Asia 931
August 11, 30 Indonesian soldiers were spotted 1.5 kilometers inside PNG. On August
13, PNG lodged a protest with the Indonesian government over border incursions, and
a week later PNG proposed joint border management and granted its military greater
latitude in pursuing the rebels inside PNG. On October 29, officials from Indonesia
and PNG attended the Ninth Meeting of the Joint Border Committee. Before the meet-
ing began Indonesian Minister of Home Affairs Rudini and PNG Defense Minister
Sabumei exchanged ratifications of the Basic Agreement their countries signed on
April 11, 1990.
MID#3572
Dispute Number: 3572
Date(s): May 31, 1992
Participants: 850 Indonesia/910 Papua New Guinea
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: On June 1, 1992, Indonesian troops crossed the border into the Papua New
Guinea town of Wutung to attack a camp used by rebels of the Free Papua Movement
(OPM). The town is near the border of the Indonesian province Iran Jaya, which is
contested by the rebel group. Indonesia feared that the rebel groups would use the
camp to disrupt the June 9 elections in Indonesia.
Coding changes: Participant changed: This was originally coded as a dispute between
India and Papua New Guinea. In fact, Indonesia, which is spelled somewhat similarly
to India, was the initiator of the dispute as their forces crossed into PNG to attack a
rebel camp.
MID#4452
Dispute Number: 4452
Date(s): January 2, 2003
Participants: 850 Indonesia/910 Papua New Guinea
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: Indonesian troops attacked a village in Papua New Guinea while search-
ing for rebels.
MID#4589
Dispute Number: 4589
Date(s): July 17, 2008
Participants: 850 Indonesia/910 Papua New Guinea
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: Indonesian soldiers attacked a border village in Papua New Guinea,
searching for a kidnapped officer.