What ASEAN Must Learn from Timor-Leste: A Tripartite Analysis on Australian Foreign Policy Related to Timor Sea Treaty 2018

Authors

  • Indra Kusumawardhana Universitas Pertamina
  • Gustin Saptarani Dewi Universitas Pertamina

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21512/jas.v11i2.7050

Keywords:

ASEAN , Timor Sea Treaty, Australia, Timor-Leste, Timor Gap

Abstract

The Timor Gap had been a hotspot of territorial dispute between Australia and Timor-Leste. In 2018, Australia finally agreed to settle a permanent maritime boundary in favour of Timor-Leste. Why was Australia willing to sacrifice the border and give a favourable outcome to Timor-Leste? The research examined the importance of the tripartite approach to Foreign Policy analysis to understand why a country may choose seemingly unfavourable options in territorial disputes. The analysis showed how Australian foreign policy was influenced by agency-structure interactions within the international system. The research demonstrated that structural constraints at the international level influenced Australia’s decision, including the South China Sea dispute between ASEAN members and China, previous agreements Australia-Timor-Leste on the management of the Timor Gap, and domestic political dynamics in Australia. The research reveals a relationship between actors’ structural and dispositional dimensions in foreign policy. In the case of Australia, there is a strong link between democratic values ​​and respect for the international rules-based order. Altogether, this situation prompted Australia to continue negotiations with Timor-Leste over the Timor Gap and ultimately to accept an agreement for maritime delimitation in Timor-Leste’s favor.

Dimensions

Plum Analytics

Author Biographies

Indra Kusumawardhana, Universitas Pertamina

Lecturer, International Relations, Faculty of Communication and Diplomacy, Universitas Pertamina

Gustin Saptarani Dewi, Universitas Pertamina

Gustin graduated from Universitas Pertamina with Bachelor degree in International Relations.

References

Agusman, D. D. (2022, February 23). Lini masa#5. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30CCn0RTVNQ&t=6157s

Arsana, I. M. A. (2018, April 24). Renegotiating the Indonesia-Australia maritime boundary agreement? Australian Institute of International Affairs. https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutlook/renegotiating-the-indonesia-australia-maritime-boundary-agreement/

Ashley, R. (2023). Agenda setting within ASEAN: Thickening, broadening, and breaking pressures. Journal of ASEAN Studies, 11(1), 69–86. https://doi.org/10.21512/jas.v11i1.9035

Australian Human Rights Commission. (2021). Australia’s human rights framework. https://www.humanrights.vic.gov.au/legal-and-policy/australias-human-rights-framework/

Avis, W. (2020, November 10). Border disputes and micro-conflicts in South and Southeast Asia. K4D Helpdesk Report. https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/20.500.12413/15818

Baker, S, & Myllylahti, M. (2019). JMAD New Zealand media ownership report. http://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/bitstreams/d840534e-7d0b-4f3c-bccd-b19f5dee27ac/download

Barnett, M., & Duvall, R. (2005). Power in international politics. International Organization, 59(1), 39-75. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818305050010

Beeson, M., & Chubb, J. (2021). Australia, China and the maritime ‘rules-based international order’: Comparing the South China Sea and Timor Sea disputes. International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, 21(2), 233–264. https://doi.org/10.1093/irap/lcz022

Bevege, A. (2019, August 31). ConocoPhillips updates East Timor contracts for Bayu Undan Gas. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-timor-gas/conocophillips-updates-east-timor-contracts-for-bayu-undan-gas-idUSKCN1VL02D

Blancard, J. M. (2003). Giving the Unrecognized Their Due: regional actors, international institutions, and multilateral economic cooperation in Northeast Asia. Locating the Proper Authorities: The Interaction of Domestic and International Institutions, 49-74.

Blumstein, D. T., Atran, S., Field, S., Hochberg, M. E., Johnson, D. D. P., Sagarin, R., …, Thayer, B. (2012). The peacock’s tale: Lessons from evolution for effective signaling in international politics. Cliodynamics, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.21237/C7clio3112929

Bovensiepen, J. (2020). On the banality of wilful blindness: Ignorance and affect in extractive encounters. Critique of Anthropology, 40(4), 490-507. https://doi.org/10.1177/0308275X20959426

Burchill, S. e. (2005). Theories of International: Third edition. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. http://lib.jnu.ac.in/sites/default/files/RefrenceFile/Theories-of-IR.pdf

Carlsnaes, W. (1992). Agency structure problem in foreign policy analysis. International Studies Quarterly, 36(3), 245–270. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2600772

Carlsnaes, W. (2013). Foreign policy. In W. Carlsnaes, T. Risse, & B. A. Simmon (Eds.), Handbook of International Relations (pp. 298–325). SAGE Publications.

Carlsnaes, W., Risse, T., & Simmons, B. A. (2002). Handbook of International Relations. SAGE Publications Ltd. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781848608290

Cook, M. (2021, May 26). Australia’s South China Sea challenges. Lowly Institute. https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/australia-s-south-china-sea-challenges

Coutinho, F. P., & Gala, F. B. (2015). David and Goliath revisited: A tale about the Timor-Leste/Australia Sea agreements. Texas Journal of Oil, Gas and Energy Law, 10, 429–462.

Deloitte. (2015). Oil and gas taxation in Timor-Leste. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/Energy-and-Resources/gx-er-timor-leste-oil-and-gas-guide.pdf

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. (2017). 2017 Foreign policy white paper. Australian Government. https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/2017-foreign-policy-white-paper.pdf

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. (2018a). Australia’s maritime arrangements with Timor-Leste. Australian Government. https://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/timor-leste/australias-maritime-arrangements-with-timor-leste

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. (2018b). Treaty between Australia and the democratic republic of Timor-Leste establishing their maritime boundaries in the Timor Sea. https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/treaty-maritime-arrangements-australia-timor-leste.pdf

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. (2018c, March). Australia and Timor-Leste maritime boundaries rules-based order in action. https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/aus-timor-maritime-boundary-fact-sheet.pdf

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. (2019). Development assistance in Timor-Leste. Australian Government. https://dfat.gov.au/geo/timor-leste/development-assistance/pages/development-assistance-in-timor-leste.aspx

Doyle, M. W. (1986, December). Liberalism and World Politics. 80(4), 1151-1169. https://doi.org/10.2307/1960861

Durkheim, E. (1982). The Rules of Sociological. New York: The Free Press. https://monoskop.org/images/1/1e/Durkheim_Emile_The_Rules_of_Sociological_Method_1982.pdf

Ensor, J. E., Park, S. E., Attwood, S. J., Kaminski, A. M., & Johnson, J. E. (2018). Can community-based adaptation increase resilience? Climate and Development, 10(2), 34-151. https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2016.1223595

Evans, D. (2018, March 2). Overblown expectations for East Timor’s Greater Sunrise oil and gas. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/damonevans/2018/03/02/overblown-expectations-for-east-timors-greater-sunrise-oil-gas/#7896b4c3299a

FitzGerald, D. S. (2019). Refuge beyond reach: How rich democracies repel asylum seekers. Nordic Journal of Migration Research, 10(3), 112-114. https://doi.org/10.33134/njmr.342

Four schools or hospitals in crisis zones attacked or occupied every day – UNICEF. (2016, May 19). UN News. https://news.un.org/en/story/2016/05/529692

Giddens, A. (1986). The Constitution of Society. North America: University of California Press.

Gloystein, H., & Paul, S. (2018, March 7). How Australia-East Timor treaty unlocks $65 billion gas fields. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-timor-australia-lng/how-australia-east-timor-treaty-unlocks-65-billion-gas-fields-idUSKCN1GJ0L8

Goot, M., & Rowse, T. (2019, May). The debate over the constitutional recognition of indigenous Australians: National unity and memories of The 1967 Referendum. Australian Journal of Politics & History. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajph.12889

Government statements – Howard government. (2007). Nautilus Institute. https://nautilus.org/publications/books/australian-forces-abroad/east-timor/government-statements-howard-government/

Green, M. J., & Cooper, Z. (2014). Revitalizing the rebalance: How to keep U.S. focus on Asia. The Washington Quarterly, 37(3), 25–46. https://doi.org/10.1080/0163660X.2014.978434

Hananto, A. (2021, October 25). Menjelang habisnya minyak Timor-Leste. Good News from Indonesia. https://www.goodnewsfromindonesia.id/2021/10/25/menjelang-habisnya-minyak-timor-leste

Hill, C. (2003a). What is to be done? Foreign policy as a site for political action. International Affairs, 79(2), 233–255.

Hill, C. (2003b). The Changing Politics of Foreign Policy. New York: Palbrave Macmillan.

Hudson, V. M. (2007). Foreign Policy Analysis: Classic and Contemporary Theory. Rowman & Littlefield.

Huisken, R. (2019). Book Review: Asia Pacific Security: policy challenges. Pacific Economic Bulletin.

Hurley, J, Morris, S., & Portelance, G. (2018, March 4). Examining the debt implications of the belt and road initiative from a policy perspective. Center for Global Development. https://www.cgdev.org/publication/examining-debt-implications-belt-and-road-initiative-a-policy-perspective

Jenne, N. (2017). Managing territorial disputes in Southeast Asia: Is there more than the South China Sea? Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 36(61), 35-61. https://doi.org/10.1177/186810341703600302

Jennings, R. (2020, August 6). US allies tighten alliance to contain China’s maritime expansion. VOA. https://www.voanews.com/a/east-asia-pacific_voa-news-china_us-allies-tighten-alliance-contain-chinas-maritime-expansion/6193999.html

Kantaprawira, R., Bainus, A., & Kusumawardhana, I. (2018). The unbreakable relations between Indonesia-Vietnam post “Sink the Vessels” policy: A complex systems Approach. Journal of ASEAN Studies, 6(2), 155–178.

Kaye, S. (2008). Australia and East Timor during the Howard years: An international law perspective. Australian Yearbook of International Law, 69-86. https://ro.uow.edu.au/lhapapers/1191/

Keohane, R. O. (1989). International Institutions and State Power: Essays in International Relations Theory (1st Ed.). New York: Routledge.

Knaus, C. (2021, June 16). ‘Scapegoating’: Protesters to gather at Australian parliament before Witness K sentencing. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jun/17/scapegoating-protesters-to-gather-at-australian-parliament-before-witness-k-sentencing

Kraus, F. (2017). Border disputes in Southeast Asia and their impact on the regional integration process. In A. Gertsl, & M. Strašáková (Eds.), Unresolved Border, Land and Maritime Disputes in Southeast Asia (pp. 46-82). https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004312180_004

Kubalkova, V. (2001). Foreign Policy in a Constructed World (1st Ed.). New York: Routledge.

Laksmana, E. A. (2017). Timor-Leste, Australia, and Asia’s contested maritime order. Pell Center. https://www.pellcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Laksmana-2017.pdf

Laminaria and Corallina oil (2023, August 11). Offshore Technology. https://www.offshore-technology.com/projects/laminaria/

Lane, M. (2016). The Timor Gap dispute with Australia inspires Timorese political activism. Perspective. ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

Laot, M. (2019). The implementation of the joint development of Greater Sunrise. [Dissertation, World Maritime University]. https://commons.wmu.se/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2154&context=all_dissertations

Lewis, H, Dwyer, P, Hodkinson, S, & Waite, L. (2015). Hyper-precarious lives: Migrants, work and forced labour in the Global North. Progress in Human Geography, 580-600. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132514548303

Lundahl, M., & Sjoholm, F. (2006). Economic development in Timor-Leste 2000–2005. Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.

Mancini, F. (2017). Uncertain borders: Territorial disputes in Asia. Italian Institute for International Political Studies. https://www.academia.edu/download/34879416/2013_06_Uncertain_Borders_Territorial_Disputes_in_Asia.pdf

Marx, K. (1852). The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte. New York: Die Revolution. https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1852/18th-brumaire/

McDonald, T. (2016, June 13). Australia row hampers East Timor’s oil ambitions. BBC News. https://www.laohamutuk.org/Oil/Boundary/2016/BBCAustraliaRow14June2016.pdf

McGrath, K. (2020, July 11). Witness K and the Australian spying operation that continues to betray Timor-Leste. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/12/witness-k-and-the-australian-spying-operation-that-continues-to-betray-timor-leste

Medina, C. P. (2017, February). Legal Victory for the Philippines against China: A Case Study. Global Challenges: https://globalchallenges.ch/issue/1/legal-victory-for-the-philippines-against-china-a-case-study/

Miller, R. W. (1978). Methodological individualism and social explanation. Philosophy of Science, 45(3), 387-414. https://doi.org/10.1086/288814

Mishra, V., & Smyth, R. (2017). Conditional convergence in Australia’s energy consumption at the sector level. Energy Economics, 396-403. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2016.07.009

Molloy, S. (2003). Realism: A problematic paradigm. Security Dialogue. 71-85, 34(1), 71-85. https://doi.org/10.1177/09670106030341007

Morgenthau, H. J. (1948). Politics among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace. New York: A. A. Knopf.

Murdoch, L. (2017, September 2). Australia and East Timor strike ‘landmark’ deal to end Greater Sunrise dispute. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/world/australia-and-east-timor-strike-landmark-deal-to-end-greater-sunrise-dispute-20170902-gy9ibx.html

Narizny, K. (2012). Anglo-American primacy and the global spread of democracy: An International Genealogy. World Politics, 64(2), 341–373. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/wp.2012.0011

Neack, L. (2003). The New Foreign Policy: US and Comparative Foreign Policy in the 21st Century. Rowman & Littlefield.

Neack, L. (2013). The new foreign policy: complex interactions, competing interests. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Ngoun, K. (2017). The politics of nationalism in Cambodia’s Preah Vihear conflict with Thailand: The State, the city and the border. [Doctoral dissertation, The Australian National University]. https://doi.org/10.25911/5d74e27c00adc

O’Connell, J. F., & Williams, G. (2011). Air Transport in the 21st Century: Key Strategic Developments (1st Ed.). London: Routledge.

Parliament of Australia. (2004). Greater Sunrise unitisation agreement implementation bill 2004. https://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/AUSStaCSBAD/2004/65.pdf

Parliament of Australia. (2018). 4. Timor treaty-maritime boundaries. https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Treaties/ScienceTechnicalBrazil/Report_180/section?id=committees%2Freportjnt%2F 024178%2F26096

Parliament of Australia. (2020). Political parties in the House of Representatives. https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/House_of_Representatives/Powers_practice_and_procedure/00_-_Infosheets/Infosheet_22_-_Political_parties

Pawson, H., Parsell, C., Saunders, P., Hill, T., & Liu, E. (2018). Australian Homelessness Monitor 2018. Launch Housing.

Peraira-Coutinho, Francisco, & Gala, Francisco. (2011). Oil and East Timor's Independence. Dimensions of State-Building: Timor-Leste in Focus, 111-137. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2981393

Permanent Court of Arbitration. (2022). Introduction to the PCA. https://pca-cpa.org/en/about/introduction/

Phan, H. D. (2018, May 26). Australia and Timor-Leste’s landmark maritime boundary conciliation process. The Diplomat. https://thediplomat.com/2018/05/australia-and-timor-lestes-landmark-maritime-boundary-conciliation-process/

Raimundos, O. (2019, July 24). Timor-Leste parliament approves sea border treaty with Australia. The Diplomat: https://thediplomat.com/2019/07/timor-leste-parliament-approves-sea-border-treaty-with-australia/

Ramani, V., & Xu, K. (2019, September 17). Australia & East Timor: A tale of oil and exploitation. Kontinentalist. https://kontinentalist.com/stories/australia-east-timor-a-tale-of-oil-and-exploitation

Ramon, A. A. V. (2018). Completing the Jigsaw: The recent development of the maritime boundaries in the Timor Sea. Indonesian Journal of International Law, 15(4), 481–522. https://doi.org/10.17304/ijil.vol15.4.737

Ravenhill, J. (2019). Pacific Cooperation: Building Economic and Security Regimes in the Asia-Pacific Region. New York: Routledge.

Rothwell, D. (2018, March 14). Australia and Timor-Leste: The 2018 Timor Sea treaty. The Strategist. https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/australia-timor-leste-2018-timor-sea-treaty/

Ruggie, J. G. (1993). Territoriality and beyond: Problematizing modernity in International relations. International Organization, 47(1), 139–174. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0020818300004732

Schleich, A. M. (2018). The historic 2018 maritime boundary treaty between Timor-Leste and Australia. ISPSW Strategy Series: Focus on Defense and International Security, 573.

Schofield, C. & Arsana, I. M. A. (2012). Climate change and the limits of maritime jurisdiction. In C. Schofield, & R. Warner (Eds.), Climate Change and the Oceans (pp. 127-152). Edward Edgar Publishing.

Schofield, C. (2005). A “Fair Go” for East Timor? Sharing the resources of the Timor Sea. Contemporary Southeast Asia, 27(2), 255–280. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/csa.2011.0099

Schofield, C. (2007). Minding the gap: The Australia-East Timor treaty on Certain Maritime Arrangements in The Timor Sea (CMATS). The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law, 22(2), 189–234. https://doi.org/10.1163/157180807781361520

Sharma, A. (2019, November 15). Dilemma of UNCLOS pertaining to South China Sea. iPleaders. https://blog.ipleaders.in/dilemma-unclos-pertaining-south-china-sea/

Shofa, J. N. (2023, February 13). Indonesia, Timor Leste to speed up land border settlement. Jakarta Globe. https://jakartaglobe.id/news/indonesia-timor-leste-to-speed-up-land-border-settlement

Smith, M. J. (2012). Australian claims to the Timor sea’s petroleum resources: Clever, cunning, or criminal? Monash University Law Review, 37(3), 42–72.

Smith, M. J. (2019). International Law and Western Sahara’s Maritime Area. Ocean Development & International Law, 50(2-3), 117-140. https://doi.org/10.1080/00908320.2018.1553092

Smith, S., Hadfield, A., & Dunne, T. (2012). Foreign Policy: Theories, Actors, Cases (2nd Ed.). Oxford University Press.

Snyder, G. H. (1991). Alliances, balance, and stability. International Organization, 45(1), 121-142.

Son, N. H. (2019). ASEAN and the South China Sea. In L. Buszynski & D. T. Hai (Eds.), The South China Sea: From a regional maritime dispute to geo-strategic competition. Routledge.

Storey, I. (2011). Southeast Asia and the Rise of China: The Search for Security. New York: Routledge.

Strating, R. (2017). Timor-Leste’s foreign policy approach to the Timor Sea disputes: Pipeline or pipe dream? Australian Journal of International Affairs, 71(3), 259-283. https://doi.org/10.1080/10357718.2016.1258689

Strating, R. (2018). Maritime territorialization, UNCLOS and the Timor Sea dispute. Contemporary Southeast Asia, 40(1), 101–125. http://dx.doi.org/10.1355/cs40-1e

Strating, R. (2019, July 24). Australia’s approach to the South China Sea disputes. Asia Pacific Bulletin. https://www.eastwestcenter.org/publications/australia%E2%80%99s-approach-the-south-china-sea-disputes

Tamada, D. (2020, February). The Timor Sea Conciliation: The Unique Mechanism of Dispute Settlement. European Journal of International Law, 31(1), 321–344, https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chaa025

Technavio. (2022, December). Camelina Oil Market by Application, Distribution Channel, and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2023-2027. https://www.technavio.com/report/camelina-oil-market-industry-analysis

The Conversation. (2018, May 25). Australia’s deal with Timor-Leste in peril again over oil and gas. https://theconversation.com/australias-deal-with-timor-leste-in-peril-again-over-oil-and-gas-95303

Timor Sea Treaty. (2002). 2002 Timor Sea Treaty between the Government of East Timor and the Government of Australia. Dili, East Timor: Government of Australia. https://cil.nus.edu.sg/databasecil/2002-timor-sea-treaty-between-the-government-of-east-timor-and-the-government-of-australia/

Timor-Leste: Country Strategy and Program Update (2003-2004). (2003). Asian Development Bank. https://www.adb.org/documents/timor-leste-country-strategy-and-program-update-2003-2004

Tinjauan ulang mengenai minyak dan gas di Laut Timor. (2003, August). La’o Hamutuk. https://www.laohamutuk.org/OilWeb/Bahasa/LHB43BI.htm

Tow, W. T., & Kersten, R. (Eds.). (2017). Bilateral diplomacy in the Asia-Pacific: Experiences, practices, and norms. Palgrave Macmillan.

Treaty between the government of Australia and the government of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste on Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea (CMATS). (2017). La’o Hamutuk. https://www.laohamutuk.org/Oil/Boundary/CMATStext.htm

United Nations. (2021). International human rights law. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-and-mechanisms/international-human-rights-law#:~:text=International%20human%20rights%20law%20lays,and%20to%20fulfil%20human%20rights

Wæver, O. (1990). The language of foreign policy. Journal of Peace Research, 27(3), 335–343. https://www.jstor.org/stable/423476

Wallis, J. (2016). Constitution making during state building. Cambridge University Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44874372

Wang, J. (2014). 6 “Marching Westwards”: The Rebalancing of China’s Geostrategy. The World in 2020 According to China, 129–136. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004273917_008

Watt, M. S., Kirschbaum, M. U., Moore, J. R., Pearce, H. G., Bulman, L. S., Brockerhoff, E. G., & Melia, N. (2019). Assessment of multiple climate change effects on plantation forests in New Zealand. Forestry: An International Journal of Forest Research, 92(1), 1-15. https://academic.oup.com/forestry/article-abstract/92/1/1/5065106

Wendt, A. (1992). Anarchy is what states make of it: the social construction of power politics. International Organization, 46(2), 391–425. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2706858

Wesley-Smith, T, & Smith, G. (2021). The China Alternative: Changing Regional Order in the Pacific Islands. ANU Press, 520. https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/47333

Wood Mackenzie. (2023, March 14). Masela (Abadi) (LNG). https://www.woodmac.com/reports/upstream-oil-and-gas-masela-abadi-lng-7907209/

Woodside. (2022). Annual report 2022. https://www.woodside.com/docs/default-source/investor-documents/major-reports-(static-pdfs)/2022-annual-report/annual-report-2022.pdf

World Bank. (2024). World Bank country and lending groups. https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519-world-bank-country-and-lending-groups

Downloads

Published

2024-02-06
Abstract 483  .
PDF downloaded 393  .