Papua New Guinea will gain its own team in Australia’s rugby league in a soft diplomacy deal linked to limiting Chinese influence in the South Pacific.

In separate agreements with Nauru, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, Australia is attempting to edge out China’s influence in the region.

A team from the Pacific nation will join Australia’s National Rugby League in a $400 million deal that deepens ties while denting China’s regional security push.

Papua New Guinea's prime minister pledged on Tuesday to crack down on lawlessness in the country's troubled highlands, saying police would be empowered to fight "fire with fire". "That empowers police to go into these hotspots and deal 'fire with fire' so to speak.

Australia is banking on sports diplomacy to lure Papua New Guinea away from China’s sphere of influence. It has signed an agreement to invest A$600m (£301m) over 10 years to establish a new rugby league club,

The Australian government has signed a confidential agreement with Papua New Guinea, its second security pact in the Pacific in just under a week, in the latest move by the US ally to attempt to contain China’s growing strategic presence in the region.

SYDNEY: Australia will spend US$385 million to establish a team from Papua New Guinea in its rugby league competition, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday (Dec 12), a move designed to help ward off China. Papua New Guinea has long lobbied for ...

The "soft power" aspect to this sports diplomacy initiative has never been a secret. But in the game of regional politics, Australia went in for the hard tackle.

China has pursued its own bilateral security pact on policing with Papua New Guinea and with other South Pacific island nations which U.S. allies, including Australia, fear could undermine ...

Papua New Guinea Gains a Team in Australian Rugby League in Diplomatic Push Aimed at Curbing China MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Papua New Guinea will gain its own team in Australia’s rugby ...

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Papua New Guinea is the country where the most languages are spoken—840, more than twice as many as Europe. Continental Europe has 287 different languages, with 1,061 in the Americas and 1,313 in the Pacific region, according to Statista.