As someone who has taken a passing interest in Timor-Leste's relations with Australia, I am pleased with the satisfactory resolution of the contentious Timor Gap treaty. This is surely welcome news on the twentieth anniversary of its independence from Indonesia. This treaty formally establishes maritime borders between Australia and Timor. As the area contains billions of dollars of oil and gas reserves, the impoverished nation now has access to a lucrative source of revenue.
It needs this revenue more than Australia does, so it is just that Timor will receive 80 per cent of revenues, and Australia 20 per cent, but Timor-Leste will need international financing to develop these reserves. I hope that this financing does not come from China, which is a totalitarian regime, and as respected international relations analysts consistently observe, such as Ross Babbage, a potential economic and military threat to security in the Asia-Pacific region.
https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/08/article/ties-on-the-mend-for-australia-timor-leste/
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/morrison-rules-out-compo-for-dili-on-gas-royalty-carveup/news-story/50da3cc0501e8283f73e0ab4c5a1a6a5
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