The Indonesian government has assured PNG that there would be no repeat border incursions into PNG by its soldiers.

The assurance was conveyed to Foreign Affairs, Trade and Immigration Minister Samuel Abal by his Indonesian counterpart, Hassan Wirajudi, in Singapore last week.

There had been a number of alleged border incursions by the Indonesians in the last three months. PNG had protested through a diplomatic note conveyed through the Indonesian embassy in Port Moresby. The apologies from the Indonesians blamed the incursions on "new recruits deployed to the border region".

Reports said appropriate instructions had been issued to commanding officers in the border areas to deal with those responsible and ensure such incidents do not occur again. Mr Wirajudi was also grateful that the PNG Government "exercised restraints" although these incidents do cause serious concerns.

Mr Abal told his counterpart that should occurrences of border incursions persist, PNG would seek to raise them in other forums such as Asean, Pacific Islands Forum and the United Nations. "With our border areas developed and properly managed and secured, we can expect people from either side to live and enjoy normal lives," Mr Abal told his Indonesian counterpart, referring to his recent statement in Parliament on the creation of a border development and management authority.