Perhaps the best measure of this moment is the time that has passed since anything like it has happened. When Australia signed its previous defence treaty, Papua and New Guinea was still part of an administered territory. Queen Elizabeth II was two years from her coronation.

Pukpuk pact

Perhaps the best measure of this moment is the time that has passed since anything like it has happened. When Australia signed its previous defence treaty, Papua and New Guinea was still part of an administered territory. Queen Elizabeth II was two years from her coronation. Sir Robert Menzies was in the foothills of his second run as prime minister.

“This treaty will elevate our relationship with PNG to an alliance, the first in over 70 years and only our third overall,” a spokesperson for the Albanese government said on Thursday.

“It puts our relationship with PNG on the same level as we have with the United States and New Zealand and builds on the already strong bonds between our defence forces, our economies and our people.”

Papua New Guinea’s prime minister, James Marape, was effusive. “This reflects the depth of trust, history and shared future between our two nations,” he said. “Today, Australia remains our single biggest bilateral partner, and consistent with our past, we are shaping our future.”

Later, he added: “This treaty is not just about maintaining barracks and boats. We are investing in both hardware and software for defence so that we can effectively police our borders and safeguard our nation. Australia is our foundational relationship country.”

The Pukpuk treaty is the first new alliance since the ANZUS treaty was signed in 1951. It will compel Australia to come to Papua New Guinea’s defence in the case of attack and vice versa. Citizens of either country will be able to serve in the other’s defence force.

After a decade of dereliction in the Pacific, it is a reminder that the counterbalance to Chinese influence is not America but diplomacy. The work now is to reverse the regional neglect, especially under the Coalition. Foreign aid must be increased. Proper action on climate change must reassure island neighbours that they are indeed neighbours.

The Pukpuk treaty is a response not just to Chinese ambition but to American chaos. Its goals are regional and defensive. In every way, it articulates the folly of AUKUS. It makes Australia safer and directs spending to goals that are actually useful.

This treaty deserves to form part of Anthony Albanese’s legacy. It puts language and consequence to Paul Keating’s wordless gesture, kissing the ground at Kokoda. Both acts recognise that the greatest aspiration of the Australian military should be to protect the country from invasion. On that fraught track, Keating said, was the first and only time this had happened.

There is more to do. Further cooperation is needed in Vanuatu. Fiji and the Solomons should not be ignored. As Albanese performs this pivot, however, there is an even greater decision that could be made: withdrawal from the sham that is AUKUS and a refocusing on Australia’s actual priorities.

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