TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
PNG and Indonesia: Pursuing alternatives yet overlooking shared concerns
For Indonesia, PNG does not present many challenges except for traditional cross-border crimes, such as illegal trading, illegal trespassing and drug smuggling.
Change Size
Face-to-face: President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo holds a bilateral meeting with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape at the Presidential Palace in Bogor, West Java, on March 31. (Courtesy of/Presidential Secretariat)
F
ollowing a political attempt to remove him from office last year and ahead of the national election this year, Papua New Guinea (PNG) Prime Minister James Marape visited Jakarta at the invitation of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo recently.
This trip aimed primarily to respond to the poor economic performance of Marape’s administration over the past three years. Indonesia, which has also experienced economic and political turmoil, deemed the trip strategic to expand its influence in PNG and the Pacific region.
One should ask about prospects of economic cooperation between PNG and Indonesia, the Papua issue and Marape’s tripartite (PNG, Indonesia, Australia) security concept.
Since China has recently been on the rise in the Pacific region, Indonesia has become a strategic alternative for the island countries, including PNG. The increasing presence of China and domination of Australia and New Zealand in the Pacific region has prompted PNG to balance the powerful states with alternative actors, such as Indonesia.
In terms of economy, Indonesia-PNG trade reached US$322 million in 2021, up from $212 million in the previous year, with agricultural products and petroleum dominating the exports of both countries. This fact is in line with Marape’s “Take Back Policy”, which aims to attract international companies operating in PNG’s mining and petroleum business, including Indonesian state energy firm Pertamina.
Likewise, border policies have become a priority within Jokowi’s “development from the periphery” agenda. Significant border facilities in Papua regencies, such as Merauke, Boven Digul, Kerom and Jayapura, reflect Indonesia’s strong commitment to developing the area and benefitting people from both countries.
The only undeveloped border area is Pegunungan Bintang regency. It remains a hotspot of armed conflict in Papua, forcing a significant number of indigenous Papuans to cross into PNG.
