They needed 37 to win off the final 19 balls, but the two-time champions won with six balls to spare.
Roston Chase top-scored, hitting an unbeaten 42, as his 40-run partnership with Andre Russell got them over the line.
PNG fell to 7-2 in the third over of their innings when opener Tony Ura and Lega Siaka's expressive batting failed to pay off.
Opener and captain Assad Vala added 21, with Sese Bau then adding 50 off 43 balls before being bowled by Alzarri Joseph to leave PNG 98-6.
Wicketkeeper Kiplin Doriga added 27 not out to haul them up to 136-8.
Russell and Joseph claimed two wickets apiece, with Akeal Hosein, Romario Shepherd and Gudakesh Motie all taking one.
In response, West Indies opener Johnson Charles was trapped lbw by Alei Nao for a golden duck. Nao also could have dismissed Windies wicketkeeper Nicholas Pooran for a duck in the second over, with the technology showing it would have been out if reviewed.
After surviving that early scare, Pooran put on a 53-run partnership with Brandon King before holing out on 27.
Vala then dismissed King (34) and Sherfane Rutherford (2), with Windies falling from 61-1 to 97-5.
The experienced partnership of Chase and Russell got them over the line, though, to avoid an upset.
Russell ended the 17th over by pouncing on a long hop to find six before Chase hit a four off the next ball, gifted by a misfield as they scored the runs required in just 13 balls.
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