If we look at historical records, many countries are involved in the history of Indonesia and Papua. The relationship between West Papua and neighboring countries is also one of the histories that should be remembered.
Nearest Neighboring Countries to Papua
Apart from the historical background, geographically, Indonesia also has many neighbouring countries. Some of these pacific region countries are located closest to the province of Papua:
1. Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea is a neighbouring country located in eastern Indonesia. This country is directly adjacent to Papua Province. Papua New Guinea, or PNG, is 160 kilometres north of Australia. The country has 600 islands off its coast.
Located in pacific region, PNG has 14 active mountains, while Papua Province, Indonesia, has no volcanoes.
PNG has its capital in Port Moresby. The relationship between Papua and neighboring countries can be seen from Indonesia’s proximity to PNG.
The name Port Moresby comes from Captain John Moresby, who landed on the southern coast of PNG in 1873 and claimed it to be British property. John Moresby named the port he landed in after him to strengthen the claim.
The territory of PNG is divided into 20 provinces. PNG has 492 airports, both large and small. PNG became independent from Australia on September 16, 1975.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Michael Somare since 2002, the PNG Government has implemented a bold foreign policy,
Namely “Look to the North”, which is to approach countries in Asia. So far, the PNG Government has been oriented towards Australia and New Zealand.
2. Australia
Although they have different cultures, The relationship between West Papua and neighboring countries still have the values of plurality, diversity, ethnicity, tolerance, democracy, respect for human rights, and protection of the environment.
Australia is the smallest continent in the world, with an area of 8,945,000 km².
This continent includes the pacific region countries of Papua New Guinea, Australia and the surrounding islands in the eastern and southern parts of Indonesia.
The Australian continent was first inhabited by Aborigines around 40,000 years ago. In 1606, Dutch and Spanish explorers discovered the mainland. Then they fell into the hands of the British Empire and made it a dumping ground for criminals.
In 1986, Australia gained complete independence from Britain. When looking at its geographical location, the Australian continent is located in the southern part of Indonesia.
It is found in the southern hemisphere, with the flattest topography compared to other continents.
3. Bougainville
Indonesia will have a new pacific region neighbouring country in 2027. The government is called Bougainville.
Bougainville was originally part of Papua New Guinea. It is a chain of islands located 959 kilometres northwest of Papua New Guinea’s capital, Port Moresby.
It all started with the 2019 referendum. The result was 97.7% of voters agreed to independence from Papua New Guinea.
This vote became a way of peace after 20 years of prolonged conflict, which left 20,000 people dead, or around 10% of Bougainville’s population.
Bouganville has been involved in secession from Papua New Guinea since 1988. At that time, the people of Bougainville were dissatisfied with the allocation of copper mining operations in the Panguna area.
Bougainville’s President, Ishmael Toroama, and Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape are said to have held a meeting in July 2021. In that meeting, Bougainville will officially become fully independent in 2027.
Liberation of West Irian
Since the liberal democratic period, every cabinet has included its program on the liberation of West Irian.
In the framework of the Indonesian – Dutch Union, the Ministerial Conference established a commission to investigate the issue of West Irian.
Another conference was the Asia-Africa Conference. Twenty-nine countries from Asia and Africa attended this meeting. On that occasion, Indonesia used the moment as a vehicle to seek support to liberate West Irian.
1956 Indonesia unilaterally cancelled relations with the Netherlands based on the RTC negotiations.
The Act stipulated that the relationship between Indonesia and the Netherlands was normal between fully sovereign states based on international law.
For the first time, Indonesia raised the issue of West Irian at a UN session in 1954.
However, Indonesia’s proposal received little support. Finally, the Indonesian people decided to find another way, namely through confrontation.
The effort of liberation went through a very long and conflict-ridden period.
Even today, the relationship between West Papua and neighboring countries still has many rebellions because they are not satisfied with the government’s decision.
Bilateral Relations
In diplomatic relations, Indonesia’s foreign ministry always tries to maintain harmony of the relationship between West Papua and neighboring countries. The provinces of Papua and West Papua have land borders with other countries.
1. Diplomatic Relations with PNG
Since 1973, bilateral relations with PNG have increased. The PNG government consistently supports Indonesia by prohibiting the activities of members of the TPN/OPM group in the PNG territory, which can harm the interests of RI.
Bilateral relations between the two countries are good. The mutual visits have improved RI-PNG bilateral relations in various fields of Politics, Economy, Socio-Culture, Defense and Security and Education.
In 2008 and 2009, the two countries had mutual visits from local government officials.
Regarding border cooperation between the two countries, every year, the RI-PNG Government discusses it at the Border Liaison Officer Meeting (BLOM) forum.
In 2008, the Governments of RI and PNG held the meeting in Port Moresby. In the meeting, it was discuss about the plan to build a cross-border post/crossing jetty on the Fly River and the establishment of the Joint Trade Committee.
2. Diplomatic Relations with Australia
The bilateral meeting between the two Heads of State agreed to increase cooperation in various fields.
Some of them are investment and trade, food and agriculture, tourism, education, air transportation, and improving relations between the people of Australia and Indonesia.
Although in the past, the relationship between West Papua and neighboring countries often clashed over territorial liberation and independence, today, some ties are often mutually beneficial. In Indonesia, Papua is the closest province to Australia.
In several meetings of heads of state, the discussion of Papua has also become one of the focuses of bilateral meetings between Australia and Indonesia.
The President of Indonesia has always emphasized that Indonesia’s policy regarding Papua is apparent.
Regarding the issue of people smuggling, both countries respect each other’s sovereignty. The relationship between West Papua and neighboring countries bilateral cooperation is need in handling people smuggling.
