Melbourne, Feb 19: Papua New Guinea’s cabinet has approved US$2.5 million to deploy defence force soldiers to patrol and protect the border with Indonesia.
The National newspaper says the national executive council has moved with urgency to address problems between PNG citizens living in the border area and the Indonesian military.
PNG’s Prime Minister Peter O’Neill said the situation requires immediate national government intervention and for appropriate strategies to be adopted to ease tension at the border.
PNG Foreign Minister Rimbink Pato will issue a protest note to Jakarta expressing the government’s concern about the construction of Indonesian military posts in the border area.
Pato will also inform the Indonesian government about continuous harassment of PNG citizens by the military and other illegal activities as reported by the National Security Advisory Committee’s investigation team. –BERNAMA