Papua New Guinea says security treaty with Australia has been delayed over certain provisions

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Papua New Guinean Prime Minister James Marape says a proposed security treaty with Australia has been delayed a week after the strategically important South Pacific Island nation signed a new security pact with the United states that sparked protests. Marape’s office says he informed Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles of the delay on the sidelines of an international forum in South Korea. Marape told Marles the treaty is a “work in progress and required the PNG side to consult our domestic processes and sovereign laws in relation to certain wordings and provisions.” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sparked student protests in Papua New Guinea last week when he signed a security pact.