Australia, Indonesia, and West Papuan refugees, 1962-2009

In this paper we examine the Australian government's response to West Papuan asylum-seekers during the period 1962-2009. We argue that, throughout this period, the Australian government has attempted to appease the sensitivities of its powerful northern neighbour, Indonesia, as far as it can without outraging a domestic public sympathetic to West Papuans or drawing international condemnation by too obviously breaching international law. For the most part, it has done so by trying to avoid accommodating refugees from Indonesia, liaising closely with the Indonesian government in relation to asylum-seekers, and assuring the Indonesian government of its unequivocal support for Indonesian territorial integrity. © The author [2009]. Published by Oxford University Press in association with the Japan Association of International Relations; all rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.