Biak is a small island located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak is the largest island in its small archipelago, and has many atolls, reefs, and corals

In World War II, a strategic airfield of the Imperial Japanese Army was located there, serving as a base for operations in the Pacific theatre. American forces eventually captured the island. On May 29, 1944, the first tank vs. tank battle in the Pacific Theatre occurred.

It was transferred from Dutch rule, along with half of New Guinea, in the 1960s.