Timor: Divergências com a Indonésia

Australia must “redouble efforts” to resolve a boundary dispute that has “poisoned relations” with Timor-Leste, Tanya Plibersek has said. The deputy opposition leader and foreign affairs spokeswoman called for good faith negotiations during a speech to the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday. Plibersek also laid down some markers about a broader approach to foreign policy, suggesting Australia could be “a better international citizen, a more active player in our region and a more creative, more confident presence on the world stage”. The Labor MP said while Australia regularly called on other countries to abide by international norms and to settle disputes in line with the rules-based system, its own record was “not a flawless one”. Timor-Leste last year announced it would resume a formal challenge against a 2006 oil and gas treaty that became mired in controversy following claims Australia bugged the cabinet room in Dili to gain the upper hand in negotiations. But the government of Timor-Leste withdrew an international court of justice case against Australia relating to evidence it said was wrongly seized by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation in raids in Canberra in December 2013. Plibersek called for a resolution, noting Timor-Leste had suffered decades of war and starvation and Australia’s role in securing the country’s independence was “a proud moment for many Australians”. “The maritime boundary dispute has poisoned relations with our newest neighbour,” she said on Wednesday. “This must change, for their sake, and for ours. A Shorten Labor government will redouble efforts to conclude good faith negotiations with Timor-Leste to settle the maritime boundaries between our two countries. “If we are not successful in negotiating a settlement with our neighbour, we are prepared to submit ourselves to international adjudication or arbitration.” Plibersek said the former president and prime minister Xanana Gusmão came to Australia in March last year and told her and Bill Shorten: “We don’t want charity, we want justice.” She said in meetings in Dili the following month she formed the view that it remained “a top-of-mind issue for the Timorese”, who were “so very disappointed that a country that supported them so greatly in their struggle for independence has, in their view, delayed coming to a negotiation on sea boundaries”. Timor-Leste has said it remains willing to resolve the dispute directly with Austrália. The Guardian