Business as usual for PNG-Indonesia relations

Prime Minister James Marape visited Jakarta at the invitation of Indonesian President Joko Widodo in March 2022 — a few months ahead of PNG’s national elections. While the trip was designed to boost his administration’s economic credentials by diversifying PNG’s trade with Southeast Asian countries, Indonesia saw the visit as an opportunity to expand its influence in PNG and the Pacific.

The increasing presence of China and the dominance of Australia and New Zealand in the Pacific region are prompting the Pacific islands to search for strategic alternatives. Marape sees Indonesia — a source of trade and investment for PNG — as an attractive option. Indonesia–PNG trade reached US$322 million in 2021, up from US$212 million in 2020, with agricultural products and petroleum as the main exports of both countries. This increase is partly due to close economic relations between the two countries and the strong political commitment to strengthen their local economies over the past three years. It is also in line with Marape’s ‘Take Back PNG’ policy that aims to maximise local gains from international companies jointly operating PNG resource projects, including Indonesia’s state energy firm Pertamina.

Border policies have also become a priority in Widodo’s ‘development from the periphery’ agenda. The main reason people cross the PNG–Indonesian border is for market activities. Indonesia’s construction of substantial border facilities to support marketplace activity reflects its strong commitment to developing the area to the mutual benefit of both countries.

The only less developed border area is Bintang Mountains regency, a remote area lacking in infrastructure to support cross-border economic activities. The regency remains a hotspot of armed conflict in Papua, forcing a significant number of indigenous Papuans to cross into PNG.

Indonesia gave almost US$17 million to Pacific island countries from 2014 to 2020, with PNG and Fiji being the biggest recipients. PNG received around US$3 million of financial and technical assistance from Indonesia, while Indonesia also provides humanitarian and development assistance in the form of ambulance units, vocational training, medical assistance, construction projects and post-disaster relief.

But high-level diplomacy and cooperation does not resonate at the grassroots level. There are barely any Pacific-oriented institutions in Indonesia to support a better understanding of the region.

The Indonesian government-funded Indo-Pacific research centre at Cenderawasih University reflects Indonesia’s security-centric approach.

This is unlikely to change in the near future, especially given that the priority for Indonesian foreign policy is not the Pacific but Asia, the Middle East and even Europe. Yet people in the Pacific region, including in PNG, have shown serious concerns over human rights conditions and Papuan political aspirations that the Indonesian government has failed to address.

Marape’s visit to Indonesia occurred when the Papua issue was a crucial concern in the Pacific region.

eastasiaforum