Papua New Guinea be reached by light aircraft or on foot. Jacksons International Airport is the major international airport in Papua New Guinea, located from Port Moresby. In addition to two international airfields, Papua New Guinea has 578 airstrips, most of which are unpaved. Government General information Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (PNG; , ; ; ), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an Oceanian country that occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia. Its capital, located along its southeastern
History of Papua New Guinea a major campaign of the Pacific War. In all, some 200,000 Japanese soldiers, sailors and airmen died during the campaign against approximately 7,000 Australian and 7,000 American service personnel. Australian naval vessels have arrived in Papua New Guinea to protect leaders at a summit of Pacific Rim nations next week,giving foretaste of the newly elevated defence relationship between the two neighbors. Following the surrender of the Japanese in 1945, civil administration of Papua as well as New Guinea was restored, and under the Papua New Guinea Provisional Administration Act, (1945–46), Papua and New Guinea were combined in an administrative union.