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Help East timor gets its oil Dear Friend, Send a short submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties by Wednesday July 31, 5 pm The Inquiry is considering the Timor Sea Treaty (May 2002) and the Exchange of Notes between East Timor and Australia (Timor Sea) (May 2002). The first revises and largely replaces the Timor Gap Treaty (1991) between Australia and Indonesia, while the second puts in place some transitional arrangements until the 2002 Timor Sea Treaty comes into force. The second agreement (‘Exchange of Notes’) also carries East Timor’s comment that it does not accept the legitimacy of the 1991 Treaty, nor Indonesia's annexation of East Timor. Both documents must be considered in context of a third document signed at the same time, the Memorandum of Understanding between Australia and East Timor. This MOU expresses an agreement to "work expeditiously and in good faith" to conclude by 31 December 2002 an "international unitisation agreement" over the Greater Sunrise deposits. Conclusion of an agreement on this is "without prejudice" to the entry into force of the 2002 Treaty. It is clear from the negotiation process and from these documents that:
It is highly unsatisfactory that the otherwise very good relations between Australia and the newly independent nation of East Timor are soured by this dispute. Australia’s goodwill in East Timor may be squandered. The dispute can only be properly resolved by prompt and full resolution of the definition of seabed boundaries. This is not technically complex. A previous Senate committee has already reported, in relation to East Timor (December 2000: Chapter Four), that "the Australian Government should take into account international law in relation to seabed boundaries". International arbitration would be available for this purpose, if required. You can see more about the inquiry at the website of the joint standing committee on treaties: www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/jsct Suggested submsion - The Secretary jsct@aph.gov.au
Re. Inquiry into the Timor Sea Treaty (May 2002) and the Exchange of Notes between East Timor and Australia (Timor Sea) (May 2002) Thank you for the opportunity to comment on your Committee’s review of these two important agreements. Since current international law (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea) would find that the correct boundary between Australia and East Timor is midway between the two countries, I believe that the Australian government has taken a very unfriendly decision to withdraw from the jurisdiction of the International Court which adjudicates disputes regarding the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and instead insisting on a bilateral negotiation which may take up to 30 years - the life of the oil and gas fields. This in itself greatly damages the good work done by the Asutralain government and people to assist in the recovery and reconstruction of the Democratic Republic of East Timor since the great destruction of September 1999. The Australian government’s current policy would also rob East Timor of oil and gas revenues from the Greater Sunrise field, and perhaps other oil and gas reserves yet to be defined in the Timor Sea. The amounts involved dwarf Australia’s aid contributions. In my submission, therefore, the Committee should press the Australian Government:
Yours sincerely, test here |