China reached out to PNG in September, offering to assist its police force with training, equipment, and surveillance technology, according to PNG Foreign Minister Justin Tkachenko. The talks continued last week.

Amid jostling between Washington and Beijing for influence in the Pacific, the biggest Pacific Islands nation, Papua New Guinea (PNG), has previously said Australia and the United States are its security partners, while China is an important economic partner.

PNG would assess if the Chinese offer duplicated security and policing assistance already being offered by Australia and the United States, Tkachenko said.

“It is still in the early stages of negotiation with our commissioner of police and our minister of internal security,” he said.

“They have offered it to us, but we have not accepted it at this point in time.”