It was the first time Papua New Guinea hosted the APEC meetings.[2]Australia provided a quarter to a third of the cost [citation needed] to host the meetings and also helped with logistics and security (G4S). Three cruise ships were chartered through an Australian company to cater to the some 10,000 delegates and guests.[1][3]
Many of the attendees and delegations had previously attended the 2018 East Asia Summit held from 11 to 15 November in Singapore, hosted by the Chairperson Lee Hsien Loong, the Prime Minister of Singapore. Thereafter, many of the state leaders, including Prime Minister Lee of Singapore, flew from Singapore to Papua New Guinea.
Leaders and representatives of Pacific Island nations were invited by Papua New Guinea to attend the "APEC Leaders' Dialogue with Pacific Island Leaders" on 17 November.[7][8]
Pacific Island Attendees at the 2018 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting[7][9]
According to Reuters, "the leaders failed to agree on a communique at a summit in Papua New Guinea on Sunday for the first time in their history as deep divisions between the United States and China over trade and investment stymied cooperation."[10] Also according to same article: "O’Neill said that as APEC host, he would release a Chairman’s Statement, though it was not clear when."[10] O'Neill said that the talks broke down over language about the World Trade Organization[11] while Reuters reported that the cause for the impasse was disagreement on portions of the draft communique relating to the WTO which mentioned opposing "unfair trade practices" and reforming the WTO, while another concerned sustainable development.[10]
Security
Much of the security for the meeting was provided by the Australian Defence Force (ADF) at an estimated cost of AUD130 million.[12] The Papua New Guinea Government passed special legislation which gave unprecedented powers to foreign forces and security personnel to protect visiting leaders.[13] The ADF supplied about 1500 personnel with airspace security provided by the Royal Australian Air Force and maritime security support provided by the Royal Australian Navy.[14]
Other nations to provide security support to the summit included New Zealand, the United States, China, Canada, Japan and Indonesia.[12] In total, about 2000 foreign military personnel were involved.[15]
The New Zealand Defence Force provided the offshore Patrol Vessel HMNZS Otago with about 75 crew to assist with maritime security, a P-3 Orion detachment with 20 personnel to provide aerial surveillance, and up to 30 Special Operation Forces personnel. [16] The United States Coast Guard provided in shore security in Port Moresby.[13][17][18]