SYDNEY, July 22 (Reuters) - Australia and Papua New Guineasaid on Monday their leaders will meet annually in a bid tofoster closer ties, which Canberra believes is important in itsbid to counter China's quest for greater influence in thePacific.
The pledge came after PNG Prime Minister James Marape, whocame to power in May, met Australian Prime Minister ScottMorrison for the first time.
Morrison said bilateral meetings would be held annually in abid to improve ties between the two close neighbours that havefrayed in recent years.
"This is a broad and a deep relationship but, above all, itis a relationship of family and true friends," Morrison toldreporters in Canberra.
Australia, which long enjoyed nearly unchecked influence inthe Pacific, and its Western allies worry that it has edgedcloser to China in recent years as Beijing increased aid to thesparsely populated region and its vast resource-rich oceans.
China denies it is seeking a sphere of influence in thePacific, saying its aid is intended to help with economicdevelopment.
"Marape has said that he wants to diversify PNG'srelationships, but this visit will comfort those who worriedthat Australia is no longer the partner of choice in theregion," said Jonathan Pryke, director of the Pacific Islandsprogramme at the Lowy Institute, a Sydney think tank.
PNG has turned increasingly to China for financing in recentyears and China forged a particularly strong relationship withMarape's predecessor, Peter O'Neill.
O'Neill was the first Pacific leader to sign up to China'sBelt and Road infrastructure-building programme. He metPresident Xi Jinping more than a dozen times during his eightyears in office, stoking fears in Australia that its influencein PNG was waning.
Australia has offered Pacific countries up to A$3 billion($2.11 billion) in cheap loans and grants in a bid to arrest itsslide in influence, while Canberra has also increased itsdiplomatic presence in the region.($1 = 1.4205 Australian dollars)(Reporting by Colin PackhamEditing by Paul Tait)