Australia, Papua New Guinea Announce Security Deal

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape (R) shakes hands with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra on Thursday (Credit: AFP)

Australia clinched a security deal with Papua New Guinea on Thursday, bolstering ties to a key Pacific neighbour that has been courted persistently by China.

Canberra pushed for a more substantive treaty earlier this year, but Papua New Guinea baulked because leaders feared it undermined the country's "sovereign rights".