Topic: 2025-Situation in Indonesia and West Papua
Country: People’s Republic of China
Delegate Name: Chloe Falkenstern
The People’s Republic of China views the ongoing conflict in the West Papua and Indonesian territories as a matter whose history is long and very complex. When the Dutch agreed to terminate their subordination of the territory known as West Papua in 1962, the right to oversee it was transferred to Indonesia. The West Papua National Liberation Army, or the TPNPB, came into the limelight as a result. Later, in the 1969 Act of Free Choice, representatives of the West Papua region voted to stay with a united Indonesia, and many people of the territory were outraged at the result. Since the TPNPB has carried out strategic attacks against the Indonesian government and in recent years, this conflict has reached its peak. The Indonesian government has been faulted in its handling of the conflict, as the legislation proposed focuses primarily on the prevention of attacks rather than a focus on the source of the problem.
While China is not directly involved in the region, Indonesia remains one of China’s largest trading partners. In the year 2021, China and Indonesia’s trading amounted to approximately 60 billion dollars, with large trading in electronics and capital goods. As such a resource-rich territory, it comes as a large worry that unrest is rampant in the region. China has not encountered a similar problem in the past, and thus cannot offer advice on the procedures to move forward that have occurred in its history. However, China strongly disproves any imposition of foreign laws on either entity, as it would be against China’s core beliefs. Forcing either entity to comply with legislation passed at a United Nations committee would fall strongly against this. As such, China simply wishes for the region to receive suggestions on a path forward.
In totality, China hopes for a solution that will respect the sovereignty of Indonesia while also providing an opportunity for both the West Papua territory and Indonesia to resolve problems peacefully. It is within the best interest of the United Nations to respect the dignity of Indonesia and also to prioritize allowing both parties to resolve this problem in their manner. As peace talks for both parties have not yet begun, China encourages this to be a priority.
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Agreement between the Republic of Indonesia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands concerning West New Guinea (West Irian). (1962). In United Nations, United Nations Treaty Series (No. 6311; Vol. 1962). https://treaties.un.org/doc/publication/unts/volume%20437/volume-437-i-6311-english.pdf China product exports and imports to Indonesia 2021 | WITS Data. (n.d.). https://wits.worldbank.org/CountryProfile/en/Country/CHN/Year/2021/TradeFlow/EXPIMP/Partner/IDN/Product/All-Groups Cline, A. K. (n.d.). West Papua – resource wealth. https://www.cs.utexas.edu/~cline/papua/wealth.htm Jscarr, A. (2024, April 26). Unraveling the injustices in West Papua – UAB Institute for Human Rights blog. https://sites.uab.edu/humanrights/2024/04/26/unraveling-the-injustices-in-west-papua/
