TPNPB Expands West Papuan Insurgency to Foreign Targets

TPNPB Expands West Papuan Insurgency to Foreign Targets

Executive Summary:

• The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) and Indonesian security forces remain embroiled in a conflict with no clear solution.
• The TPNPB insurgency is escalating by targeting civilian aircraft, foreigners, and the Grasberg mine—all targets the group views as complicit in Jakarta’s exploitation of West Papua.
• In response to the insurgency, Indonesia has deployed over 100,000 security personnel to Papua against roughly 1,400 TPNPB insurgents. This extreme militarization has only fueled human rights violations, corruption, and local resentment without resolving the conflict
• These dynamics will perpetuate the conflict and increase the risk of further violence against Papuans, Indonesians, foreigners, and economic interests.

The trajectory of violence in West Papua points to a deepening insurgency with no clear solution. On July 2, fighters of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB)—an insurgent group active in Indonesia’s eastern Papuan provinces—killed a U.S. pilot, Nicholas F. Goselin, after he landed in Highland Papua province (Antara, July 3). The fighters also set the small aircraft on fire after allowing seven local passengers to leave. The killing of Goselin generated international headlines, but it was not an aberration in the decades-long conflict. 

In recent years, the TPNPB has killed or kidnapped multiple pilots, including foreigners, working for local Indonesian civilian carriers. It has also targeted U.S. and Western interests, in addition to Indonesian targets. Jakarta’s posture and conduct in the Papuan provinces are helping drive this dynamic. 

The Militarization of Papua

Jakarta currently has nearly 75,000 soldiers deployed across the Papuan provinces (Project Multatuli, July 3). Some of these forces operate within civilian structures to provide Papuans with basic services, including food, education, construction, and healthcare. They also secure areas for commercial projects that benefit local and international companies, including some linked to Indonesia’s oligarchs. For instance, the military has been accused of harassment and forcing the eviction of indigenous tribes in Merauke in Southeast Papua for agricultural and energy projects, which could potentially be one of the world’s largest deforestation projects (Greenpeace Indonesia, December 19, 2025). 

Nearly 29,000 police officers are also deployed in the Papuan provinces, bringing the total number of security personnel to well over 100,000. More than ten percent of Indonesia’s military and police forces are therefore deployed in the Papuan provinces, despite them accounting for only two percent of Indonesia’s population. Police estimates, meanwhile, put the number of TPNPB members at slightly more than 1,400, underscoring the highly disproportionate balance between security forces and suspected insurgents (Project Multatuli, July 3).

The militarization of West Papua has not produced the desired effect, particularly in terms of winning local “hearts and minds.” Indonesian security forces have been implicated in human rights violations for decades (see Terrorism Monitor, April 12, 2023). In April, rights groups claimed that military personnel killed 15 civilians, including women and children, following a clash with the TPNPB (Kompas, April 20). The incident triggered protests in the Papuan capital, Jayapura, where security personnel clashed with demonstrators criticizing the military presence (Reuters, April 27).

Security personnel deployed to Papua have also been implicated in corruption at various levels and have even sold weapons to the TPNPB. At other times, they have been responsible for outbreaks of violence. In 2011, it was revealed that U.S. mining company Freeport-McMoRan, which operates the Grasberg mine in Papua, had paid tens of millions of dollars to Indonesian security forces as “protection fees.” Police securing the national project—one of the world’s largest gold and copper mines—then killed and injured workers demanding higher wages (The Conversation, November 18, 2011).

TPNPB Operations and Threats to Foreign Interests

The TPNPB has grown stronger and more capable since 2018, despite its relatively small size. It has taken advantage of terrain largely unique to the island of New Guinea, and its familiarity with this difficult environment allows its fighters to move more freely than Indonesian troops and launch ambushes. Conversely, Indonesian forces face significant logistical challenges operating in the Papuan highlands.

Air transport is the region’s primary mode of travel. Following Goselin’s killing, the TPNPB reiterated that it would continue attacking all aircraft operating in Papua, whether civilian or military. [1] The group argues that the military uses civilian aircraft to transport personnel and logistics, making such aircraft justified targets. This rationale also extends to non-Papuans working in Papua, whom the TPNPB claims are part of Jakarta’s security complex and Indonesia’s “colonization” of West Papua. Papuans alleged to be working with security forces have also been killed. On July 21, the TPNPB killed three Papuans, including a former TPNPB member, for apparent collusion with the Indonesian state and security forces (Kompas, July 23). 

In January, the TPNPB surrounded a post in the Grasberg mining area, trapping Indonesian Freeport workers for three days (The Jakarta Post, January 17). The following month, the TPNPB killed one soldier and one Freeport worker traveling in a convoy in the mining area. In a separate attack, the group killed a pilot and co-pilot after their aircraft landed in Korowai (Reuters, February 11).

The Grasberg site remains a key target because it is the main symbol of perceived resource extraction and exploitation of Papuan lands from which many locals believe they have not benefited. Although Indonesia took majority ownership of the mine in 2018, the site is still closely associated with the United States. Former U.S. National Security Advisor and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger once served on Freeport’s board, and the company’s conduct has been heavily criticized locally and internationally for supporting Indonesia’s perceived transgressions in West Papua (Corporate Accountability Lab, February 28, 2022). The TPNPB therefore framed Goselin’s killing as a message to the United States.

Conclusion

In 2024, a New Zealand pilot was released by the TPNPB after being held hostage for more than 18 months, the longest such hostage crisis in the conflict. His release, however, drew criticism from the organization’s central leadership. This suggests that the group is hardening its stance in pursuit of an independent West Papua (Tempo, September 24, 2024). 

Jakarta’s increasing militarization of the provinces is further feeding the conflict, which is producing a growing number of casualties each year. Jakarta also shows little tolerance for expressions of Papuan freedom; the Papuan Morning Star flag remains banned, and possessing it is considered treason. Indonesian authorities recently attempted to block a documentary highlighting land grabbing and rights violations by Indonesian interests (Human Rights Watch, June 11). 

A political solution is becoming increasingly unlikely. The TPNPB has only become more violent, and Jakarta maintains controversial security deployments in Papua. These dynamics will perpetuate the conflict and increase the risk of further violence against Papuans, Indonesians, and foreigners alike. 

Notes:

[1] TPNPB Press Release from July 2, 2026.