The Yegiora Files

By Bernard Yegiora  At the Chinese Embassy in Port Moresby on 30 July 2026, I stood beside two uniformed students from Butuka Academy and a visiting artist from Guangdong Province. We held up the small artworks we had painted during a hands-on cultural activity, surrounded by brightly decorated Canton enamel porcelain featuring flowers, birds and traditional Chinese designs. The author with two Butuka Academy students and a visiting Guangdong artist during a cultural painting activity at the Chinese Embassy’s Open House Day in Port Moresby, 30 July 2026. (Photo courtesy of Bernard Yegiora) The photograph captures a seemingly simple cultural encounter. However, it also illustrates how China is building familiarity with its language and culture among PNG’s younger generation. I attended the Embassy’s Open House Day in connection with my PhD research on the influence of China’s higher education exchange programs on PNG–China relations. The event provided an opportunity to observe how ...

By Bernard Yegiora Australia’s announcement of a A$600 million package to combat transnational organised crime and illicit drug trafficking in the Pacific should attract serious attention in PNG. On 2 September 2026, Pacific leaders endorsed Waqa Moana , a Pacific-led maritime security initiative intended to strengthen regional responses to illicit drug trafficking. Australia subsequently announced A$600 million in support for its implementation. Importantly, Waqa Moana will focus on getting actionable intelligence into the hands of Pacific police forces and operational responders. Identified cocaine trafficking routes affecting the Pacific, 2022–2024. The map highlights PNG’s position within wider trans-Pacific trafficking networks connecting the Americas, Pacific Island states, Australia, New Zealand, and East and Southeast Asia. Source: UNODC, World Drug Report 2025. UNODC map: Identified trafficking routes of cocaine impacting the Pacific, 2022–2024 For PNG, this should not be ...

By Bernard Yegiora The first two articles in this series argued that developments across PNG’s western border should no longer be viewed simply as an Indonesian domestic issue. The first identified warning signs emerging from the West Papua conflict, while the second considered what happens when a neighbouring conflict begins to enter PNG’s security space. This final article asks the more important policy question: What should PNG do about it? The answer is not that PNG should take sides in the West Papua conflict. Nor should PNG abandon its established diplomatic relationship with Indonesia. Rather, PNG needs to recognise that a prolonged conflict immediately across its land border creates national security risks that require sustained monitoring, intelligence assessment, inter-agency coordination and contingency planning. The central issue is preparedness. A Changing Security Environment PNG has lived alongside the West Papua conflict for decades. The border has experienced refugee ...

By Bernard Yegiora The Bachelor of Arts in PNG and International Studies began implementing its current Program Specification Document in the 2023 academic year. The present five-year curriculum cycle therefore runs from 2023 to 2027 , with the next formal program review due in 2028 under Divine Word University’s five-year program review process. The current PSD also shows that graduate tracer data and alumni feedback have previously contributed to curriculum review and improvement. Screenshot from the current Bachelor of Arts in Papua New Guinea and International Studies Program Specification Document (PSD) , implemented from 2023 and due for formal review in 2028 after the five-year cycle. We are therefore beginning preparations early so that the 2028 review can be based on evidence rather than assumptions. We need to hear from graduates One important part of the review will be to understand where our recent graduates are working, what they are doing, and how relevant the program ha...

By Bernard Yegiora  As part of PG428 Foreign Policy in PNG , students recently completed Database Activity 2 , focusing on PNG’s bilateral relations and the question of strategic partnership prioritisation. Week 6 of PG428 Foreign Policy in PNG , featuring Topic 4 on Somare’s influence and Database Activity 2 on PNG’s major bilateral relationships under the Foreign Policy White Paper 2025 . The activity was based on an important principle contained in the PNG Foreign Policy White Paper 2025 : PNG must maintain strong bilateral relationships while ensuring that its external engagements continue to serve the country’s national interests. For a country like PNG, this is not simply a question of maintaining diplomatic relations with as many countries as possible. PNG has limited diplomatic, administrative and financial resources. It must therefore make strategic choices about where to concentrate its diplomatic attention and how different bilateral relationships contribute to security,...

By Bernard Yegiora Part Two of a three-part series on the implications of the West Papua conflict for PNG’s national security. Part One of this series identified three warning signs emerging from the West Papua conflict: the display of high-powered firearms by armed groups, the killing of an American pilot, and the execution of three Indigenous Papuans accused of being “traitors.” These incidents indicate increasing armed capability, an expansion in the range of people considered legitimate targets, and a willingness by armed groups to enforce political loyalty through violence. However, the security implications for PNG do not depend on armed fighters launching a direct attack across the international border. A neighbouring conflict can enter PNG’s security environment in other ways. It can produce refugee movements, firearms trafficking, intelligence activity, cross-border pursuit, diplomatic pressure and political mobilisation. Its narratives can also influence sensitive domestic is...