WASHINGTON/SYDNEY -- The U.S. military will be granted access to six sites in Papua New Guinea, including a naval base, for 15 years under a defense agreement reached between the two countries, Nikkei has learned, as Washington rushes to counter China.
The U.S. Department of Defense announced Tuesday that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will visit Papua New Guinea and Australia later this month. Referring in a statement to the defense agreement signed with Papua New Guinea in May, the Pentagon stressed that Austin would "discuss next steps" to put the agreement into action.
