Jakarta – The US State Department announced on Friday that Washington would not support any effort that would allow Papua to gain independence from Indonesia.

"With respect to Papua, the US reiterates its firm support for the territorial integrity of Indonesia. The US does not support or condone any efforts to promote the secession of Papua from the Republic of Indonesia.

We believe that implementation of political and economic reforms, in the context of Special Autonomy and within a united Indonesia, is the key to addressing longstanding grievances, including human rights concerns," McCormack said during a dailybriefing on July 29 in Washington.

McCormack's remarks were made apparently in response to Indonesia's warning to the US not to interfere in Indonesia's domestic affairs after the US House of Representatives recently approved a bill that questions the status of Papua.

Speaking to reporters on Friday during a visit to Shenzen, China, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said such intervention could affect relations between the two countries, which have begun to improve since his election last year and avisit to Washington in May. "I am concerned (by the bill)... this (the Papua issue) is Indonesia's domestic affair," he said.

The US House recently approved a bill on Papua, which if passed into law, could increase international pressure for the Indonesian government to allow the people of resource-rich Papua to vote on whether to remain a part of Indonesia or become an independent nation.