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Timor: Australia imposing marine boundaries (Read 73 times)
Unforgiven
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Timor: Australia imposing marine boundaries
Aug 29th, 2016 at 2:46pm
 
Australia is doing the same thing it is criticizing China for; unilaterally imposing marine boundaries in Australia's commercial interest by stealing oil and gas fields which would otherwise be Timor's sole ownership.

It is arguable that the only reason Australia opposed Indonesian takeover of East Timor was that Indonesia would have been much more difficult to bully over maritime boundaries than small impoverished country like Timor is.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/29/on-timor-australia-looks-l...

Quote:
Australia and East Timor start conciliation talks in The Hague on Monday in an effort to resolve their bitter legal dispute over maritime boundaries – and $40bn of petroleum rights. Timor argues that Australia refuses to recognise Timor’s rights under international law.

The conciliation is compulsory under the UN law of the sea convention, but it will not produce a binding decision. The independent conciliators may nonetheless help both countries to clarify the legal issues and reflect on their claims – and adjust them to reach a fair solution.

Lately Australia has been on the nose in Timor. Anti-Australia graffiti is sprinkled around the capital, Dili. Thousands of Timorese protested outside the Australian embassy earlier this year. The dispute threatens the goodwill from Australia’s support for Timor’s independence since 1999. Things are not helped by espionage claims that paint Australia as the neighbourhood cheat and bully.

The morally bankrupt foreign policy that entrenches Australia's reputation as a regional bully

Australia denies breaching international law. The legal issues are not clear cut. Timor and Australia agreed on three treaties from 2002 and 2006 to share resources in adjacent maritime areas and to suspend maritime boundary claims for 50 years. Timor has amassed a $16bn Petroleum Fund as a result.

Australia may be right to argue that it is lawful to manage disputes in this way. In practice, however, Timor had little choice but to cut a deal. In 2002, Australia cunningly withdrew its consent to the compulsory settlement of maritime boundary disputes at the international court of justice and under the UN law of the sea convention.

This was technically legal. Countries may give or withhold their consent in advance to international adjudication. Timor was thus prevented from suing Australia in an independent court – even if its substantive legal claims to maritime boundaries were correct.

Australia prefers negotiation on boundary disputes to adjudication. Negotiation has some advantages. But it also often benefits a country with more bargaining power, as in the huge imbalance between Australia and Timor. China similarly prefers negotiation over courts in the South China Sea because it has more leverage over its neighbours.

When negotiation breaks down, there is then no independent court to apply international law, which provides the underlying rules on where boundaries should be drawn. An obstructive country can simply refuse to reach agreement or to recognise another country’s rights.

Timor now argues that the 2006 treaty is invalid because Australia spied on its treaty negotiators, thus gaining an unfair advantage. While spying alone does not invalidate a treaty, fraud can. It is untested whether espionage constitutes fraud.
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UnSubRocky
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Re: Timor: Australia imposing marine boundaries
Reply #1 - Aug 29th, 2016 at 4:18pm
 
No such thing as a free lunch.
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