Foreign intrusions a threat to PNG, says leader

FOREIGN intrusions into PNG territory are a concern for many border villages but the government has kept silent on the issue, Manus MP Ronny Knight claims.
He said illegal incursions were acts of intimidation and aggression and undermined the country’s sovereignty.
Knight raised his concern during question time in parliament last Thursday, saying foreign fishing boats had been frequenting the Western Islands of Manus recently.
He said illegal fishing by these foreigners had resulted in many reefs being destroyed.
“When locals want to interfere, they shoot back at the locals and we have evidences of bullet shells and bullet marks on the locals’ boat and dinghies,” Knight said.
“It is a major concern for my province and what will the minister do?”
The MP said that due to the lack of government funding, surveillance of the international borders had been lacking.
He added that this was a national security issue that needed to be addressed as it involved crimes such as terrorism, human smuggling, money laundering, drugs and arms trafficking.
Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Rimbink Pato said the incursion into the waters and the land borders of West Sepik and Western provinces by soldiers and illegal poachers was a security issue.
“We have to take wholesale approach to maintain the cordial bilateral and diplomatic relationships that we have with Indonesia,” he said.