Zhao Lijian revealed China had offered PNG its vaccines.Credit:AP
“[Acting Foreign Minister Rainbo Paita] said that a friend in need is a friend indeed. PNG sincerely thanks China for its vaccine assistance,” the tweet said.
Paita responded immediately saying the PNG government had not agreed to accept the Chinese vaccines,adding he made it clear the country “had our own internal processes”.
The offer from Beijing demonstrates the breadth of China’s vaccine diplomacy - Beijing has committed to provide at least 463 million doses of its home-made vaccines around the world.
Vaccines are the new flashpoint in international relations and Prime Minister Scott Morrison should have PNG at the front of his mind as he prepares to virtually meet with his American,Indian and Japanese counterparts early Saturday morningin the first leaders’ summit of the “Quad” countries.
The four leaders will try and settle on a major plan to roll out millions of COVID-19 vaccines throughout the Indo-Pacific region. The plan would see the Johnson&Johnson single-dose vaccine developed in the US,manufactured in India and shipped throughout the region. Australia will help with logistics of the mass distribution of the vaccine.
The leaders of the Quad - Australia,the US,India and Japan - will hold their first summit together.Credit:AP
PNG demonstrates why a coordinated rollout was needed beyond the global initiative known as the COVAX facility. While the number of confirmed cases in PNG is low at 1819,there have been fewer than 50,000 tests conducted. The country could well be ravaged by COVID-19 and we wouldn’t know.