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Timor Sea Justice
August 28, 2005 · Print This Article
The Campaign
Significant disputed petroleum resources, worth tens of billions of dollars, lie beneath the Timor Sea. Despite these resources lying closer to East Timor than Australia, both countries are staking a claim on the proceeds.
No maritime boundary has ever existed between Australia and East Timor: a boundary drawn in accordance with contemporary International law would deliver all of the resources on East Timor’s side of the median line to East Timor.
The Australian Government is stalling the negotiations and bullying the East Timorese Government to give up billions of dollars’ worth of entitlements. In the meantime, Australia is unilaterally depleting oil fields in disputed areas and taking all of the government revenues.
East Timor is unable to take the matter to an international arbitration because two months before East Timor’s independence, Australia suddenly and secretly withdrew from the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice and International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea.
The Timor Sea Justice Campaign is demanding that the Australian Government gives East Timor a fair go.
We call on the Australian Government to:
| 1. | Stop unilaterally exploiting contested gas and oil resources in the Timor Sea. |
| 2. | Place disputed revenues taken by the Australian Government into a trust fund to be distributed accordingly when the dispute is resolved. |
| 3. | Immediately negotiate a permanent maritime boundary with East Timor in accordance with current principles of International Law. |
| 4. | Re-submit to the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice and International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea to settle the dispute by independent arbitration if necessary. |
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