The leader of Papua New Guinea was offended by Biden’s accusations that his uncle was eaten by cannibals

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has accused Joe Biden of disparaging the South Pacific island nation by implying that the US president’s uncle was eaten by “cannibals” during World War II.

Biden’s comments offended a key strategic ally at a time when China is trying to increase its influence in the region.

Last week, at a formal ceremony at a war memorial in Pennsylvania, the US president spoke about his uncle, Second Lieutenant Ambrose J. Finnegan Jr., an Army Air Corps pilot who Biden said was shot down over Papua New Guinea, then the theater of fights

“They never found the body because there used to be a lot of real cannibals in this part of New Guinea,” Biden said, referring to the country’s main island.

In a statement on Sunday, Marape said Biden “seemed to imply that his uncle was eaten by cannibals.”

“President Biden’s remarks may have been a slip of the tongue. However, my country does not deserve to be called such,” Marape said in a statement published by the US agency Associated Press.

“The Second World War was not the work of my people; however, they were unnecessarily drawn into a conflict that was not their business,” Marape added.

The controversy comes as Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese begins a visit to Papua New Guinea, Australia’s closest neighbor, on Monday.

Albanese and Marape will celebrate the friendship and defense ties between the two countries by walking part of a key battlefield known as the Kokoda Trail later this week.

“I am very confident that Papua New Guinea has no stronger partner than Australia and that our defense and security ties have never been stronger,” Albanese told reporters before leaving Australia.

The US Embassy in Port Moresby has not yet responded despite AP’s request for comment.

Biden’s report that Finnegan’s plane was shot down contradicts military data.

According to a Pentagon report, Finnegan was a passenger on a Douglas A-20 Havoc transport plane that crashed into the ocean after both engines failed on May 14, 1944.

One crew member survived, but no trace of the plane or the three other people on board, including Finnegan, was found.

Marape’s statement came on the same day he met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Port Moresby to discuss strengthening bilateral relations.

Marape also called on the United States to find its war dead in the jungles of Papua New Guinea and clear away the rubble of the war.

“The remains of countless World War II troops are scattered across Papua New Guinea, including the plane that carried President Biden’s uncle,” Marape said.

“Perhaps, given Biden’s comments and the strong reaction from Papua New Guinea and other parts of the world, it is time for the United States to find as many World War II remains as possible in the country, including dead military personnel. their lives are like Ambrose Finnegan’s,” he said.

“The war zones in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands are numerous and filled with remnants of the Second World War, including human remains, aircraft and ship wrecks, tunnels and bombs. Our people live daily in fear of being killed by unexploded bombs. bombs from the Second World War,” Marape concluded.