A small speeding vehicle allegedly driven by an off-duty soldier set off a chain reaction this week that saw two security guards taken to hospital and the burning of a vehicle belonging to the security company.

Guards from the Alpha Response Security firm and two PNG Defence Force sailors from Basilisk Naval base in downtown Port Moresby were recorded on video on Thursday morning in a heated argument that turned physical.

The reaction was instantaneous as more than 25 sailors arrived in a bus and destroyed two vehicles, burned a vehicle and put two guards in hospital.

• READ MORE: Update: Soldiers released after questioning
• Other PNG military reports

In an all too familiar sight, the scene of soldiers ruling the roads of Boroko was again played out with the public staying far away and gunshots heard as businesses along the Hubert Murray Highway kept their doors locked.

Police stayed clear.

The fear was evident as chatter from the public was kept at a minimum.

Soldiers have once again taken over the streets of Boroko because of confrontations — like they did in 2016.

‘It will be dealt with’
The PNGDF hierarchy comes out with the same response of “it will be dealt with” and then no word, no report and no update to the questions raised by those concerned.

This time though, in 2023, two sailors are now held by military police after they were recorded throwing punches with security guards at the new Boroko Bank South Pacific ATM near the TST supermarket.

PNGDF deputy commander Commodore Philip Polewara said that the sailors’ involvement and the extent of their actions is now being investigated by the military police.

Questions asked of who was in control of such acts were not responded to with protocol of questioning to be followed.

“We are investigating and we will deal with the incident. For now the two sailors involved are in military police custody,” said Commodore Polewara.

Alpha Response Security firm owner Oscar Wei said in an interview he would allow investigations to take place.

In uncovering what occurred, the Post-Courier found that the fight started after the vehicle, a Toyota Mk 2, driven by an off-duty sailor, which nearly mowed down a guard.

Heated argument
A confrontation occurred with the two men returning dressed in their PNGDF uniform and accompanied by another two sailors.

The four men got into a heated argument and fought with the guards before leaving.

As the guards were trying to take down statements of what happened at the Boroko police station, a bus load of sailors arrived and instantly removed the public and other vehicles.

Armed with kerosene, knives, spades and shovels, the windows of three vehicles were smashed with the vehicle parked in the middle of the road set alight by the soldiers.

As swift as their arrival, they departed just as quickly before the Fire Service arrived and stopped the fire.

Attempts to get comments from police about the incident were unsuccessful.

Republished with permission.

Papua New Guinea Defence Force commander Major-General Mark Goina has issued a warning to all serving members of the PNGDF to “shape up or ship out”.

In light of the up coming Christmas and New Year operations, the commander has said that all soldiers — regardless of where they are serving — must conduct themselves in a disciplined manner.

In an interview with the Post-Courier, Major-General Goina said: “We issued certain instructions for behaviour.

• READ MORE: Other PNG reports

“My advice to the servicemen and women, if you are drinking [and] under the influence of liquor, ensure you go back home and rest, don’t try to go out and do something you will regret, get yourself into trouble or it will be life threatening to you.

“My message is very clear: ‘if you drink go back home and rest, if you drink, don’t drive.’

“I do not want to see any PNGDF [servicemen] drunk and driving, and due to your recklessness cause the life of other persons.

Such behaviour ‘not tolerated’
I want to make this clear if you get into a fight [and] you injure a civilian or damage public property.

“I will not tolerate that kind of behaviour, and causing injuries to civilians.”

The message by the PNGDF commander is not new and has been repeated by every commander that has come and gone. However, it has fallen on deaf ears.

The Post-Courier understands that the issue of such directives is always been part of the working life of any soldier.

‘This end of year Post-Courier hopes such issues will not pop up again and we will be watching.”

Republished with permission.

Dominic Bryce Abelen has been described as a “warrior until the end”. He is also New Zealand’s first serving soldier to be killed fighting in Ukraine.

His death puts renewed focus on the status of foreign fighters in that war.

Abelen was off duty from the Royal NZ Infantry Regiment’s 2/1 Battalion and one of many former or current New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) soldiers in Ukraine.

• READ MORE: Few NZ personnel fighting in Ukraine, says former defence minister
• Ukraine’s foreign legion may be new, but the idea isn’t
• There is little to stop New Zealanders leaving to fight in Ukraine – but few legal protections if they do

Like other volunteers, he will have felt a strong ethical duty to be there and believed he was defending a country against an indiscriminate and inhumane aggressor.

The call by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for individuals to help has seen thousands of foreign fighters respond since Russia invaded six months ago. Russia is playing the same game, actively recruiting mercenaries and foreign volunteers.

The upshot is that hundreds of New Zealand volunteers may be in Ukraine right now, despite the very limited assistance their government can give them.

Walking a tightrope
Two problems arise when volunteers from other countries join the fight on another nation’s soil.

First, the lines between what constitutes a lawful or unlawful fighter blurs, and warfare can often become particularly unrestrained.

Second, what starts out as a bilateral conflict turns into an international quagmire.

That is why the United States, NATO and allied countries like New Zealand have actively tried to walk a difficult tightrope — giving military support, but only up to Ukraine’s sovereign border.

So, New Zealand may provide military equipment but cannot physically use it within the country’s borders. Military personal from the NZDF may also train Ukrainian soldiers, but this must be done outside Ukrainian territory.

While these efforts mean New Zealand is not technically neutral, neither is it an active participant. It is a very fine line.

And if NATO or its supporters became active participants, Ukraine could easily turn into a third world war.

If New Zealanders were to fight in Ukraine with official authorisation, it would effectively make New Zealand an active participant. New Zealand’s relationship with Russia would become very difficult.

To avoid a global conflict, then, there can be no officially sanctioned NATO (or Kiwi) boots on the ground.

Dominic Abelen, who was killed in contact with the enemy in a night operation to retake trenches from Russian forces, has been hailed as a brave man by a fellow soldier on the front. https://t.co/89seJQ7nJh

— Stuff (@NZStuff) August 24, 2022

The status of unofficial soldiers
Assuming that critical boundary is not crossed, the question then becomes what to do about volunteers who go to fight without official permission or recognition. Two basic principles apply when considering the status of New Zealanders fighting in Ukraine:

• NZDF members who join to fight for another country without permission are on dangerous legal ground — a soldier cannot have two masters
• a general principle applies that such fighters must not become mercenaries, a status prohibited by both international and domestic law.

The key definition of a mercenary is they make money “substantially in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of similar rank and functions in the armed forces” of the foreign country they are fighting for.

If they are caught, mercenaries do not have the rights of genuine prisoners of war and can be executed. If the volunteer is a citizen or resident of the country at war, or they are a member of the armed forces of that country, they are not mercenaries.

For such reasons, countries such as Britain, Australia and the US have tried to steer would-be volunteers away from joining.

So the status of New Zealanders fighting in Ukraine without official permission is difficult. Although a general travel warning to avoid Ukraine has been issued, this does not actually prohibit New Zealanders going. Nor does it prohibit them volunteering to fight.

There is something of an anomaly here, considering the lengths taken to prevent volunteers joining terrorist groups and to deal with those returning.

ICYMI | Special Report “Foreign Fighters, Volunteers, and Mercenaries: Non-State Actors and Narratives in Ukraine”

This TSC report sets out how states should prepare themselves as non-state actors complicate the battlefield in #Ukraine.

Read: https://t.co/sp9yOTHYQI

— The Soufan Center (@TheSoufanCenter) August 24, 2022

Can NZ volunteers be stopped?
In reality, whether the rules around foreign fighters in Ukraine are being followed is up for debate.

Russia is already taking a hard line against foreign volunteers, conducting trials and promising executions. Captured New Zealand volunteers will likely face the same consequences — irrespective of whether they are wearing the uniform of the Ukrainian army.

This is difficult for any government. Offering more equipment, training and humanitarian relief to Ukraine can be justified. But this can also encourage some that joining a “just” war themselves is the right thing to do.

There is no question the government must keep an exceptionally tight leash on any NZDF personnel who try to join the conflict. That cannot be tolerated.

The harder question is whether to take a firmer position against those outside the military who would voluntarily put themselves at risk — and in doing so, make this war even more complicated and dangerous.

Dr Alexander Gillespie is professor of law at the University of Waikato. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.