Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), recently traveled to Papua New Guinea (PNG) with several other members of the committee to discuss U.S.-PNG relations and maintaining peace in the Indo-Pacific region, a committee press release said. Gallagher said PNG is a valued partner of the U.S., and the CCP's actions in the region are a threat to the nation's harmony and prosperity.
“Chinese Communist Party aggression threatens peace and stability for everyone in the Indo-Pacific. Papua New Guinea has been a tremendous partner to the United States, and I look forward to building on this visit and all the recent momentum in the relationship to take our friendship to new heights in years to come,” Gallagher said.
Committee members Neal Dunn (R-FL) and Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-American Samoa) were also on the trip, during which they met with PNG military officials, members of PNG's foreign ministry, Taiwan's Representative Office in PNG, business leaders, and members of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the press release said. They discussed the CCP's efforts to increase economic, military, and diplomatic pressure in the Indo-Pacific region.
As part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's efforts to strengthen China's relationship with PNG, the state-owned Bank of China recently opened its first representative office in PNG, Nikkei Asia reported. While the bank does not yet have an operating license in PNG, the opening of the office could further Xi's goal of facilitating trade using the Chinese yuan.
Dunn said the CCP is a snake-like presence in the Indo-Pacific region, but he believes the officials he spoke with in PNG share the U.S.'s goal of resisting the CCP's influence, the press release said. "The key to unraveling and severing the CCP’s viperous coils around the Indo-Pacific is to amass like-minded allies such as our brothers and sisters in Papua New Guinea (PNG)," he is quoted in the release as saying. "I’m grateful to the strong and motivated PNG leaders we met with who share our vision to strengthen our friendship and put a stop to the CCP’s transnational aggression and repression. It’s time to be strong and willing to do something tougher to cut the many heads of this encroaching Medusa. I look forward to partnering with our friends and allies now to protect freedom and democracy in the Pacific.”
PNG officials were reportedly disappointed when President Joe Biden canceled his scheduled visit to the nation in May, citing the U.S. debt ceiling crisis, IPS reported. "We even declared a national public holiday for Biden’s historic visit, only to be thrown under the bus by the US," political activist Martyn Namorong said in a post on X.
In another post, Namorong said, "The US keeps shooting itself in the foot."
"The island nations in the Pacific have an important role in the mutual security, stability, and prosperity we all seek for our countries,” Radewagen said in the press release. “Most importantly, we must keep the world’s largest ocean free and open. Papua New Guinea and the United States will continue working together, building on our partnerships and these discussions, and sharing in our common interests in the Pacific region.”
