Starting with how Australia views closer CN - PNG ties.
Why is China cosying up to our nearest neighbour?http://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/the-signal/china-power-png/9676068John Howard once described Papua New Guinea as our patch. So why is China splashing cash in our back yard and what's in it for them?
Beijing is now outspending Canberra in aid and gifts to PNG and a worried Malcolm Turnbull has enlisted the UK's help.
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Australia uneasy over Chinese influence in PNG amid increasing infrastructure investmentBy Papua New Guinea correspondent Eric Tlozek
Posted 11 Feb 2017, 6:02pm
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-12/australia-uneasy-over-chinese-investment-and-influence-in-png/8263384The $260 million Edevu Hydro Project is a private development, but PNG Government ministers say it is being funded by the China Development Bank.
The project is one of several major infrastructure developments in PNG funded or built by the Chinese Government.
PNG projects funded by Chinese loans
Port Moresby roads: $102 million
National Broadband Network: $67 million
National Identity Card register: $63 million
Government Information Systems: $60 million
Kokopo town sewage: $28 million
Pacific Marine Industrial Zone (Madang): $14 million
"It will be a development for the local economy," China's ambassador to PNG, Li Ruiyou, said at the launch.
"It will be beneficial for the local people and it also will be a promotion for the cooperation between the two countries."
Australia's defence and diplomatic community are privately expressing unease about China's growing influence in Papua New Guinea, where the Chinese Government is investing billions in infrastructure and business development.
Chinese Government companies are building roads in the highlands and to the Lae airport, and redeveloping Lae's port.
The Chinese Government has also lent the PNG Government hundreds of millions of dollars to build roads in Port Moresby, create a National Broadband Network and a National Identity Card system and develop a system to share information between government departments.
Unlike Australia, which delivers its aid primarily through grants to specific programs, China delivers its aid via concessional loans.
PNG's budget documents show the cost of servicing and repaying its debts to China has risen more than tenfold from $2.46 million to $26.2 million annually in the past five years.
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