We note last week's announcement by the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Beijing about the visit of our Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern to President Joe Biden at the White House.

The rather mild communique that arose from that meeting seemed to upset the Ministry's spokesperson.

The recent Pacific visit by the Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister to Pacific countries, didn't work out as initially hoped, with Pacific Government's unwilling to enter into a Solomon Islands type deal for their future security. Doubtless the Chinese will keep pressing Pacific Governments for similar deals. Pacific Governments should bear in mind the experience of PNG when deciding on building a new Supreme Court which was funded under Australia's foreign aid programme.

Below is an article explaining what happened. It is adequate reason for all donor countries to Pacific Governments to bear in mind in the future when allocating significant sums for Pacific construction projects where funding is not tied to their own suppliers of goods and services.

We have a strong suspicion that plenty of unusual “arrangements” happened to see that contract awarded to a state owned Chinese corporation.

Due to the pandemic, we are unsure if the contract has actually proceeded.

Australia must toughen up as well as step up in Papua New Guinea | The Strategist

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Papua New Guinea’s legal system, especially its supreme and national courts, is a true success story. The PNG judiciary is competent, is unaffected by political influence, and resolutely upholds the constitution and the fairness of ... Keep Reading