US and Australia Conduct First Joint Military Exercise in Papua New Guinea

By Kirsty Needham

SYDNEY, August 1 (Reuters) -The joint U.S. and Australian military exercise Talisman Sabre extended across 500 km (300 miles) of remote northern coast in Papua New Guinea this week, Australian officials said, the first time the war games have been taken to another country.

Talisman Sabre exercises in Australia last month involved 40,000 troops from 19 countries.

For the Papua New Guinea component, U.S., Australian and PNG forces are conducting disaster recovery and survival exercises through seven regions of PNG, moving through terrain from Wewak to Lae that saw fierce fighting between Japan and the U.S. in World War Two.

The PNG activities test "combined capabilities across sea, land, air, cyber, and space operations", a U.S. Embassy spokesperson said in a statement.

The Talisman Sabre closing ceremony will be held on Monday in the PNG city of Lae.

The U.S. military gained access to Lae's major seaport under a 2023 defence deal with PNG, signed after China struck a security pact with neighbouring Solomon Islands.

The PNG defence agreement will "enhance security and prosperity for both nations", the U.S. embassy spokesperson added.

Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape met the U.S. under secretary for defence policy, Elbridge Colby, in Washington last month to discuss regional security challenges, with Marape raising "the importance of defending Papua New Guinea's sovereignty", said the embassy spokesperson.

Colby has reportedly pressed U.S. allies Australia and Japan to clarify what role they would play if the U.S. and China went to war over Taiwan.

China has been a major infrastructure lender to PNG, and Marape's office did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Another key PNG site listed in the U.S. defence agreement is the Lombrum Naval Base, which PNG's Defence Minister Billy Joseph recently said will be officially handed over by Australia in a ceremony later this month, after a multi-million dollar renovation.

Australia outbid China to upgrade the strategically located navy base in 2018.

China's embassy in PNG last week posted social media images of Joseph at a local event celebrating the founding of the People's Liberation Army, and said China was willing to deepen military cooperation with PNG.

(Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Editing by Michael Perry)