East Timor appeals to Australian public in border dispute.

REUTERS/Edgar Su.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - East Timor is seeking Australian public support to try to persuade Canberra to settle a longstanding maritime border dispute over the oil and gas rich waters that lie between the two countries, a senior minister told Reuters.

Development Minister Xanana Gusmao - a former rebel leader and president of the impoverished, tiny state - told Reuters that East Timor would appeal to Australians' sense of fair play to push their government into meaningful talks.

"If we go to the media and if we raise awareness, it is not because we want people to be against Australia but just to say 'oh yes, it is unfair'," Gusmao told Reuters in an interview.

The Timorese struggle for independence from Indonesia was a celebrated cause for Australian activists and Gusmao hopes to win their sympathy, along with support from Australian soldiers who had served as peacekeepers there.

East Timor has sought for years to renegotiate a treaty governing oil and gas revenue sharing arrangements that was signed with Australia soon after it gained statehood in 2002.

"From the beginning we asked Canberra to talk. They wouldn't want to blow up all of these issues. We are neighbours, we have problems, we sit down, we talk - but nothing," Gusmao said.

East Timor argues the sea border, undefined since it was a Portuguese colony, should fall halfway between it and Australia - which it says would put several oil and gas fields in its territory.




By Rodney Joyce.
Full story at Yahoo News.