PNG must stay neutral, say ex-military chiefs
Former Commanders of the PNG Defence Force have cautioned and called on the Government of PNG to issue a formal public statement on PNG’s position of neutrality and non-alignment in the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran.
In a joint statement from Retired Major General Jerry Singirok and retired Commodore Ambassador Peter Illau, they called for the observance of the friends to all, enemies to none foreign policy.
Their call comes days after reports that the United States and Israel launched coordinated military actions against Iran. The designated Operation Epic Fury, without authorization from the United Nations Security council and the US congress.
This has been described as a violation of the United Nations charter, on the use of force against any other state including, a violation of United States laws.
They say the Government must also confirm publicly that no facility on PNG territory including the Lombrum Naval base in Manus, or airports are being used as staging ground for offensive combat operations in this conflict.
"Because we believe that this particular war will bring China, it will bring in North Korea into the theater of operations in the Southwest Pacific and, of course, Southeast Asia. And Papua New Guinea is not immune because our Lombrum base was used by the U.S," Singirok said.
They added that the PNG defence force and relevant intelligence agencies must assess and report on the security implications of the conflict for the country’s sovereign installations, maritime zones, airspaces and supply chains.
The National Government has also been urged to prepare economic contingency measures for sustained fuel price increases, supply chain disruption and potential inflation as a result of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Singirok and Illau have called on the Government to engage the Pacific Islands Forum and its member states to call for an immediate ceasefire, reopening of international shipping lanes and for diplomatic negotiations between the warring states.
They’ve also called for, US, Israel and Iran to immediately halt strikes on civilian infrastructure, comply with international humanitarian law and engage in UN mediated dialogue.
"We have taken for granted at independence that our foreign policy dictated that we are a non-aligned country and we are friends to all, enemies to none.
"However, in the past few years, we have aligned ourselves with the USA under the Defense Cooperation Agreement and with Australia under the Pukpuk Treaty. And that basically means that we are now aligned by default with the superpowers and middle powers", Singirok added.