patrols, in PNG

New base, more border patrols, in PNG

Papua New Guinea is to set up a troop base at the Ok Tedi mining port of Kiunga and increase pat rols of the Irian Jaya border,

according to Deputy Prime

Minister Paias Wingti.

Mr Wingti, who headed a De fence Force Review Committee, said Cabinet had approved the projects for 1984.

He said K 220,000 ($A290,000) would be spent on increased border patrols, and K 225,000 ($297,000) on further maritime surveillance.

The funds would be separate from the main defence budget of K 24 million ($31.68 million) which he said was K 2 million ($2.64 million) more than in 1983.

PNG recently scaled down its border patrols from 12 to six a year.

Mr Wingti said the main naval base at Lombrum on Manus Is land in the north would be re located to Port Moresby.

The Lombrum base would be come a forward operating station and two other stations would be established at Wewak and Kieta.

PNG has five patrol boats.

The air transport di-vision would be shifted from Lae to Nadzab, about 45 km away.

A reported statement by PNG’s Defence Minister that In donesia would one day invade his country was “without founda tion,” the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Dr Mochtar Kusumaat madja, said in Jakarta, in

September.

Radio Australia a few days before had reported the PNG Defence Minister, Epel Tito, as saying he believed Indonesia would invade PNG within the next 10 to 20 years.

Dr Mochtar told a news con ference he was unaware of Mr Tito’s statement, but said it had no foundation. He had not heard such fears expressed during his visit to Port Moresby in August.