DILI, 02 May 2026 (TATOLI) – Timor-Leste and Indonesia have agreed to hold the fourth round of maritime boundary negotiations in August 2026, to be held in Bali, Indonesia.
The date was set following the successful conclusion of the third round of maritime boundary negotiations between the two countries, held in Singapore from April 27 to 29, 2026.
Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, who attended the third round of negotiations, said the talks were successful and had made significant progress.
“I can say the three-day discussions in Singapore made significant progress,” the prime minister said.
Xanana Gusmão expressed his appreciation to Indonesia’s negotiating team, led by Laurentius Amrih Jinangkung, who also serves as Indonesia’s ambassador to The Hague, for their open-minded and constructive engagement during the negotiations.
The prime minister also thanked the team from Dili’s Land and Maritime Boundary Office for their openness and collaborative approach, which helped contribute to the positive outcome of the negotiations.
It is recalled that the first official meeting between Timor-Leste and Indonesia on maritime boundaries was held on August 19–20 in Dili, marking the beginning of a formal process to establish permanent maritime boundaries between the two nations. The talks concluded with an agreement to continue negotiations in a gradual and peaceful manner, grounded in international law under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Both countries also held the second round of maritime boundary negotiations in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, from 8 to 10 December 2025.
Timor-Leste and Indonesia enjoy a close and enduring relationship and have emerged as a global model for reconciliation and constructive partnership.
As neighbouring countries across both land and sea, bordering each other to the north, west and east, the two nations have an obligation under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to delimit their overlapping maritime entitlements in order to clarify the extent of their sovereignty and sovereign rights.
Following the successful conclusion of the compulsory conciliation with Australia under the UNCLOS, and the signing of the 2018 Treaty between Timor-Leste and Australia establishing their Maritime Boundary in the Timor Sea, Timor-Leste has turned its attention to the delimitation of its remaining maritime boundaries with Indonesia.
The 2018 Maritime Boundary Treaty between Timor-Leste and Australia is expressly without prejudice to the negotiation and delimitation of maritime boundaries between Timor-Leste and Indonesia.
Timor-Leste has four unresolved maritime segments with Indonesia, namely:
a) on the South coast, in the Timor Sea, there is a need to negotiate a maritime boundary to the west and to the east;
b) in the North, the Oe-Cusse enclave raises special issues because it is surrounded by Indonesia;
c) there are also two sections in the seas from Batugade to Atauro Island and through the Wetar Strait down to Jaco Island that require delimitation.
TATOLI
