DILI, 09 january 2025 (TATOLI) – Indonesia and Timor-Leste agreed to negotiate permanent maritime boundaries between the two countries in the near future, said Prime Minister, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão.
“The Indonesian government has officially informed us that they agree to hold maritime boundary negotiations with us in the near future,” Gusmão told reporters at the Presidential Palace in Dili today.
The Prime Minister said that negotiations on the maritime border between the two countries might take place this year.
He said that Timor-Leste’s land border with Indonesia has been the subject of negotiations between the governments of the two countries, “but maritime boundaries have not been the focus of our discussion.”
Therefore, despite Naktuka border dispute, Gusmão said that it is necessary to negotiate the maritime boundaries with Indonesia, which is crucial to combat illegal fishing in Timor-Leste’s waters.
In september 2015, both countries began consultations on maritime borders and agreed that the demarcation process should be based on international law, in particular in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Since Indonesia and Timor-Leste have not yet finalized their permanent maritime border, the undetermined maritime boundary affects the sovereignty of Timor-Leste and affects Indonesia’s space for movement.
Timor-Leste has been struggling with quite complicated and lengthy problems in determining its territory both on land and in the sea since it officially became independent in 2002.
Geographically, Timor-Leste is squeezed between Northwest Australia and at the end of East Indonesia, which is also an archipelagic state. In the northern region, Timor-Leste is bordered by the Banda Sea and the Indonesian Ombai Strait, and in the southern region of Timor-Leste, Timor-Leste itself is bordered by the Timor Sea which divides its territory with Australia.
In september 2024, Prime Minister Gusmão met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo to discuss the settlement of the land borders between the two countries.
TATOLI
