SYDNEY (The Guardian/Pacific Media Watch): Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill, says he is shocked by the sudden announcement of the establishment of an Australian diplomatic mission in Bougainville, which happened without consultation with his government.
The Australian government announced the plans for the mission as part of Tuesday’s budget.
“There has been no consultation on this proposal and there is no agreement to proceed,” O’Neill said in Sydney on Wednesday.
“We were shocked to learn from the budget documents that Australia was planning to establish a diplomatic post in Bougainville,” O’Neill said.
“As we all know, Bougainville is an integral part of Papua New Guinea.
“As we respect the territorial integrity of others, we expect others to respect ours as well.”
As part of its 2015-16 budget, Australia announced it will spend $98.3 million on five new diplomatic missions including one in Buka, Bougainville.
'No communication'
O’Neill, who was speaking at the Lowy Institute, said he had had no communication from the Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop, about the mission.
“I read about it as much as you did in the budget papers,” he said.
The PNG Foreign Minister, Rimbink Pato, described the plan as “outrageous” and has summoned the Australian High Commissioner Deborah Stokes to explain “the media accounts of this mischievous proposal”.
Pato said that while PNG welcomed foreign aid and personnel in supporting the nation’s development efforts, some aspects of the peace-building dialogue between PNG officials and their foreign counterparts were seriously inadequate and needed immediate review.
A representative for Bishop said the proposal was discussed in December 2014, and that High Commissioner Stokes formally advised the government before Tuesday’s Australian federal budget.
Bougainville was the site of PNG’s only civil war, and the island province is slowly moving towards an independence vote due in the next five years.
Papua New Guinea is the largest recipient of Australian aid following the federal budget, receiving $477.4m.
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