Marape is juggling two nuclear warheads on a tight rope

by DAVID LEPI

The Post Courier caricature depicting Prime Minister James Marape standing dumbfounded beside a money bag as two gigantic arms with the inscriptions of US and China reaching out on either sides both in the gesture of shaking hands demonstrates Papua New Guinea's standing in geopolitics in the most simplest way possible. 

Perhaps it could have been more reflective had the cartoonist drew Marape as a jester tossing and juggling two primed nuclear warheads while walking aloft a tight rope before a 8 million or 17 million bewildering spectators. 

I am sure those in the business of espionage, foreign affairs, trade, security, statecraft and geopolitics would have better ways to put it

But whatever assertion they may have it would all point to the fact PNG has placed herself in a precarious position and must now rethink her foreign policy that should align trade, investment, security, defence and nation development in the context of the growing influence exerted by the bigger players in the region. 

The Pacific has been a theatre of war in WW2 and traditionally a United States sphere of influence until China splashed into the scene rivaling America on every front. 

Simply the American hegemony is now threatened by China and as from 2001 onwards the 'Red Dragon' entered a burst of growth unlike any experienced in modern history. China quadrupled the size of its wealth and is matching America militarily, technologically, finance and in every endeavour of advancement. 

PNG is among the few nations in the Pacific to build close relations with China and this has proved more productive such as the infrastructure boom from China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) infrastructure program. Of course this didn't go without challenge from the Western controlled media and schools of thought saying they were deeply concerned about Debt Trap diplomacy and the overall pattern of Chinese investment in PNG. 

We now have American investors in the country and equally the presence of Chinese businesses and investment. 

It takes statesman and crafty politicians to balance power play in geopolitics and no doubt former Prime Minister Peter O’Neill was good at it. He found the niche in the dynamics of trade arrangements, regional blocks and diplomatic ties among nations and pulled through the APEC Economic Leaders Summit in November 2018. 

The then POTUS Donald Trump was so comfortable of his Pacific backyard that he sent Vice President Mike Pence on his behalf meanwhile his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping arrived a day before the summit and inspected projects his communist government funded. 

One Chinese diplomat reportedly said Papua New Guinea is the gateway to the Pacific. 

Interestingly, what is prompting President Joe Biden to visit PNG is that Australia whom many commentators like to call as America's deputy sheriff in the Pacific failed to secure the waters. 

Speculations of Chinese military base under the guise Special Economic Zone is aimed at building a military base. A report by Daily Mail Australia claimed  in July 2022 that China has handed over $30million to get a special economic zone in the town of Kikori in Gulf Province off the ground and are desperate to invest more. 

The report further stated that a total of  $8 billion development project is set to include an airport, naval base and military base carved out of jungle land in Orokolo Bay at - about 250km northwest of the capital Port Moresby. 

Together with the stories of growing Chinese influence attempting to counter Australian funded projects in PNG government owned entities and drive away Western influence. And ABC News, Background Report, on allegations of impropriety and corruption at PNG Ports Ltd involving billions of dollars in Australian taxpayer money. 

To throw caution to wind perhaps the government investigation into some of the allegations be made public or fast tracked is they are still in progress. 

Meanwhile recent announcements of Solomon Islands going into military alliance with China and military bases in Vanuatu are some areas of deep concern to America. 

Notwithstanding it is a date with destiny for Prime Minister James Marape to showcase to the world that he can equally be a statesman in leveraging PNG's position as a strategic ally and investment and trade destination to China, US, Australia and other major players in the regions geopolitics.