Calls for maritime border with East Timor

Australia should determine a maritime boundary with East Timor to grant fair ownership of oil and gas fields, a community justice group says.

Tony Abbott.jpg
Prime Minister Tony Abbott is being urged to negotiate with East Timor to establish permanent maritime boundaries with Australia's northern neighbour, determining clear ownership of valuable oil and gas fields.

The Timor Sea Justice Campaign has called on Mr Abbott to show goodwill and draw a divide that gives East Timor fair ownership of resources close to its coastline.

"He needs to sit down in good faith with his Timorese counterpart and show that he's ready to talk about a permanent boundary," Campaign spokesman Tom Clarke said.

"No more of these temporary deals that simply short-change East Timor."

The campaign has been launched as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) hears arguments from both countries about Australia's alleged seizure of documents in 2004 during the formation of an oil and gas treaty that East Timor wants annulled.

The case continues.

An open letter to Mr Abbott from the Timor Sea Justice Campaign asks that an equitable boundary be determined in accordance with international law.

"Timor is not asking for charity, they are only asking for what they are legally entitled to, no more and no less," Mr Clarke said.

Without such a boundary East Timor would lose billions of dollars in oil and gas revenue, he said.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world