The Future of East Timor

The proposition that good relations with Indonesia ought to override any requirement to protect human rights and nurture democracy in East Timor, is specious and should be repudiated.

On the other hand, Indonesian sensitivities and legitimate strategic concerns should not be ignored which means ruling out a formal security agreement with East Timor.

Such an agreement would be counter-productive and likely to fuel ill-conceived but genuine fears among some elements of Indonesian society that Australia wants to contain Indonesia and encourage its fragmentation.

These are some of the foreign policy challenges that an independent East Timor poses for Australia. But there are opportunities too, notably, to finally remove 'the pebble in the shoe' of the relationship with Indonesia. Despite the costs a free, independent East Timor was worth fighting for. Of that the East Timorese have no doubt.