Western New Guinea

Map showing West New Guinea region

Western New Guinea is the western half of the island of New Guinea. As of 2006, it is internationally recognised as Papua, a province of Indonesia. It was previously known by various names, including Netherlands New Guinea (until 1962), West Irian (1962-1973), and Irian Jaya (1973-2000). The incorporation of western New Guinea remains controversial in some quarters, including some within the area itself, and those who do not recognise the legal issues of Indonesia's claim to the area, calling it West Papua.

Papua was annexed by Indonesia under the controversial Act of Free Choice in 1969. In 2003, the Indonesian central government declared that the province would be split into three areas: Papua Province, Central Irian Jaya, and West Irian Jaya. Opposition to this resulted in the plan for Central Irian Jaya being scrapped, and even the designation of West Irian Jaya Province is still legally unclear. The independent sovereign state of Papua New Guinea (PNG) borders Papua Province to the east.

Western New Guinea Media

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  The lowland rainforest of the Western New Guinea

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  The rugged and mountainous topography of Western New Guinea.

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  The king bird-of-paradise is one of over 300 bird species on the peninsula.

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       Central Papua*     Highland Papua*     Papua*     South Papua*     Southwest Papua*     West Papua

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  Fort du Bois

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  Dutch expeditions in Netherlands New Guinea 1907–1915.

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  The Sukarno-era West Irian Liberation Monument in Lapangan Banteng, Jakarta.

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  Rp 0.12 Indonesian stamp of 1963.

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  A section of Trans-Papua Highway connecting Deiyai and Mimika in Central Papua