The Ministry of Defence in Papua New Guinea has rejected a proposal for a private security firm to amalgamate with the Defence Force.
The proposal, put forward by a former Defence Force Commander Peter Ilau, would see thousands of members of the global security firm G4S incorporated into the PNGDF.
The British-based firm is one of the main foreign companies contracted to provide security for PNG's massive Liquified Natural Gas project led by ExxonMobil.
But the first secretary at the Defence Ministry, Bill Torazo, says they have rejected the idea because an amalgamation would potentially undermine PNG's sovereignty and security.
"The Defence Force cannot be dealing with a private security firm, especially one with overseas ownership. The danger is that we are compromising our [PNG's] security here, getting foreign security firms to mix up with our army."
Bill Torazo at the PNG defence ministry
