Dili has not discussed military cooperation with Beijing in its upgrade of diplomatic ties, East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta said, adding that Australia and Indonesia can “sleep at peace” because the island nation would not be a security concern to its neighbors.
China’s increasing assertiveness in efforts to form security ties with developing countries in close proximity to Australia have raised alarm bells in Canberra, and a recent shake-up of Australia’s defense has refocused on protecting its northern approaches.
A Comprehensive Strategic Framework signed by Dili during a meeting between East Timorese Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in China last week covered development cooperation in agriculture and infrastructure, the Nobel laureate said in a telephone interview with Reuters.
The agreement also provided scope for funding from China, including government and commercial loans to East Timor, he said.
“Right now we don’t have a single loan from China,” he said. “In the future we might request a loan from China ... We will not accept any unmanageable, unsustainable loan with too high interest payment.”
Some Australian politicians expressed concern after China’s state media on Saturday reported that Beijing’s agreement with East Timor, about 700km northwest of Australia, also covered military exchanges.
China last year struck a security pact with Solomon Islands, 2,000km to Australia’s northeast, heightening Canberra’s wariness about Beijing’s naval ambitions.
“It was never discussed in terms of military cooperation, never discussed, and the Chinese side also never raised this issue,” Ramos-Horta said.
East Timor, also known as Timor Lester, aims to join ASEAN by 2025 as it seeks to reduce high poverty rates.
“We would never bring in a foreign element into Timor Leste that would be viewed by the rest of ASEAN as endangering ASEAN policy of neutrality or peace and security,” he said.
“Indonesia and Australia, we can include Singapore and Malaysia, they are the countries that are closest to us, can always sleep at peace -— Timor Leste is not going to be a nuisance, a concern in terms of security,” he said.
East Timor has extensive security cooperation with Australia, which is also its top aid donor, with Canberra providing military and police advisers and patrol boats, he said.
“This is so far only with Australia,” he said.
China’s support was primarily in infrastructure, including government buildings, finance, agriculture and health, he said.
A large delegation of Chinese companies arrived in Dili on Thursday to continue discussions on potential investment in oil and gas projects, he said.
The main focus for East Timor is finalizing a joint venture agreement with Australian company Woodside Energy for the joint development of the Greater Sunrise gas project, he said.
East Timor is looking to start producing natural gas from its Greater Sunrise fields around 2030, which would be critical to its economy.
Australia has appointed an envoy to speed up negotiations between East Timor and Woodside; Gusmao’s government wants gas to be piped to East Timor and not Australia.
Ramos-Horta said food security remains a major issue for East Timor, 22 years after gaining independence from Indonesia, and it needed investment in irrigation and roads, and to provide financial incentives to farmers to “feed its people.”
Australia, as one of the world’s most developed agriculture nations, should commit funds and technology to the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development, along with European nations and the US, to address the agriculture challenges being posed by climate change to small farmers globally, he said.
“Otherwise we are heading to human tragedy in years to come,” he said.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
TESTING BAN: Satellite photos show a facility in the Chinese city of Mianyang that could aid nuclear weapons design and power generation, a US researcher said China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research center in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organizations said, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation. Satellite photos show four outlying “arms” that would house laser bays, and a central experiment bay that would hold a target chamber containing hydrogen isotopes the powerful lasers would fuse together, producing energy, said Decker Eveleth, a researcher at US-based independent research organization CNA Corp. It is a similar layout to the US$3.5 billion US National Ignition Facility (NIF) in northern California, which in 2022 generated
RSS