The Yegiora Files

 By Bernard Yegiora The second PG428 Foreign Policy in PNG Zoom meeting for the week focused on preparing students for Assessment Task 3: Case Study. The session brought together Communication Arts students and PNG Studies students in a fully online learning environment, as provided for in the Program Specification Document. Mr. Lahui Ako and I worked with the students to form seven case study groups based on key implementation priorities drawn from the Papua New Guinea Foreign Policy White Paper 2025. The purpose of the exercise was to help students move beyond simply reading policy documents and begin thinking about how foreign policy can be translated into practical action through PNG’s public service machinery. The central message of the session was clear: foreign policy is not only about statements, speeches, diplomatic visits, and international agreements. The real test is implementation. For PNG, this means asking how government departments, statutory agencies, diplomatic mi...

By Bernard Yegiora  The first article in this series examined the emergence of the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Joint Intelligence Group (JIG) as part of PNG’s evolving intelligence-led national security framework. The second article explored where Provincial Intelligence Committees could potentially fit within this emerging security architecture and how intelligence coordination may eventually need to evolve beyond Waigani into the provinces. However, institutions and coordination mechanisms alone are insufficient. The long-term effectiveness of PNG’s national security framework will ultimately depend on whether the country develops its own home-grown generation of strategic thinkers, intelligence analysts, foreign policy specialists, cybersecurity experts, defence planners, and security professionals capable of sustaining and strengthening these institutions over time. Modern national security environments are becoming increasingly complex. PNG is now confronted w...

 By Bernard Yegiora  The recent intelligence-led operation coordinated through the Joint Intelligence Group (JIG) demonstrated that PNG is gradually moving toward a more integrated national security framework. The operation, involving the National Security Agency (NSA), National Intelligence Organization (NIO), PNG Customs Service, PNG Biosecurity Authority, and the Royal PNG Constabulary’s Transnational Crime Unit, highlighted the growing importance of intelligence-sharing and inter-agency coordination in addressing transnational organised crime (TNOC). This article builds on Part 1 of this series, From the NSP to the NSA: PNG’s Security Vision Is Finally Emerging , which examined the emergence of the NSA and the growing shift toward intelligence-led security governance in PNG. However, an important strategic question now emerges: how should these national-level intelligence coordination mechanisms connect with the provinces? This question recently emerged during a Zoom gue...

 By Bernard Yegiora  PNG’s recent intelligence-led operation against illegally imported food products may appear to be an ordinary enforcement action. However, strategically, it represents something much more important. It signals that PNG is slowly beginning to operationalize long-standing national security policy ideas that were first articulated more than a decade ago. The recent operation coordinated through the Joint Intelligence Group (JIG), involving the National Security Agency (NSA), National Intelligence Organisation, PNG Customs Service, PNG Biosecurity Authority, and the Royal PNG Constabulary’s Transnational Crime Unit, demonstrated the growing role of intelligence-sharing and inter-agency coordination in PNG’s security environment. Screenshot of a reported article published in the Post-Courier newspaper and shared privately by a reader. The report highlights the recent intelligence-led operation coordinated through the JIG and the NSA against illegal imports in P...

By Bernard Yegiora  The recent decision by the Chinese Embassy in PNG to feature my video submission, Juncao in Practice: China–Papua New Guinea Cooperation in Eastern Highlands Province , on its Facebook and X platforms is more than just recognition of a competition entry. It also highlights an important development story that deserves greater national attention. The video focuses on the Juncao technology project in Eastern Highlands Province and demonstrates how practical cooperation between China and PNG can translate into real outcomes at the community level. The project shows that development cooperation is not only about policy discussions or diplomatic meetings in Port Moresby. It is also about the transfer of practical knowledge and technology that ordinary Papua New Guineans can use to improve livelihoods. Below are screenshots from the Chinese Embassy’s official social media platforms featuring the video: Chinese Embassy in PNG Facebook post featuring Juncao in Practic...

By Bernard Yegiora The release of the PNG Foreign Policy White Paper 2025 marked an important moment in PNG’s strategic and diplomatic history. It provided a long-term framework for understanding PNG’s role within an increasingly contested Indo-Pacific region. However, as the country moves toward the 2027 General Elections, an important question must now be asked: what alternative foreign policy vision does the Opposition offer to the people of PNG? In mature democracies, opposition parties do not simply criticize government policy. They present alternative strategic frameworks that demonstrate how they would govern differently if elected into office. Foreign policy should therefore become part of the national political debate leading into 2027, especially at a time when geopolitical competition in the Pacific is intensifying. PNG today sits at the centre of growing strategic interest from major powers including China, Australia, and the United States. The country’s geography, mariti...

By Bernard Yegiora  The debate surrounding the Jomard Passage has largely centred on one dominant argument: PNG cannot move toward any form of transit fee or stronger regulatory control because the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) guarantees freedom of passage through international waterways. This position is often presented as absolute and legally fixed. However, the reality of maritime governance is far more nuanced. International maritime law is not applied mechanically in every context, and state practice demonstrates that countries frequently negotiate tailored arrangements to reflect geography, security concerns, environmental protection, and national interests. The Torres Strait Treaty between PNG and Australia illustrates this clearly. The Torres Strait Treaty established a unique governance framework balancing sovereignty, border management, fisheries cooperation, environmental protection, and the traditional movement rights of local communities. ...