Michael Kabuni

Recommendations from Papua New Guinea on How to Improve U.S. Posture in the Pacific

By |2021-02-11T16:35:38-10:00February 11th, 2021|

By Deon Canyon[1] Michael Kabuni[2] Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a strategic asset in the Indo-Pacific geopolitical map and will continue to be used by Beijing, Washington, and Canberra until it picks a side, and probably even beyond that. The key reasons underlying the pursuit of PNG relate to gaining economic advantage and hegemonic dominance. PNG rightly expects that Washington, together with Canberra, would give as much ‘carrot’ as possible to Port Moresby rather than ‘stick’ for fear of losing an important ally to Beijing. Beijing is expected to apply the same amount of caution in preserving its positive external [...]

Is the U.S. Relationship with Australia Detrimental to Strategic Aspirations with Papua New Guinea?

By |2020-10-19T15:45:08-10:00October 19th, 2020|

This article discusses the pitfalls of the U.S. - Australia relationship, and how they relate to Papua New Guinea. Excerpt The United States partnership with Australia is beyond doubt the most significant in Oceania. As a western nation, Australia holds many of the same values as the U.S. and there are extensive economic, diplomatic and military ties that bind the two countries together. There are, however, three detractors when it comes to adding Papua New Guinea (PNG) to the equation. While they should not affect the quality of the U.S.-Australia relationship, the U.S. should be seen as actively providing remedies [...]

Perceptions of U.S. Posture in Papua New Guinea

By |2020-10-14T10:59:37-10:00October 14th, 2020|

This article compares the effects of U.S. posture on the relationship with Papua New Guinea, to that of the People’s Republic of China, along with other influences. Excerpt In Papua New Guinea (PNG), activities by the United States were highly visible in World War II, but have steadily declined ever since. This decay in international relations has been more obvious since the early 2000s when it is contrasted with the rise of Chinese-PNG relations on a political level and on a person-to-person level through infrastructure development and overseas education. The 2011-2012 Obama era Pivot and Rebalance to the Pacific produced [...]

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