The military region was established on 8 August 1962 after
Operation Trikora in which the
Indonesian National Armed Forces took part in the invasion of the West Papua, in then
Netherlands New Guinea. Major General Rukman was appointed its first commanding general, and the command was responsible for the Indonesian Contingent Western Papua (
Kontingen Indonesia Irian Barat (KOTINDO)), the Indonesian infiltration units that were deployed to the region during Operation Trikora. It included Detachment A based in
Merauke, Detachment B based in
Kaimana, Detachment C based in
Fakfak, and Detachment D based in
Sorong. Kotindo was part of the United Nations Security Force (UNSF) which was the security force of
the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority following the September 1962
New York Agreement. Its Command Day is marked every 17 May marking the 1963 formal handover of West Papua to the Republic of Indonesia. In the same year,
Ahmad Yani executed Operation Wishnumurti, to send divisions from Java, Makassar, and Moluccas, to supplement Kotindo forces. The formation of Kodam XVII/Irian Barat was on 17 August 1962, although it did not have any units assigned. On 30 June 1964, the name was changed to Kodam XVII/Tjendrawasih. It was further expanded with more battalions, which includes Battalion 751/Tjendrawasih in
Manokwari which was formed from
Kodam VII/Diponegoro, Yonif 752/Tjendrawasih in
Sorong from
Kodam VI/Siliwangi, and Yonif 753/Tjendrawasih in
Jayapura. These three units were reorganisation from Yonif 641/Tjendrawasih I from Diponegoro and Yonif 642/Tjendrawasih II from Siliwangi which also integrated infiltration forces of Trikora, guerrilla forces of Cassowary Battalion of
Arfai, and former members of
PVK after they had been trained in Siliwangi and Diponegoro. Previously
Irian Jaya and the Maluku islands were under Kodam VIII/Trikora, formed in 1984. Kodam VIII/Trikora had in 1997 six infantry battalions plus engineer detachments. The district commands in 1997 included Korem 171 (HQ Manokwari), Korem 172 (HQ Abepura), Korem 173 (HQ Biak), and Korem 174 (HQ
Ambon). The
South Pacific Yearbook reported three infantry battalions which were based at Manokwari, Jayapura, and Sorong, as well as mentioning a naval base at Biak. The military command derives its name (
Cenderawasih) from the Indonesian word for the
bird-of-paradise, which is native to Papua. On June 8, 2012, the
Indonesian Police told
AFP that one person was killed and 17 wounded when Indonesian soldiers opened fire on civilians after a deadly dispute sparked by a road accident in Papua province. The shootings took place late on June 7, 2012, after residents, angry that two soldiers on a motorcycle hit and injured a child, stabbed one of the troops to death and seriously injured the other in
Wamena: "Following the road accident soldiers... arrived in two trucks and took revenge by firing gunshots toward residents and setting several houses on fire," national police spokesman Saud Usman Nasution said. "The trouble then spread to the city centre where several shops and houses were also damaged by gunshots," he told AFP. == Territorial units ==