Papua New Guinea largest towns are also located, including Port Moresby (capital) and Lae; other major islands within Papua New Guinea include New Ireland, New Britain, Manus and Bougainville. Papua New Guinea is one of the few regions close to the equator that experience snowfall, which occurs in the most elevated parts of the mainland. The border between Papua New Guinea and Indonesia was confirmed by treaty with Australia before independence in 1974. Maritime boundaries with Australia were confirmed by a treaty in 1978. Papua New Guinea is part of the Australasia ecozone, which also includes Australia, New Zealand, eastern Indonesia, and several
Papua New Guinea ASEAN member state in the future. In 2012, despite a refugee crisis at the border of Papua New Guinea and West Papua, the country was steadfast in its support of Indonesia, which promised Papua New Guinea a greater role in ASEAN in the future. By 2017, the Indonesian-led genocide against West Papuan natives peaked with almost 25% of the native population killed within a 50-year period. The realisation caused massive backlash from Oceanian nations against Papua New Guinea's policy on West Papua. In January 2017, Papua New Guinea gave citizenship to 138 West Papuan refugees in a bid to calm