ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the second site of interdependence that reveals the involvement of the three companies in conflicts between state ownership rights and rights governed by customary law. State ownership of subsurface resources in Bougainville and West Papua stems from the decolonisation processes of PNG and Indonesia. The chapter argues about the analysis of the state's control of natural resources in Bougainville and West Papua, and corporate responsiveness in access to land defined by the host state, guarantees the legitimacy of a resource project. Power relations between states and landowners also change along the development of new forums for landowners to challenge national statutes. The chapter discusses how to assist corporations to protect the rights of landowners, that is the overruling of the customary ownership of natural resources. It explores the tensions between state ownership and customary law in Bougainville and West Papua, and the consequences these can have on corporate-community relations.
