BBC World Service

An American pilot was killed in Indonesia’s Papua. Why? - Asia Specific podcast, BBC World Service

On 2 July 2026, separatist rebels released a video saying that they had shot dead a US pilot and set his plane on fire in Indonesia's Papua region. Click here to subscribe to our channel 👉🏽 https://bbc.in/3VyyriM The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) said they killed Nicholas F Gosselin after he landed in the Highland Papua province, and claimed that the pilot had been transporting Indonesian troops into the region. Indonesia’s military rejects those claims, saying the passengers were indigenous Papuans. Indonesian officials confirmed that Gosselin's plane had been found burnt, but said it was unclear what happened to him or his seven passengers on board. This is the latest in a string of events spanning decades in the resource-rich region over which the Indonesian government and West Papua’s indigenous people are fighting. On this episode of Asia Specific, host Mariko Oi unpacks the years of conflict in the contested area with two journalists who have been covering West Papua - Johnny Blades from Radio New Zealand and Abraham Utama from the BBC’s Indonesian language service. Read more about the conflict here 👉🏽 https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8j2k137emzo 00:00 Introduction 01:22 What happened in Papua where an American pilot was killed? 03:52 Who are the TPNPB rebels in Papua 04:54 The history of the conflict between Papua and the Indonesian government 06:02 What are the West Papua Liberation Army’s demands? 07:16 Why was the American pilot flying to Papua? 08:20 How did the Indonesian government respond to the incident? 10:11 How do people in Papua feel about the rebel groups? 11:47 How involved are neighbouring countries in the Papua conflict? 13:18 Is there a way to stop the cycle of violence in Papua? 14:56 How does Jakarta respond to human rights allegations? Watch more episodes of Asia Specific here 👉🏽 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz_B0PFGIn4c3njIxB0KHuO8SS2mBMtUc Instagram: @bbcworldservice Email: [email protected] Presenter: Mariko Oi Producers: Derek Cai, Rachel Lee Camera: Muhammad Firdaus Bin Mohd Ansary, Rosalehin Bin Rosli Editor: Bill Birtles ---------------- This is the official BBC World Service YouTube channel. If you like what we do, you can also find us here: Instagram 👉🏽 https://www.instagram.com/bbcworldservice Twitter 👉🏽 https://twitter.com/bbcworldservice Facebook 👉🏽 https://facebook.com/bbcworldservice BBC World Service website 👉🏽 https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldserviceradio Thanks for watching and subscribing! #BBCWorldService #WorldService #asiaspecific #asiaspecificpodcast #Papua #Indonesia #geopolitics