‘Never discussed’: Timor president denies military cooperation with China

Timor-Leste has not discussed military cooperation with China in its upgrade of diplomatic ties, President Jose Ramos-Horta said, adding Australia and Indonesia can “sleep at peace” because the island nation won’t be a security concern to its neighbours.

China’s increasing assertiveness in efforts to form security ties with developing countries in proximity to Australia have raised alarm bells in Canberra, and a recent shake-up of Australia’s defence has refocused on protecting its northern approaches.

Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta addresses the United Nations Sustainable Development Forum on September 18.Credit: AP

A Comprehensive Strategic Framework signed by Timor-Leste during a meeting between Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao and Chinese President Xi Jinping 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 Timor-Leste, 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 reported last Saturday that Beijing’s agreement with Timor-Leste, which sits around 700 kilometres north-west of Australia, also covered military exchanges.

Timor-Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao and Chinese President Xi Jinping jointly announced the elevation of bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership last weekend.Credit: Twitter/Xinhua

Last year China struck a security pact with Solomon Islands, located 2000km to Australia’s north-east, 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.

Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, aims to join the South-east Asian regional bloc 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.”

Timor-Leste athletes and team officials arrive during the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, on September 23.Credit: AP

Timor enjoys 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 Timor-Leste’s capital Dili on Thursday to continue discussing potential investment in oil and gas projects, he said.

The main focus for Timor-Leste is finalising a joint venture agreement with Australian company Woodside Energy for the joint development of the Greater Sunrise gas project, he said.

Timor-Leste is looking to start producing natural gas from its Greater Sunrise fields around 2030, which will be critical to the island nation’s economy.

Australia has appointed an envoy to speed up negotiations between Timor and Woodside; Gusmao’s government wants gas to be piped to Timor and not Australia.

Ramos-Horta said food security remained a major issue for his country, 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 United States, 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.

At the Global Citizen conference in New York last week, Ramos-Horta also supported calls for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty, backed by six Pacific Islands countries, that puts pressure on Australia as a major coal exporter.

The Australian public “have been our best friends”, he added.

Reuters