East Timor: Birth of a Nation

[The Hitman]

But how will they go independently? Obviously we will still have very strong ties with the Timorese, but will they be able to cut it?

I understand that they have large oil reserves in the Timor Sea, and coal and gas on land. However, I am led to believe that we take most of the oil.

Can the Timorese build their nation, or will they continue to rely on Australia or other nations assistance. Will they remain trouble-free from Indonesia?

Thoughts?

The Hitman

 

[vanders]

it will definitely take a while for them to actually be 'independantly' run without the help from countries like us.

They have definitely taken a step in the right direction though, good luck to them i say!

 

[Bloodstained Angel]

The Timor Gap Treaty was re-negotiated subsequent to the Independance Referendum of August 1999.

East Timor will now get 90 percent of all Royalties earned from the Oil Field, Australian and Indonesia will get 5 percent each.

Other than some pretty significant Oil and Gas Reserves, East Timor can also look forward to Coffee, Tourism, Fisheries and Cork as other good earners of Foreign Exchange.

All in all the future looks bright - If Indonesia is prepared to let bygones be bygones and have a mature attitiude towards its former Territory.

But I suspect Indonesia is quite comfortable being 'the Spolier' so East Timor will be in for more trouble before things get better ...

cheers

 

[Sydneyfan]

The future looks quite bright in the medium to long term but in the meantime before the oil and gas reserves get running, things look like they're going to be fairly tough. The new nation has become the poorest nation in Asia, the UN will help out in the meantime but still jobs are few and unemployment high. But, I think that they have a fairly rosy future ahead of them and I think that tourism could be a viable industry for them, my sister served 2 stints there and said it's a beautiful place.

I heard that the oil reserves within East Timor could even rival Brunei's, if that's the case they've got a very rosy future indeed!

 

[danzy_rocks]

It will take a fair while for East Timor to establish thier country.

The oil reserves... in all this, Australia has made themselves to look like the "good guys", giving 90% of revenues to East Timor. However, the withdrawal from the recent seabed boundaries confrences makes me believe that maybe Australia have something to hide - perhaps the oil and gas reserves are fully in East Timor's waters, or Australia believes them to be.

Australia has been accused of taking advantage to East Timor's current situation, and getting the treaty signed early.

In the next 20 years, if the treaty is kept, East Timor will gain $7 - 9 billion, and in that same time Australia $50 billion.

Recent inquiries have shown that if the seabed boundaries were drawn once more, correctly, East Timor would outright own the majority of the oil reserves in the "joint developement" program.

What John Howard is doing is sickening. This new nations needs money more then his back pocket does!

Anyway... most is IMO, cept for the stats!

 

[Frodo]

Originally posted by Bloodstained Angel
The Timor Gap Treaty was re-negotiated subsequent to the Independance Referendum of August 1999.

East Timor will now get 90 percent of all Royalties earned from the Oil Field, Australian and Indonesia will get 5 percent each.

Other than some pretty significant Oil and Gas Reserves, East Timor can also look forward to Coffee, Tourism, Fisheries and Cork as other good earners of Foreign Exchange.

All in all the future looks bright - If Indonesia is prepared to let bygones be bygones and have a mature attitiude towards its former Territory.

But I suspect Indonesia is quite comfortable being 'the Spolier' so East Timor will be in for more trouble before things get better ...

cheers

BSA, I am beginning to love you

I don't know what to say. Such innocence is so beautiful and I believe you are so caring and I .............................................

 

[Shinboners]

Originally posted by Frodo


I don't know what to say. Such innocence is so beautiful and I believe you are so caring and I .............................................

.........should be making jokes about how confused the chardonnay left are since it was the ALP who consistently supported Indonesia's occupation and yet East Timor got their independence while there was a LIBERAL government in power.

 

[Player]

Is it a good or a bad thing for Australia to have a poor small country, characterised by domestic instability on its northern border.

Personally as a birthright I don't believe everybody automatically has the right to self-determination.

Independence should go to communities that are stable, socially cohesive, while being finanically and environmentally sustainable, not tiny societies that will be dependent on donor aid, IMF loans, murky banking laws and foreign assistance.

Will the country ever be capable of contributing to their own defense, or contribute to the aid/defense of other countries, negotiate mutually acceptable international treaties, meaningly contribute expertise to international forums or scientific research, etc, etc, etc.

Hell, they have prolly already applied to join the whalling commission for the sole purpose of Japanese aid.

The South Pacific is full with stagnant third world economies, Indonesia was perfectly willing to bankroll this one, why would anybody want to over take this role.

Australian involvement in East Timor can not be a commitment to human rights, little of the Australian foreign policy could possibly support this conclusion.

If Indonesia has real designs on the island they are perfectly capable of destabiling the country, or moving security forces into the region again to reimpose order.

Politicially now Australia has to support East Timor to the hilt, but for what real gain for Australia.

Looking beyond poking the Indonesians in the eye it seems a needless long term commitment.

 

[Bloodstained Angel]

I don't drink Chardonnay

I don't vote for the ALP

I'm not trendy, or leftie

I don't read Fairfax

I watch just as much Commercial Tv as the ABC

... and I laughed just as much as youse guys did at the squirming of all the Indonesian apologists over East Timor

so there (pokes tongue out)

 

[Shinboners]

I wasn't looking at you BSA.....where's Bee gone?

 

[BMD]

Originally posted by Shinboners



.........should be making jokes about how confused the chardonnay left are since it was the ALP who consistently supported Indonesia's occupation and yet East Timor got their independence while there was a LIBERAL government in power.

To be fair, it had absolutely **** all to do with who was in power in Australia. If Indonesia never granted an independence referendum, then it never would have happened.

The government has done the right thing since the result of the vote though - breaking a bipartisan 25 year approach of toadying up to Indonesia at every opportunity.

 

[London Dave]

Safe as Israel is.