Australia PM Albanese visits East Timor to discuss security, gas
SYDNEY, Jan 27 (Reuters) – Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will signal Australia’s desire for deeper security and energy ties in a speech to Timor-Leste’s parliament on Wednesday, in his first visit to his northern neighbor as leader.
The visit comes as the small Catholic nation, which is also courted by China, continues to push to build a liquefied natural gas facility on its south coast instead of Australia’s Darwin city.
Albanese will address the Timor-Leste parliament and meet with Speaker Jose Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao.
According to previously shared excerpts from his speech, Albanese will recall the cooperation between Timorese and Australian soldiers during the Second World War as an example of the history and values that made the two nations friends.
“We look to a shared future. A deeper partnership on security, energy and economic resilience,” he is expected to tell parliament.
Ramos-Horta said last month he was confident a major gas project would be developed with Australia after decades of delays.
Australia’s Woodside Energy and Timor-Leste agreed in December to work on a 5 million metric tonne project at the Greater Sunrise fields, which contain an estimated 5.1 trillion cubic meters of gas that Australia has initially disputed with Indonesia since the 1980s.
National oil company Timor Gap holds more than 56% of the field, located about 140 km (87 miles) south of East Timor and more than 400 km from Darwin.
East Timor, with a population of 1.4 million, became a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in October and is seeking to rebuild its fragile economy.
Timor-Leste signed a strategic agreement with China on infrastructure and development in 2023; Ramos-Horta has previously said this does not include military cooperation.
Australia has been East Timor’s largest aid and security partner since it gained independence from Indonesia in 2002 with the support of Australian peacekeepers.
China’s assertive efforts to establish security ties with developing countries close to Australia set off alarm bells in Canberra, and the shakeup in Australia’s defenses focused again on protecting the northern approaches.
East Timor is approximately 700 km (450 mi) northwest of Australia.
(Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Additional reporting by Helen Clark in Perth)
