Bougainville is likely to vote for independence from Papua New Guinea in a referendum that is scheduled to begin next month, creating a new source of regional uncertainty that could be exploited by countries like China and Indonesia.
Asia Times reports, Surveys of voting intentions suggests, as many as 80 percent of the 300- Thousand inhabitants will support self-determination at the referendum.
The referendum will be held for two weeks from November 23 and is expected to draw a curtain on more than a century of colonial rule, variously by Germany, Australia and PNG.
