East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta comes to Australia’s defence

East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta has taken a swipe at Solomon Islands leader Manasseh Sogavare over his controversial security agreement with China.

East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta addresses the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta has taken a swipe at Solomon Islands leader Manasseh Sogavare over his controversial security agreement with China, declaring that serious leaders are “sensitive” to their neighbours and avoid disrupting regional stability.

Mr Ramos-Horta, who signed a defence co-operation agreement with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday, also back-pedalled on the prospect of Chinese investment in the country’s Greater Sunrise gas field, saying it was more likely to seek funding from Indonesia.

But he was adamant the gas should be piped to East Timor rather than Darwin, arguing the project would transform the country into a new Dubai or Singapore.

He urged the Albanese government to help East Timor break an impasse with its joint venture partner Woodside by backing Dili’s efforts to process the gas in the country’s south.

Mr Ramos-Horta addressed the National Press Club in Canberra a day after Mr Sogavare launched a blistering attack on Australia for offering financial assistance to his country to conduct its national election, which Mr Sogavare wants to delay.

Mr Sogavare, who is scheduled to make an official visit to Australia next month at the invitation of Mr Albanese, said the move was “an assault on our parliamentary democracy and … a direct interference by a foreign government into our domestic affairs”.

Asked to reflect on Mr Sogavare’s leadership, Mr Ramos-Horta said his country was acutely aware of its strategic location and “would never do anything without taking into consideration the sensitivities” of its neighbours.

“Any leader that is serious about being a leader, you have to be sensitive to your neighbours,” he said. “Don’t bring in extra territorial, regional interests, powers, that might not be welcomed by our neighbours.”

The critique was a clear reference to the Solomon Islands’ security agreement with China, which has ratcheted up regional tensions.

The new Australia-East Timor status of forces agreement will strengthen military co-operation between the nations, and heads off any Solomon Islands-style agreement between Beijing and Dili.

In private talks, Mr Albanese and Mr Ramos-Horta discussed the country’s economic challenges, including its dwindling sovereign wealth fund and pressing need to commercialise the Greater Sunrise resource.

Mr Ramos-Horta said he hoped Australia “can assist in bringing that pipeline to Timor Leste”.

“Australia would this way contribute to a very dynamic Timor Leste economy in the next few years,” he said. “You will see Timor Leste like either another Dubai or another Singapore.”

Just weeks after warning East Timor might seek Chinese investment in the project, Mr Ramos-Horta downplayed the prospect.

He said his country would first seek investment from Indonesia, and look to South Korea and Japan for funding. Chinese investment was possible, he said, but “we’re not talking about maritime security, it’s a pipeline”.

Woodside, the project operator and 33.44 per cent shareholder of the resource, says the plan to process the gas in East Timor is un­economical and the gas should be piped to an existing energy hub in Darwin.

But Mr Ramos-Horta said his country had its own advice suggesting the project was commercially viable.

Mr Sogavare’s attack on Australia’s offer of election funding appears not to have derailed plans for his upcoming visit, with Mr Albanese declaring he was “very much looking forward to hosting Prime Minister Sogavare”.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham accused the government of mishandling the offer of election funding, saying it should not have been made public. Australia made the offer of support in writing last week ahead of a debate over constitutional amendments in the country’s parliament on Thursday to extend Mr Sogavare’s term for at least eight months.