How might the West Bird’s Head family be related to languages in Halmahera?

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Papuan languages Map of the languages found on the Doberai Peninsula of New Guinea.

The West Bird’s Head family, located on the western and central areas of the Doberai (Bird’s Head) Peninsula in Papua, is considered to be likely related to various Papuan languages found further west on the Indonesian island of Halmahera.1

While these linguistic connections are noted in the study of Papuan languages, it is important to distinguish them from the South Halmahera–West New Guinea (SHWNG) group, which consists of Austronesian languages found in the same geographic regions. Unlike the genetically unified Austronesian family, Papuan languages do not form a single, genetically unified family, and many proposed relationships between specific Papuan groups remain speculative or require further comparative research to be definitively established.213