MELBOURNE, Australia, Sept 17, (AP): Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday was unable to clinch an ambitious defense treaty with Papua New Guinea during a visit to the country, a week after he failed to land a security pact with another South Pacific island neighbor, Vanuatu, aimed at curbing China’s influence in the region.

The diplomatic setbacks come ahead of his potential first meeting with US President Donald Trump next week where regional security will be on the agenda. Albanese had announced that the bilateral treaty with Papua New Guinea would be signed during his three-day visit to the country’s capital of Port Moresby that ended Wednesday.

But a Papua New Guinea Cabinet meeting scheduled for Monday to endorse the treaty never took place. Instead of signing the treaty, Albanese and his Papua New Guinea counterpart James Marape released a communique on Wednesday that said the text had been agreed on and the document would be signed "following Cabinet processes in both countries.”

Albanese had similarly expected to sign a bilateral security and economic treaty during a visit to Vanuatu on Sept. 9, but left the country with an assurance that negotiations would continue. Vanuatuan Prime Minister Jotham Napat said last week there were concerns within his government that the treaty could limit Vanuatu’s ability to raise money for critical infrastructure from any third country, such as China.

Albanese on Wednesday rejected a reporter’s suggestion that he was overreaching by trying to persuade countries to sign deals they were not ready for. "Democracies aren’t the same as authoritarian regimes. They go through processes. We respect them,” Albanese said. "Processes are important and sovereignty’s important and we respect it and Papua New Guinea will go through its Cabinet processes, but we have … agreed on the words in this treaty,” he added.

Questioned by a reporter, Marape said he was not concerned that China would use the delay to lobby his ministers to scuttle the treaty. "Please let’s give respect to China,” Marape said. "This (delay) is in no way, shape or form (because) Chinese have any hand in saying: Don’t do this, etc.” Marape declined to say whether all his ministers agreed the treaty should go ahead, citing Cabinet confidentiality. "There is no sticking point,” Marape said. The pact would elevate Papua New Guinea to become Australia’s third security alliance partner after the United States and New Zealand.