So I conclude simply, the “Good” people of Boganville, can choose between China and Australia.
Judging by past articles from this author, that would appear to be the choice already showing signs of identification with the total of PNG.

As I’ve maintained all along on this boring debate, Australia is already connected by the puppet strings to the Chinese puppeteer.

Who’s head is in the sand here, Australia or PNG?

I get tired of wishing this author would get a grip on reality, the war with China here in Australia, is already lost on so many fronts.

Dan

Simple greed and control freak incompetence, created this quagmire! I say, let the protagonists find a compromise solution that works for them! And let all others just butt out! And if they can't? Who gives a flying french frankfurt what gun-toting infantile savages want?

We need to rip the nanny nipple from PNG And she should allow a referendum on Bougainville to decide its future!

Can't keep forever being the Pacific's policeman!
Alan B.

AlanB

You say:
We need to rip the nanny nipple from PNG And she should allow a referendum on Bougainville to decide its future

I say:
The future of Boganville should be tied inexorably with PNG.

If Australia was seriously concerned with the encroachment of China into PNG, now is the golden moment, from the point of military statergy, to take back by force the sovereignty of PNG.

The justification for this is twofold; the imperative of its strategic position and that critical value to Australia.
Afterall, that is the exact reason we fought off the Japanese from the island in 1943.
To this day it is just as strategically important today as it was seventy odd years ago.

And secondly, as added justification, Australia can now use the same moral argument for a take over of PNG, as does China with its claim on Taiwan.

Dan

Diver Dan: Taking New Guinea by force would be quite a grand move on the world stage. PNG is a recognised sovereign state and we would have none of standard internally accepted arguments to justify any military action against it. Such an international incident would certainly bring world-wide condemnation on Australia and would seriously detrimentally affect our international relations and dealings with many countries.

Secondly, if we did claim it as ours then you would now have a hard border with Indonesian West Papua. This is already a simmering hot-spot for trouble. Managing our relationship with Indonesia is hard enough as it is but invading PNG and then having them as direct neighbours in a troubled area would make it way more complicated.

So what would we actually gain from it?

Oops, in above, "standard internally accepted arguments" should have been "standard internationally accepted arguments"

Thinkabit

Recognised sovereign State:

With this country under threat from China, and its less than subtle encroachments on our own sovereignty, rules should change.

As a priority, Australia should wield a big heavy stick towards PNG to force a common alignment towards our enemy: Which doesn’t appear to be a too common one according to this learned author.

I would be hoping the US is already established with military bases in PNG right now, as they are in the NT. It’s much more advantageous to be first in, rather than fight for the spot later, don’t you think?

So this hints at a prior chain of events initiated by Australia seeking compliance to a developing security emergency.

There are historic precedences aplenty, which can be pointed to, and the most watertight one unfolding currently involves China. The Tibetan conflict with India.

Sovereignty is really only a prize to be taken in the end. Again history shows us aplenty.

Dan

Dear Diver, Thinka and Alan Bya

I think taking over the WHOLE of PNG would be stealing the Baby WITH the Bath Water.

Just a crucial lodgement, well located to counter Chinese encroachments is sufficient.

The RAN and US Navy just happen to be "redeveloping" a suitable piece of PNG real estate at PNG's Manus Island.

Specifically the Lombrum Naval Base. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lombrum_Naval_Base#History

"In 2018 Australian and Papua New Guinea officials met to discuss expanding the base again, so that it can also serve as a base for Australian and United States Navy vessels."

Also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manus_Island#Naval_bases

The PNG-Aussie-US Lombrum Naval Base on Manus Island is well situated 100s km north of the PNG mainland to monitor Chinese activities (also on Manus Island). Also to monitor Chinese ship and air movements in the south-central Pacific.

As well as facilities for Aus and US naval vessels I wouldn't be surprised if Aus-US long range radar, SOSUS, sigint and satellite ground station facilities are gradually built up or networked to Lombrom-Manus .

I draw your attention to sensual reading on regional naval security issues generally at

SUBMARINE MATTERS, penned by a fair minded, good looking, chap.

Please do check out http://gentleseas.blogspot.com/

plantagenet

As a realist, I’m relieved to hear that news, since PNG obviously falls under the banner of failed state, which has the habit of turning those countries radically left or right.
Right is preferable for Allied control.

Dan

Bouganville should have always been a part of the Solomons. It is a one hour dugout canoe trip from the Shortland Islands, Solomons, 6 Km, but 200Km to New Ireland, the nearest chunk of PNG of any size. It is also geographically part of the Solomons chain of Islands.

The problem for Bougainvillea was the mine. The company was required to employ a large percentage of locals, but the actual locals on Bouganville, being the most distance from Port Moresby had received little education. The company imported many better educated Papuans from around Moresby to do jobs the Bouganvillians could not handle.

Bouganvillians are very black, & I mean very. The Papuans are much lighter, & referred to as red skins on Bouganville. The Bouganvillians objected to the fact that the redskin foreigners were getting all the higher paying best jobs on their island. [& people reckon we have a colour problem]

It is this fact that fermented the unrest that resulted in the riots that closed the mine. I was there for some of the "riots". They were very strange riots. I witnessed about 100 locals marching up the road in nearly military formation, clubs in hand, chanting kill, kill kill. When they reached me one of them moved his club to his other hand, waved to the bloke beside me, shouting "G'day Scotty" with a big smile. Scotty was an electrical foreman at the mine, the waver an employee.

It could all have been easily handled then, but poor management, & even worse politics grew it into todays total catastrophe. I really feel for these people, who like many in Africa have been placed in the wrong country by their colonial past.

I have my doubts about a Naval Base on Manus Island. It is a truly beautiful place, but although offering a great harbor, but would be ringed if PNG was not held.

It is a small group of islands, with the PNG mainland, New Britain & New Ireland forming an arc from it's east through south to it's west. It is 1900 Km north of Townsville with solid large islands cutting it off from Oz completely.

If PNG is held by a hostile power it would be totally untenable.

In WW11 the Japs made the mistake of thinking islands made a good defense perimeter. They found that if you could not reinforce an island in time of attack, an attacker could easily overwhelm numerically any garrison force. We had found the same thing at Rabaul & Kavieng, as had the Yanks at Guam.

Manus would be totally isolated in such a conflict if PNG was not ours, & with todays weapons, the chances of doing a Tobruk is virtually nil.

Thanks Hasbeen.

A good post. With today’s war technology, I can’t imagine too much of the PNG island untouchable from some sort of horror weapon.

Nothing beats feet on the ground though!

Dan

Dear Hazzy Bear

Unlike the dark Rabaulesque WWII scenario that you so floatsomly groin thrust forward - Manus would be reinforced by the full force of the RAN, USN, RAAF, USAF, USMC, UNICEF and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownies_(Scouting) against the onrushing Yellow (Xi Peril) hordes.

Just read http://gentleseas.blogspot.com/ and yee will learn lots.

While paying a tipple to Moi, quite cheaply.

Yours

Pete de la Plantagenet

P.S. Study this http://youtu.be/QSo0duY7-9s?t=10s with a frog on a bike you silly English Person.

And Hazzy Bear

Study this well http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/about-us/what-makes-guiding-special/the-promise/

"All Girlguiding members are invited to make the same Promise.

...We do have a shorter version for our youngest group, Rainbows.

"I promise that I will do my best to think about my beliefs and to be kind and helpful."

Poida

PPS: This little baby could defend Manus against Xi's hordes http://youtu.be/3POEfWS37hk?t=1m55s

The Japs could not defend Rabaul or Truk, both better sites for them to defend at the time, than Manus is likely to be, if cut of from Oz as it could be.

China doesn't have to take anything by force that involves Australians, they'll simply buy it !
Australia doesn't have enough Patriots to prevent its own people from selling out to China let alone have anyone to slip into a uniform & defend this Nation !
China has the largest Army of soldiers in the World whereas Australia has the largest crowd of snowflakes in the World ! China just has to fart & the snowflakes will melt !
Australia's Education needs to stop promoting senseless self-loathing & get it's people off the drugs !
There are many decent folk in this Nation but they're being persecuted & hounded by the idiotic Left !