Papua New Guinea will be getting its own team in Australia's National Rugby League as part of a soft diplomacy deal aimed at limiting Chinese influence in the South Pacific. The Australian government has committed 600 million Australian dollars over a decade to include a team from Papua New Guinea in the NRL starting from 2028.
The announcement of this deal was made during a news conference in Sydney by the Prime Ministers of Australia and Papua New Guinea. They also confirmed the official commencement of a bilateral security agreement that was agreed upon a year ago.
