policy after all, from 1976 on, has always been “friend to all, enemy to none”.
Thus, in the midst of the ongoing geo-political competition between major world powers and emerging superpowers, PNG needs to be clear on what its national interests are and how best to achieve them when engaging with the world.
PNG’s domestic politics, development prospects, and security issues are influenced by both internal and external factors.
International relations and the globalisation processes also influence PNG’s domestic politics, either for better or for worse.
Our political leaders have to be honest enough to manage the domestic affairs of PNG.
Our leaders must also be knowledgeable enough to identify the trends in the global arena and make decisions for the benefit of the country.
Furthermore, PNG is a highly import-dependent country and our domestic politics and security issues depends on properly managing our affairs and bracing for the external impacts of global issues.
In terms of economic matters, global supply chains and any potential disruption can impact on the overall economic stability of the country such as the case of the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine War.
For these reasons, the Foreign Policy White Paper needs to be completed for the benefit of the public, State institutions and the private sector about the country’s position in terms of our engagements with other countries.
This will guide where and how PNG will charter its own course into the future because every sovereign state should make their own decisions when engaging with other countries.
The time might also have arrived when we might want to rethink the “friend to all, enemy to none” foreign policy. It devalues the idea of what a friend is – having one person or country of mutual trust and respect.
We must seek out those friends who genuinely have our interest at heart and believe firmly that only by sincere engagement with PNG can they also achieve their national goals.
As long as we have national interests established and formulated into our foreign policy, we can achieve our goals through proper diplomacy and international relations, and not be intimidated by economic dominance or military power.