Evidence from credible sources supports the statement as accurate. Learn more in Methodology.
Official Australian or Papua New Guinea statements or treaty texts confirm the existence and terms of a recent defense treaty, and records show expanded security cooperation between Australia and Indonesia.
Multiple reputable sources report that Australia and Papua New Guinea signed a new mutual defence pact known as the "Pukpuk Treaty" in September–October 2025, committing each country to aid the other if attacked and deepening military integration; this is widely described as a landmark or historic defence treaty and Australia's first new alliance of this kind in decades, making it accurate to say Australia "recently concluded a defense treaty" with PNG as of January 2026. Separately, Australia and Indonesia have in recent years upgraded their security relationship through a treaty‑level Defence Cooperation Agreement signed in August 2024 and, in November 2025, the substantive conclusion of an "Australia–Indonesia Treaty on Common Security," both of which are explicitly framed by governments and analysts as expanding and deepening bilateral defence and security cooperation. On this basis, the statement that Australia recently concluded a defense treaty with Papua New Guinea and has expanded security ties with Indonesia is supported by the evidence. The verdict is True because credible reporting and expert analyses confirm both the recent Australia–PNG defence treaty and the clear expansion of Australia’s security relationship with Indonesia.