U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Thursday during a visit to Papua New Guinea that Washington was not seeking a permanent base in the Pacific Islands nation under a new defence agreement.
Papua New Guinea and the United States signed a defence cooperation agreement in May that sets a framework for the U.S. to refurbish PNG ports and airports for military and civilian use.The text of the agreement shows that it allows the staging of U.S. forces and equipment in PNG, and covers the Lombrum naval base which is being developed by Australia and the United States.Austin met with PNG's Prime Minister James Marape on a visit to discuss the deepening defence ties.
He said the two nations were deepening an existing defence relationship, and would modernise PNG's defence force and boost interoperability.
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