Up to 10,000 Papua New Guineans could serve in the Australian Defence Force after Port Moresby signed off on a military agreement.

Press PLAY to hear why the military agreement is important for Australia

Director of the national security program at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute John Coyne says Papua New Guinea is strategically important.

“It’s more than them being our neighbours … maintaining a PNG that is safe, that has a rule of law, that is free from foreign interference, it’s as much in our interest as it is in Papua New Guinea’s interest,” he said on 6PR Breakfast.

He also pointed to the ADF’s recruitment problem as another reason for the agreement.

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