MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia offered to gift Papua New Guinea an extension to its Parliament House as the South Pacific island nation celebrated 50 years of independence on Tuesday.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was among government leaders who gathered at Independence Hill in the Papua New Guinea capital of Port Moresby for a flag-raising ceremony.
Albanese said Australia will support the construction of a new ministerial wing for Papua New Guinea’s National Parliament.
“Our support for the expansion of Parliament House is an investment in Papua New Guinea’s democracy and sovereignty that will benefit future generations,” Albanese said in a statement.
Australia is emphasizing the democratic principles it shares with its former colony as China increases its influence in the region.
The United States was represented at the celebration by Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.
Prince Edward represented his brother King Charles III, who is Papua New Guinea’s head of state. Charles had attended the first independence ceremony in 1975 representing his mother Queen Elizabeth II.
Australia is underscoring its respect for Papua New Guinea sovereignty, which some local lawmakers fear could be undermined by a proposed bilateral defense treaty.
Several Pacific island nations including Papua New Guinea avoid taking sides in the growing strategic competition between China and U.S. allies such as Australia.
Some Papua New Guinea lawmakers fear the bilateral treaty with Australia would jeopardize its foreign policy of “friend to all, enemy to none.”
Albanese had originally planned to sign the treaty with his counterpart James Marape on Monday ahead of independence festivities. Albanese announced on Monday before leaving Australia that the signing was delayed until Wednesday.
But a Papua New Guinean Cabinet meeting scheduled on Monday to approve the treaty did not go ahead because not enough ministers turned up to form a quorum, Albanese said. Albanese said the ministers had returned to their home districts to take part in independence celebrations and Marape was contacting them remotely.
“We will be able to advance the treaty tomorrow,” Albanese told reporters in Port Moresby.
Papua New Guinea’s independence is widely regarded as an extraordinary success given the diversity of its people. With an estimated population of almost 12 million people, Papua New Guinea has more than 800 Indigenous languages.