Papua New Guinea at 50 Years Of Independence - Past and Future

Commemorating Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) 50th anniversary of independence from Australia. This deck explores PNG’s journey from the past with its cultural diversity and geographic constraints to its current role in the Indo-Pacific region. It reflects on the nations future prospects, highlighting how PNG’s resource wealth and strategic location have positioned it as a key player in 21st-century geopolitics, navigating cooperation and rivalry among global powers.

By delving into PNG’s historical foundations and addressing both its potential for resilience and vulnerabilities, he will offer insights into how its strategic geography and resource endowment continue to influence its foreign relations, including with regional states, US
and China, and its role in a competitive global landscape.

1. With 800+ Languages: The Unifying Power of Tok Pisin Greetings: Hello: Gude (or Moning for good morning). Good afternoon: Apinun. Good night: Gude nait. Goodbye: Gut bai (or Lukim yu for see you later). How are you?: Yu stap gut? or Yu orait?. I'm fine, thank you: Mi stap gut, tenkyu. What is your name?: Wanem nem bilong yu?. Tok Pisin Origins Emerged from pidgins developed by laborers during blackbirding in the mid-1800s Tok Pisin draws vocabulary from English, German, Malay, Portuguese, and Austronesian languages. Its widespread use in media, education, and daily life unifies PNG's linguistic mosaic.

2. Historical Foundations: From Colonial Era to Independence

3. Australian Trusteeship

4. K antai Kessen 艦隊決戦 "a war against the US Navy fought in a single decisive action could be won by Japan." Japanese naval theorist Admiral Satō Tetsutarō

5. IJN Strategy "This guideline assumes Truk Islands and Rabaul as the baseline, calls for making a sally from the baseline to defend from enemy’s invasion, and plans a decisive match in Marshall, Gilbert and Solomon in the central south Pacific Ocean."

6. The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660–1783 - Alfred Thayer Mahan (1890) Decisive Battle Nations that master "vital maritime transit passages" command global trade and project power, while failure to do so invites isolation and defeat

7. The Command of the Air - Giulio Douhet “In order to assure an adequate national defense, it is necessary—and sufficient—to be in a position in case of war to conquer the command of the air."

8. "Friends to all, enemies to none" Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare

9. "S omeone else’s enemy is not my enemy” Prime Minister James Marape

10. Pacific Islands Forum