A warm embrace has marked defence treaty talks between Australia and Papua New Guinea, giving the cold shoulder to China's Indo-Pacific influence.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles got up close and personal with PNG Defence Minister Billy Joseph in Brisbane on Thursday, starting negotiations that look set to keep China's interest at arm's length.
Beijing's influence was ever present on Thursday with the Australian Defence Force monitoring the presence of Chinese warships off the NSW coast.
But the PNG government backed up last year's claim Australia should be its security partner of choice, with negotiations in Queensland ensuring they were "tied to the hips".
The talks were set to mark the most significant defence agreement between the two nations since PNG's independence from the Commonwealth in 1975, Mr Marles said.
"This is a moment where it is really important that we are working with our closest friends, but in this case, we are working with family," he said.
"That is very much how we see our relationship with Papua New Guinea."
A policing deal signed between Beijing and the Solomon Islands alarmed Australia and the United States, with concerns it opened the door to a potential Chinese naval base in the region.
Beijing also approached Port Moresby with a policing deal following the outbreak of deadly tribal violence which the nation struggled to get under control.
But the Australia-PNG talks in Brisbane appear to be a rebuke to Beijing's influence, with a bilateral agreement set to create a framework for the two militaries to step up their co-operation across security areas.
The defence treaty would have extra significance with PNG marking 50 years of independence from Australia in 2025.
"It is really important that with the geopolitics and all the different contests that's going on, we have consciously made a decision to choose who should be our friends as far as security is concerned," Dr Joseph said.
"We have many friends and we treat those friends uniquely in different levels.
"But with Australia, we are, as my Prime Minister said, tied to the hips."
More than 1000 defence force personnel from both countries travelled for joint training and exercises last year under the Australia-PNG defence partnership.
PNG military officers also hold senior roles within the Australian Defence Force.
Mr Marles on Thursday said Talisman Sabre - a biennial exercise usually involving US forces - would be taken to PNG.
He thanked Dr Joseph for his ambition in expanding the defence relationship, which would be taken to the "next level".
"The shared ambition for a treaty level agreement would expand and modernise Australia and Papua New Guinea's defence relationship and facilitate deeper integration," he said.
"Practically, a treaty would make it easier for Australia and PNG to support each other's security, and contribute to the collective security of the region."
