CANBERRA - Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer said yesterday that Australian defence forces had been placed on a higher degree of readiness as a result of the political crisis in Papua New Guinea (PNG). However, he declined to say whether Australia had plans to send troops as a peacekeeping force. About 10,000 Australians live in PNG.
Meanwhile, Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio reported that the Papua New Guinea Prime Minister, Sir Julius Chan, in another concession to those calling for his resignation, had replaced Col Alfred Aikung as head of the army.