Overseas territories, this special administrative division is the traces of the colonial trend in the imperialist era, with the national liberation movement in Asia, Africa and Latin America after World War II, after the establishment of independent states, overseas territories have been greatly reduced, but now there are still eight countries in the world to retain overseas territories, especially Australia, with the advantage of monopolizing the Australian mainland and a number of overseas territories, with 8.5 million square kilometers of maritime land, second only to France and the United States. Among them, the Ashmore Reefs and Katie Island have given Australia the advantage of competing for East Timor's oil and gas resources.
Taking advantage of its dominance over the Australian mainland and a number of overseas territories, Australia has 8.5 million square kilometers of maritime land, second only to France and the United States. The picture leads to the world
Ashmol and Katje Island in the Choke Timor Sea
The Ashmore Islands and Katje Islands are located on the western side of the Timor Sea in the Indian Ocean, northwest of Australia, 160 km north of Timor Island and about 330 km southwest of mainland Australia. It is two groups of low-lying uninhabited tropical islands and reefs with a total area of about 199.45 square kilometers and a land area of 11.44 square kilometers, including Ashmolean Reef, Hyperionia Reef and Katje Island, with a total coastline of 74.1 kilometers, no ports, only offshore anchorages.
Ashmore consists of three reefs: East Island (5.12 km2), Middle Island (2.12 sq km), West Island (2.5 sq km), most of which are exposed at low tide, and an automatic weather station is built on West Island. The lagoon of the Ashmore Islands covers a total area of 155.4 square kilometres. Caje Island (1.7 km2) is also within a coral reef, but has a large sand content.
The Ashmore And Cartier Islands include Ashmore Reef, Hybernia Reef and Katje Island, with a total coastline of 74.1 km and no ports, only offshore anchorages.
The Ashmore Islands and Katje Islands were discovered and named in 1811 by the British navigator Samuel Ashmore, in 1878 the British annexed the official Ashmore and Cotje Islands, and in 1931 after Australia became independent from the United Kingdom under the Westminster Act, the British gave these two islands to the "eldest son" Australia in 1934. Today, the Ashmore Islands and Katje Island are restricted to Australian immigration, and those who land illegally on the island are unconditionally repatriated.
In 1934 the British assigned Ashmore and Katje Island to Australia. Today, it is a restricted area for immigration in Australia.
Gain an edge for Australia in the Timor Sea
It is these two small islands that have allowed Australia to take advantage of the demarcation of the Timor Sea, illegally encroaching on East Timor's oil and gas resources for more than two decades, and staged a farce of "snatching food from the bowls of the poor". Here is an extra extension of the history of East Timor to facilitate everyone's understanding of the whole process of "scheming and plundering".
Timor-Leste is located at the eastern tip of the Nusa Tenggara Archipelago and includes attauro and Yaku islands in the Oecussi region of Timor Island in the eastern and western north coasts of Timor Island.
East Timor is bordered to the west by West Timor, Indonesia, and to the south by the Timor Sea from Australia.
Located at the eastern tip of the Nusa Tenggara Archipelago, Timor-Leste includes the Oecussi region on the eastern and western north coasts of Timor Island, as well as nearby Atauro Island and Yaku Island at the eastern tip. It is bordered by West Timor, Indonesia, to the west and Australia to the south across the Timor Sea. Before the 16th century, East Timor was ruled by the Kingdom of Srivijaya, centered on Sumatra, and then by the Majapahit Kingdom, centered on Java. But by 1586, Timor Hades had become a Portuguese colony, and the sandalwood from the island was cut down and shipped to China for sale.
Before the 16th century, Timor Island was ruled by the Kingdom of Srivijaya, centered on Sumatra, and the Majapahit Kingdom, centered on Java.
In 1613, the "sea coachman" Holland rose and began to seize the island of Timor, they landed in the west of the island, the Portuguese were naturally not rivals of the emerging Dutch, step by step squeezed to the east of timor island, the colonial center was also moved to dili, the capital of the current East Timor. But with the portuguese insistence, the Dutch will accept it when they see it, after all, the South Sea Islands have more than 20,000 islands, and there is really no need to fight with the Portuguese. Thus, in 1859, the Netherlands and Portugal signed the Treaty of Partition of East and West Timor, which formed the boundary between east Timor and Indonesia (formerly the Dutch East Indies).
In 1859, the Netherlands and Portugal signed the Treaty of Partition of East and West Timor, which formed the boundary between what is now East Timor and Indonesia (formerly the Dutch East Indies).
By 1942, Japan occupied Indonesia and East Timor, and as the Allies advanced, East Timor was once administered by Australia, but in 1951 Portugal changed East Timor to a Portuguese overseas province and restored colonial rule to East Timor. After World War II, Indonesia broke away from the Dutch colonial system and in 1961 sent troops to the island of Papua to forcibly annex the soon-to-be-independent "Republic of West Papua" (i.e., Dutch New Guinea). At this time, Indonesia wanted to establish a "Greater Indonesia" that included Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, East Timor and other places.
Indonesia took the opportunity to send troops to East Timor in 1975, and the following year it was made Indonesia's 27th province, and more than 100,000 people were slaughtered
During this period, portugal was dragged down by a 13-year war of independence in the Portuguese African colonies, and the "carnation revolution" broke out in the country in 1974, and the new regime said it would carry out "decolonization" and a referendum would be held for East Timor. Due to Indonesia's support for two "leading political disputes" in East Timor, a civil war broke out in East Timor, and Indonesia took the opportunity to send troops to East Timor in 1975, and the following year it was merged into Indonesia's 27th province.
The United States suffered a crushing defeat in the Vietnam War and needed to rally Indonesia against the wave of communism.
Although the United Nations did not recognize Indonesia's annexation of East Timor and demanded that Indonesia withdraw its troops, Indonesia turned a deaf ear because of the united States' crushing defeat in the Vietnam War, which needed to win Indonesia over the communist wave, and Australia, because of Indonesia's large concessions in the demarcation of the Timor Sea, was also acquiescing.
In 1972, Indonesia and Australia signed a demarcation agreement as Ashmore and Katje Pushed the Maritime Boundary line into the Timor Trough, which is only 40 nautical miles from Timor
The farce of "snatching food from the bowls of the poor"
In the 1972 Agreement on the Demarcation of the Timor Sea between Indonesia and Australia, 80 per cent of the disputed sea was allocated to Australia because the Ashmore Islands and Katje Island pushed the maritime boundary line to the Timor Sea Trough, which is only 40 nautical miles (i.e., 74 km) from Timor Island, which is 250 nautical miles (463 km) from the Australian mainland. But East Timor was still a Portuguese colony at the time, so Australia's maritime border with southern East Timor formed a "Timor gap".
In 1972, Indonesia and Australia signed a demarcation agreement as Ashmore and Katje Pushed the Maritime Boundary line into the Timor Trough, which is only 40 nautical miles from Timor
To this end, Australia hopes to acquiesce in Indonesia's annexation of East Timor as a bargaining chip in exchange for Indonesia's concessions in the demarcation of the "Timor Gap". The "Timor Gap" sea is a sea of rich oil and gas resources, with 1.36 billion barrels of oil reserves, 700 billion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, much higher than Brunei's proven oil reserves of 1.1 billion barrels, natural gas reserves of 300 billion cubic meters, to know that Brunei is relying on oil and gas exploitation to make the per capita GDP of the fifth in Asia.
Brunei has proven oil reserves of 1.1 billion barrels and natural gas reserves of 300 billion cubic meters
Brunei relies on oil and gas extraction to make its per capita GDP the fifth in Asia. The picture shows the oil distribution map of Brunei
So Indonesia is also well aware of this huge value, but it is sought by Australia, so in 1989, the strange "Timor Gap Treaty" was reached: that is, Australia and Indonesia divided the "Timor Gap" into three regions, Area A is the middle part, and both sides account for 50% of the oil and gas resources; Area B near Australia, developed by Australia, Indonesia will enjoy 10% of the benefits; similarly, the C area near East Timor, Australia also enjoys 10% of the interests. The treaty, which seems fair, is actually more profitable for Australia because its oil and gas resources are distributed closer to the East Timorese side. Moreover, Timor-Leste, which deserves sovereignty, has not reaped the slightest benefit from it.
Map of oil and gas field discoveries in the South China Sea in the past five years
So in 1991, when the Timor Gap Treaty came into force, a large-scale demonstration broke out in Dili, the capital of East Timor, to protest the "sharing of stolen goods" between Indonesia and Australia, but it was bloodily suppressed by Indonesia, but this also set off an independence movement of the East Timorese people against Indonesian rule. With the 1997 Asian financial crisis battering the Indonesian economy, Suharto, who had ruled Indonesia for more than 30 years, was forced to step down, and due to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the United States no longer needed Indonesia to guard against communism, and then changed its attitude on the East Timor issue.
The 1997 Asian financial crisis hit indonesia's economy hard, and Suharto, who had ruled Indonesia for more than 30 years, was forced to step down
In 1997, the Asian financial crisis hit the Indonesian economy hard, and Suharto, who ruled Indonesia for more than 30 years, was forced to step down, and the fate of East Timor ushered in a turnaround.
In 1999, Indonesia agreed to a referendum in East Timor in an attempt to legalize East Timor's incorporation into Indonesia. As a result, the UN Security Council's decision to send the "United Nations Mission in Timor-Leste" to oversee the referendum (rabbits are said to be active on this matter) disrupted Indonesia's plans. On August 30, 1999, 440,000 East Timorese participated in the referendum, choosing independence from Indonesia at a rate of 78.5%, and east Timor officially declared independence in 2002.
Post-independence East Timor, one of the least developed countries in the world, relies on foreign aid for the most part.
Post-independence East Timor, one of the least developed countries in the world, relies on foreign aid for the most part. Agriculture is still using slash-and-burn farming, which has led to the deterioration of the ecological environment, and the only "life-saving straw" is the oil and gas resources in the Timor gap. So the dispute over the demarcation of the Timor Sea resumed, but Australia would not let the beaked ducks fly. So it is firmly rejected, but the so-called barefoot are not afraid to wear shoes, East Timor can afford it, but Australia can not afford to wait, because if the border negotiations do not result, the oil field will have to suspend exploration and exploitation.
In 2003, Australia signed a new Timor Sea Treaty with Timor-Leste: Area A, which had been 50 per cent of each interest, was replaced by 90 per cent of East Timor and 10 per cent of Australia.
Eventually, under the pressure of capital, Australia signed a new Timor Sea Treaty with Timor-Leste: Area A, which had originally been 50 per cent of each interest, was changed to 90 per cent of East Timor and 10 per cent of Australia. The dispute was temporarily eased, but area C, which was close to the East Timorese side, was not clear. Later, Australia used the eavesdropping on the President of Timor-Leste to seize 79.9% of the proceeds of the Giant Sunrise Oil and Gas Field in Area C, which should have been owned by East Timor.
Timor-Leste brought Australia to the Permanent Court of International Arbitration, culminating in the signing of the Treaty on maritime boundaries in the East Timor Sea with Timor-Leste in 2018.
Later, the "wiretap gate" incident occurred, Timor-Leste took Australia to the Permanent Court of International Arbitration, because Australia's shameless wiretapping was conclusive and contrary to international principles, Australia had to agree to re-enter into demarcation negotiations in exchange for Timor-Leste's withdrawal of the lawsuit. Finally, in 2018, Australia and Timor-Leste signed the "East Timor Sea Maritime Boundary Treaty", and for the disputed Jurisheng oil and gas field, it stipulates that if the oil and gas produced are shipped to East Timor for processing, East Timor and Australia will have "seven or three points" and if they are transported to Australia for processing, it will be "eighty-two points".
However, the Jurisheng oil and gas field has been exploited by Australia for nearly two decades, and most of the oil and gas resources have been consumed.
It is just that the Jurisheng oil and gas field has been exploited by Australia for nearly two decades, and most of the oil and gas resources have been consumed, and with the rise and fall of international oil prices, the large investment invested by Timor-Leste in the construction of oil processing equipment has also been saddled with huge debts, which is sighing.
The Two Overseas Territories of the Ashmore Islands and Katje Island define the tone for the entire Timor Sea.
Throughout Australia's farce of "snatching food from the poor's bowl", we will find that the two overseas territories of the Ashmore Islands and Katje Island define the tone for the entire Timor Sea, after all, according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, these two uninhabited islands have won Australia at least 1,500 square kilometers of territorial water and 430,000 square kilometers of exclusive economic zone.
Note: Exclusive economic zone: refers to the area from the baseline of the territorial sea measured 200 nautical miles, outside the territorial sea and adjacent to the territorial sea. All States enjoy sovereign rights and other jurisdiction over the natural resources of the region, while others enjoy freedom of navigation and overflight.
Review of the previous issue: The current situation of Christmas Island: Australia's overseas territory in the Indian Ocean, the proportion of Chinese is second only to Singapore
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