Sunday, September 5, 2010
Papua New Guinea's 35th Independence Anniversary - National Security Outlook To 2015 (50 Years)‏
By Reginald Renagi*
Papua New Guinea Defense Force (PNGDF) - Over the Horizon to 2015
In the last thirty-five years since Papua New Guinea became Independent in 1975, the country has had a favourable strategic environment with no foreseeable external military threat. The maintenance of PNG’s national security and territorial integrity is the highest responsibility which any government can discharge.
Since independence, the government has recognized the critical role of a strong deterrent force in providing security and stability for PNG.
For many years now, the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) has helped ensure that Papua New Guineans enjoy the peace, and prosperity which many of us take for granted today.
What makes Defence so important?
Defence is so important to PNG and no less significant is the role of national service. PNG’s defence force is the super glue that was essential since Independence in 1975 in uniting the country’s very diverse and heterogeneous population. The very presence of the PNGDF is deemed functional in discouraging any secessionist attempts by any particular regions within PNG.
While the PNGDF has limited operational experience, its personnel have responded credibly to every major challenge over the years. For example: look at defence emergencies the PNGDF has had to respond to; natural disaster relief, search and rescue, medical evacuations, civic action and nation building tasks, including peace support operations in Vanuatu and Bougainville (now the Autonomous Regional of Bougainville; and many other aid to the civil community initiatives over the years).
Major Limitations
The size and shape of today’s Defence Force was fixed in 1973. It initially had a ceiling of 3, 500 service personnel, and very much remained unchanged to the present time. At Independence in 1975, the PNGDF comprised of a headquarters staff, two infantry battalions and both a fast patrol boat and a landing craft squadrons, based in Manus and Port Moresby.
In order to meet its growing responsibilities and the varied demands made on it, the PNGDF found justifications to create other operational units like an Air Transport Squadron (later became a “Wing”), a naval Explosive Disposal Unit and an engineer battalion and other formed units.
Apart from its maritime arm; major limitations today for the PNGDF is its lack of general mobility. Air transport resources are only adequate for day to day support of the force, and can not cope with a rapid major deployment of the force over significant distances. It is important that the PNGDF keep this operational deficiency under constant review.
What is the Way Ahead?
On our 35th Independence anniversary, my professional advice to Prime Minister Somare and the government, the Opposition and our Parliament today is to immediately fix the PNGDF’s problems, once and for all. We must sustain a defence force which must support our diplomacy effectively.
We must sustain a competent defence force comprising people with the right professional and technical skills, possessing the right weapons that could train and develop an expanded force to counter any major future threat to PNG. Given PNG's small population, national service remains the only viable option for building up a capable and formidable defence force. We need a defence force that can undertake surveillance and patrol duties to give direct assistance to our civil community as and when needed.
We need a defence force that will protect our supply chain networks in and out of our ports linking us to global markets. It is very important to us to know that the defence force also constructively contributes to assisting our regional traditional friends like Solomon Islands, Australia, New Zealand and other smaller South West Pacific neighbours sharing common security interests.
Fixing Defense
First of all, the government must now decide what we want our defence department and the PNGDF to do? First and foremost, the defence department must provide professional advice to the government, which must ultimately manage the strategic risks PNG must face. Secondly, the department must provide for effective operational and administrative control of the PNGDF.
Thirdly, the department should have the full confidence of servicemen and women throughout the defence communities with a vital part of morale, is having confidence in the command and management of our defence organization. Today, our defence organization has many deficiencies that must be fixed once and for all; both internally and externally. The first thing we must do now is restructure the command and corporate management at the top.
A reformed department of defence should be predominantly manned by professional servicemen and women in the key decision-making designations. The civil servants should perform its proper role of supporting, not directing the professionals in the defence areas. How are we going to do that? A major external defence review of our whole defence structure is immediately required by someone – a team outside the PNG public service and defence force.
Future Plan
Let us start with a good future vision and mission and some basic future goals that we can easily achieve, and measure our long term effectiveness. The defence force must be a more combat ready capability for the job now and in the next fifteen years. Thus, in future, the PNGDF must be made stronger capability-wise by developing the capabilities essentially needed to defend PNG in the next 15 to 20 years.
The defence organization must build closer defence relations and international strategic relationships with our traditional friends and regional allies. The PNGDF will not achieve all this without a strong leadership and better management, so a stronger leadership from top of the defence organization on all strategic level issues is very much needed.
What is really required for Defence, especially the PNGDF to do now and in future is always aim to reach clear decisions about the big issues, reach them quickly and implement them fast and cost-effectively to accomplish its defence vision and mission. This requires the PNGDF to protect the nation’s sovereignty, assist with internal security and to play a more significant role in national development.
* Renagi is a former Patrol Boat Commander and Defense Chief, now in charge of training at the Pacific Maritime Training College, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. |
Thread abonnieren
