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SYDNEY (Reuters) – Workers put the finishing touches on a Beijing-funded boulevard to present the capital of Papua New Guinea (PNG) to world leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum this month. this.
PHOTO FILE: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will speak at the opening of a new Chinese Embassy in the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on 21 September 2018. REUTERS / Ricardo Rojas
Critics say the six-lane road, with its wide, lighted footpaths, is emblematic of a regional power game in which donor countries clash for their donations, even when deep in the Pacific nation.
Australia, PNG's traditional partner and close Washington ally, cuts aid and has invested more than $ 120 million ($ 86.5 million) in APEC, seeking to maintain its empire over its neighbor .
Allan Bird, a parliamentarian and governor of the second largest province of Papua New Guinea, said the boulevard outside parliament had little practical benefit.
"Whatever the Chinese government has spent, it could have been better spent elsewhere, to buy drugs or build a school," Bird told Reuters.
According to Bird, such gifts have encouraged traditional partners, such as Australia, to put fewer restrictions on donations and not to criticize PNG's own spending, which includes the purchase of 40 Maserati and three Bentley for APEC.
"There is no transparency on the use of public finances," Bird said.
"The government can go to other donors and tell them to be on the lookout or we will be very happy to take Chinese money." They use it as a lever. "
The PNG government has not responded to questions regarding the financing of the Boulevard project or other aspects of APEC. PNG previously thanked China for its infrastructure funding and assistance, and denied that Beijing claimed to have exerted diplomatic pressure.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the public should support the PNG government's efforts to promote regional economic integration by hosting the summit.
"At the request of Papua New Guinea, China has proactively provided support and assistance to the organization, which, I know, has been warmly welcomed by the Government and the people of Papua New Guinea. Neo-Guineans, "Lu told reporters in response to Reuters questions without providing a figure.
Speaking Wednesday in Port Moresby, Chinese State Councilor Wang Yi, top diplomat of the Chinese government, said his country had contributed to the construction of more than 100 projects in PNG and in India. other Pacific island countries, including schools and hospitals, which these countries had greatly appreciated. .
"Whether China's aid is good or not, it is the governments and citizens of the assisted countries that have the most right to speak," Wang said, according to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
HELP AND INDEBENT
If the region – essential in the Pacific battles of the Second World War – is a strategic treasure, PNG is one of the jewels.
It controls vast expanses of ocean, is rich in mineral resources and is close to the two US military bases on the island of Guam and Australia.
Formerly administered by Canberra, PNG has increasingly turned to China for funding as Beijing becomes a bigger player in the region.
PNG has the largest debt to China in the South Pacific, with nearly $ 590 million, about a quarter of its total external debt.
When world leaders arrive in the capital of Port Moresby for APEC, donor contributions will be evident.
Australia will provide security personnel, naval patrol boats and a moored helicopter ship; and the city will have an improved sewer system of the Japanese government.
Beijing has redeveloped the prestigious convention center, as well as coaches, minibuses and gifted locomotives.
China has also rebuilt the city's main highway, which, according to the National Affairs Institute, a Moresby-based think tank, does not really need to be modernized.
The institute's executive director, Paul Barker, said the restored streets and the new boulevard were of little public interest.
"It's hard to imagine that the boulevard will be used for purposes other than parades or major exhibitions from time to time," he said.
"It's not really a road that goes from anywhere to anywhere."
Although the exact cost of each project is unclear, a Reuters analysis of the PNG government's announcements shows that China's total bill would amount to several tens of millions of dollars.
Australia's A $ 120 million contribution to the event represents nearly one-third of what Canberra spent on hosting G20 world leaders in 2014.
Australia's foreign aid to PNG is expected to reach a record $ 572 million this year, while Canberra is diverting more capital to the Pacific at the expense of other regions.
On Thursday, Australia announced that it would help finance a PNG naval base in which China had expressed interest in financing.
"Last year we saw Australia and New Zealand aggressively tackle the Pacific region, which is a great joy," said a senior US official who declined to be named.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne declined to comment on Canberra's funding for APEC. Australia has already stated that it is "partnering" with PNG to promote trade, tourism and investment opportunities.
THE FAST AND THE FURIEUX
"PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill believes that APEC puts PNG on the international stage," a British official told Reuters. "If a donor wants to win O'Neill's favor, APEC help is the way to do it."
Yet as gifts pour in, parts of PNG are still struggling to recover from the February earthquake that killed more than 100 people, destroying crops and infrastructure.
Poliomyelitis, a potentially fatal and highly infectious viral disease, almost eradicated worldwide, has also resurfaced in PNG in recent weeks.
Faced with such challenges, the PNG Government's purchase of a fleet of luxury vehicles sparked public protests.
With retail sales in Australia of more than A $ 200,000 ($ 141,560), a Maserati is beyond the reach of a typical PNG local, earning an average of $ 2,400 a year. according to data from the United Kingdom.
The PNG government has indicated that it has agreements to sell cars immediately after APEC and that taxpayers would not suffer any financial loss.
Diplomatic sources told Reuters that almost all the leaders attending the event would travel in special armored vehicles, which blurred the use of sports cars.
Donors have so far largely refrained from making public comments.
"Some fear to capsize the boat and do not want to threaten bilateral relations by publicly criticizing O'Neill for buying luxury cars," said the British diplomatic source.
Report by Jonathan Barrett and Colin Packham in SYDNEY; Additional report by Ben Blanchard to BEIJING; Edited by Lincoln Feast.
