PNG soldier’s journey highlights deepening Australia defence ties

For Captain Aquila Jack, the Australia-Papua New Guinea defence relationship is personal.

The Papua New Guinea Defence Force officer grew up in Vunamami, near Kokopo in East New Britain, where unexploded bombs and other wartime weapons remain a danger to communities.

Now, as part of Operation Render Safe, he is helping remove those threats while drawing on years of training and experience gained in Australia.

“Coming here to reduce those risks allows people to live more safely,” Jack said in an Australian Defence Force statement. “It also allows the province to grow and develop.”

His story comes as Australia and Papua New Guinea prepare to take their defence partnership into new territory, with PNG nationals expected to begin joining the Australian Defence Force within the next year.

Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, Richard Marles, says recruitment will start on a smaller scale before growing to thousands of PNG nationals over the next decade.

Captain Aquila Jack, a PNG Defence Force ammunition technician officer from Vunamami in East New Britain, returned home to support Operation Render Safe, helping remove unexploded wartime weapons from communities across the province. Photo/ADF/Sergeant Andrew Sleeman

“We are both very committed to ensuring that by this time next year, recruitment is well and truly underway from PNG into the Australian Defence Force," Marles told a media briefing alongside PNG Defence Minister Elias Kapavore in Port Moresby.

"It will be smaller numbers to begin with but in time we see this happening at scale over the next decade, where we are imagining thousands of people," Marles said.

The recruitment plan is the first project being put in place under the Pukpuk Treaty, the defence agreement between Australia and PNG that came into force in July.

Watch Operation Render Safe - a joint operation by the Australian and Papua New Guinea forces below.

Decisions on how recruitment will work are expected over the next two months, ahead of an Australia-PNG ministerial forum in October.

For Captain Jack, cooperation between the two forces is already built on years of shared training, exercises and operations.

He has completed several courses in Australia including logistics training, the All Corps Captains’ Course at Canungra and the Ammunition Technician Officer Course at Bandiana.

“The standard of training in Australia is very high and requires a lot of time, effort and commitment to meet expectations and succeed,” he said. “What I learned most was professionalism."

He has since brought those lessons back to the PNGDF where he advises senior leaders on ammunition management and safety.

“It’s been really good to take what we’ve learned in training and apply it during operations and exercises,” Jack said. “That helps build interoperability and understanding between our forces.”

PNG Defence Force and Australian Defence Force personnel work together during Exercise Olgeta Warrior. Photo/ADF

Operation Render Safe brings together the PNGDF, ADF and other partner nations to find and dispose of unexploded weapons left across the Pacific from past conflicts.

Jack says that work is about more than military cooperation. “These partnerships aren't just about work; they're about people-to-people connections."

In East New Britain, those connections are helping communities deal with a dangerous legacy of war.

“Most people here in East New Britain rely heavily on the land,” Jack said. “Many families depend on cash crops and food from their gardens, and these hazards reduce their ability to do those activities safely.”

He says the experience of moving between PNG and Australia has also changed his outlook.

Watch Australian and Papua New Guinea defence officials meeting in Port Moresby to disc/uss both countries' commitment to developing the Pukupuk Treaty.

“Travelling between Australia and PNG for study, operations and exercises has given me a different perspective on life,” Jacks said.

“It’s helped me compare how things are done professionally and personally, and I’ve been able to bring those lessons back into my work.”

Australia is also deepening its defence ties with other Pacific partners, including Fiji.

Australian High Commissioner to Fiji, Peter Roberts, says Fiji’s newly signed Veitacini Treaty (Ocean of Peace Alliance) builds on defence cooperation that already includes joint exercises, training and personnel exchanges.

About 150 Fijian troops recently returned from exercises in Australia, while senior Fijian military officers undertake advanced training there and Australian and Fijian officers are embedded within each other’s forces.

“That demonstrates a high level of trust between the two countries,” Roberts told Fijivillage Straight Talk.

Fijian and Australian defence personnel gather in Brisbane as the two countries deepen military cooperation through joint training, exercises and personnel exchanges. Photo/ADF/LCPL Andy Arreza

Under Article 6 of the Veitacini Treaty, Fiji and Australia have committed to coming to each other’s aid if either country faces an external threat or attack, following consultation between the two governments, Roberts says.

As PNG nationals prepare to potentially join the ADF, that people-to-people relationship is set to become a much larger part of the two countries’ defence ties.

Jack says the benefits are already clear. “It gives me peace of mind knowing that my family can go to their gardens and conduct their daily lives safely.”

The 32nd Australia and Papua New Guinea Ministerial Forum will be held in October with the venue yet to be confirmed.