The Indonesia–Papua New Guinea border is the international border between
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
and
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
. The border, which divides the island of
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
in half, consists of two straight north–south lines connected by a short section running along the
Fly River, totalling 824 km (512 mi). The boundary separates
Papua,
Highland Papua
Highland Papua () is a provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, which roughly follows the borders of the Papuan customary region of Lano-Pago (often shortened to La Pago). It covers an area of and had a population of 1,467,050 according to ...
, and
South Papua
South Papua, officially the South Papua Province (), is an Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province located in the southern portion of Western New Guinea, Papua, following the borders of the Papuan customary region of Anim Ha. Formally establ ...
provinces of Indonesia from
Sandaun and
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
provinces of Papua New Guinea.
Description
The border starts in the north at northern coast of
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
, immediately west of the Papuan village of Wutung and Mount Bougainville.
It then proceeds in a straight vertical line to the south along the
141st meridian east, cutting across the Oenake Range, the Kohari Hills, the
Bewani Mountains, the Border Mountains and the
Central Highlands. Upon reaching the
Fly River it then follows this in a C-shaped curve, before continuing in a N-S line at 141º 01'10" meridian east, cutting across the Kai Lagoon, down to the estuary of the
Bensbach River with the
Torres Strait
The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes ( Kalaw Lagaw Ya#Phonology 2, �zen̪ad̪ kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, ...
on the southern coast of New Guinea.
History
The
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
began colonising the area of modern Indonesia (then called the
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...
) in the 17th century, and extended their rule eastwards. In 1828 they claimed the
north-west coast of New Guinea as far as the 140th meridian east in 1828, as part of the traditional lands of the
Sultan of Tidore.
In 1884 the
north-eastern quarter of New Guinea was claimed by
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and the
south-eastern quarter by Britain, with the two agreeing a border between their respective territories the following year.
In 1895 Britain and the Netherlands signed a border treaty which delimited their common boundary on the island at its current location.
British New Guinea was renamed the Territory of Papua in 1905 and given to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
the following year. Following the defeat of Germany in the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
it was stripped of its colonies, with German New Guinea given to Britain in 1920 and then
united with Papua in 1949 as the
Territory of Papua and New Guinea.
Indonesia gained recognized independence in 1949, however
Dutch New Guinea was kept under Dutch rule owing to its unique character, sparking
a dispute with Indonesia, which claimed the territory. The territory was later transferred to Indonesia in 1963, with some locals opposed to Indonesian rule and began
an insurgency that continues today.
In 1973 the eastern half of the island was renamed Papua New Guinea and gained independence in 1975.
The border was based on an Australian-Indonesia treaty signed on 13 February 1973 which fixed the border at its current position.
Tensions between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea grew, as the ongoing West Papuan conflict destabilised the border region, causing flows of refugees and cross-border incursions by Indonesia's military.
Over 10,000 Papuans from the Indonesian side
crossed the border in 1984, fleeing crackdowns in the aftermath of an uprising. In 1986 a friendship treaty between the two countries was signed, by which both sides agreed to settle any issues they had peacefully.
The treaty was renewed in 1990.
In 2020, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the border was officially closed, but in practice people continued to pass through the porous borders. It was reopened in September 2021, but then was once more closed by November.
Border crossings

There is currently just one binational, official crossing point, between
Jayapura
Jayapura (formerly Hollandia (1910-1962), Kota Baru (1962-1963), Soekarnopura (1963-1968)) is the capital city, capital and List of Indonesian cities by population, largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of Papua (provi ...
(Indonesia, at Skouw) and
Vanimo
Vanimo is the capital of Sandaun Province (West Sepik) in north-westernmost Papua New Guinea and of Vanimo-Green River District. It is located on a peninsula close to the Indonesia–Papua New Guinea border, border with Indonesia, nearest to Jaya ...
(Papua New Guinea).
However Indonesia had established another border post in Waris,
Keerom Regency
Keerom Regency is one of the regencies (''kabupaten'') in the Papua Province of Indonesia. It was formed from the eastern districts then within Jayapura Regency with effect from 12 November 2002. It covers an area of 9,365 km2, and had a po ...
, Sota and
Torasi,
Merauke Regency
Merauke Regency is a Regencies of Indonesia, regency in the far south of the Indonesian province of South Papua. It covers an area of 45,013.35 km2, and had a population of 195,716 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 2 ...
, as well as a border post in construction in Yetetkun,
Boven Digoel Regency.
See also
*
Indonesia–Papua New Guinea relations
References
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Indonesia-Papua New Guinea border
border
Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
International borders