Ambassador to PNG, Solomons Islands and Vanuatu, Erin McKee said she is proud that PNG stands alongside the United States, Australia, and our like-minded allies to strengthen the rule of law and advance our mutual security objectives.
Just a few days ago, the United States and PNG completed a joint military exercise called Tamiok Strike, where both defense forces trained one another for combat. The PNG Defense Force taught the US guys how to fight in the jungles of PNG.
PNG officials travelled to Hawaii for training at the Indo-Pacific Command, and to Wisconsin over the winter – where they saw snow for the first time - to begin the new partnership with the Wisconsin National Guard. Moreover, Wisconsin National Guard forces traveled to PNG to continue the legacy of the partnership.
This brotherhood forged in WWII where Wisconsin National Guard forces fought and died alongside Papua New Guinean costal scouts at the Battle of Buna.
“Just last month I was aboard a Coast Guard Cutter, the Stratton, named after the first woman commissioned as a Coast Guard Officer– right off shore there by APEC Haus. The Coast Guard offered to partner with the PNGDF forces to protect her waters,” said Ambassador McKee.
He said the Coast Guard shiprider agreement will allow the United States and PNG to work together to combat illegal fishing, stop illegal logging, and thwart the smuggling of drugs, guns, and most importantly, people.
The Ambassador clarified that Papua New Guinea will always has sovereignty over her land, seas and skies.
“Captain Adler of Coast Guard Cutter Stratton told me that when a PNGDF official is on board a Coast Guard Cutter, the Papua New Guinean ship rider has control of the operation. That is what security partnerships with the United States deliver – unflinching respect for sovereignty and enhanced capabilities so that you can better protect your seas, skies, and land.”
“That’s the way America works. Our support is no strings attached. We, like-minded democracies, share the same vision of a free world.”
Ambassador McKee said she’s leaving knowing she has delivered on the promises to uphold universal rights and freedoms here in Papua New Guinea.
“We have opened the door to cooperation and collaboration, and like-minded governments have freely chosen to partner with us because freedom and dignity are forces far more powerful than fear and oppression. In the contest between democracy and autocracy, between sovereignty and subjugation, make no mistake: freedom and dignity will prevail.
“Our collaborative efforts to have led to victory after victory for the people here, and I am so proud of what we have accomplished together. And our work is just beginning,” added Ambassador McKee.