First of all, the Asian country that became independent in 2002: East Timor.
Figure - Timor Island relative to Oceania
Timor Island, located at the junction of Asia and Oceania, covers an area of about 30,800 square kilometers, about 90% of the size of Hainan Island. During the colonial era, the Portuguese were the first to arrive here, and after the arrival of the Dutch, the two powers re-divided the colonies.
Figure - Map of Indonesia
Timor Island is narrow from north to south and long from east to west, and the result of the negotiations is to divide the island into West Timor and East Timor. The Dutch had a military advantage, of course, close to West Timor on this side of java, but there was a place in West Timor where Oecussi was established by the Portuguese for the first time, and the Portuguese resolutely refused to give up the place. So portugal occupied East Timor and had an enclave in West Timor, Oecussi. It is not unusual for an island to be divided by two countries, such as Ireland and The United Kingdom on the island of Ireland, and Indonesia and Malaysia on the island of Kalimantan. Haiti and Dominica on the island of Haiti.
Figure - Topography of East Timor
When Indonesia became independent from the Netherlands in 1950, East Timor was still in Portuguese hands. In 1975, East Timor declared its independence, and nine days later Indonesia sent troops to occupy the country and became an Indonesian province. Portugal ruled here for more than 400 years, so most people in East Timor believe in Christian Catholicism and are at odds with mainstream Islam in Indonesia.
Timor-Leste covers an area of about 15,000 square kilometers, and the remainder of Timor Island belongs to Indonesia. With an area of about 1,913,600 square kilometers, Indonesia is a giant in front of East Timor.
Figure - Topography of Indonesia
For more than two decades, the East Timorese never stopped resisting and were suppressed by Indonesia. Resist, suppress, resist again, in more than 20 years, East Timorese sacrificed 100,000-250,000, more than 300,000 refugees to West Timor, and today the population of East Timor is only 1.32 million, Indonesia has carpeted East Timor over and over again.
The closest major power to East Timor is australia, its south-east maritime neighbour, and the situation was brought under control in 1999 when Australia-led peacekeeping forces moved in. In 2002, Timor-Leste held a referendum to formally become a state and join the United Nations.
Figure - Location of Timor Island
The same island and the same people continue to belong to two countries. East Timor is fortunate to retain its Indonesian enclave, Oecussi, and to maintain an enclave among the largest countries 62 times its own.
Timor-Leste has a population of about 1.32 million (2020), of which 78% are indigenous (Papuans are of mixed ethnic malay or Polynesian ethnicity), 20% are Indonesians and 2% are Chinese.
China has a long history of exchanges with East Timor, and the Southern Song Dynasty Zhao Rushi's Zhu Fan Zhi records this place rich in sandalwood.
Figure - Dili, the capital of East Timor
In the colonial era, Macau, China, and East Timor were both Portuguese colonies, and they were the only two Portuguese colonies in the Far East, because of their small size, they were merged and administered, and the Governor of East Timor was once concurrently served by the Governor of Macau. There are such close political, economic and cultural ties between the two places, it is natural for the Chinese in Macao to seek trade opportunities in East Timor, and the number of overseas Chinese in East Timor has become an important link between China and East Timor.
There were originally many Chinese in East Timor, but in the process of independence from Indonesia, the Chinese left to escape the chaos of war. As the political situation in East Timor stabilized after independence, the Chinese began to return and return to their old businesses such as retail and wholesale.
Photo - Dili International Airport, the capital of Timor-Leste
Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste, is located on the northeast coast of Timor Island and is the largest deep-water port in Timor-Leste and also has the largest international airport in Timor-Leste.
The Timor Sea between Timor Island and the Australian mainland, rich in oil and gas resources, claims that most of this sea belongs to its own country, while Timor-Leste requires that the sea be delineated according to the principle of the middle line. Since most of the oil and gas resources in the sea are located on the Timor island side, Australia does not endorse the east Timorese claim.
Figure - Dili, Timor-Leste
Timor-Leste is rich in oil and gas, while China is a big energy demander, and the potential for cooperation in oil and gas development between the two sides is huge.
Picture - Topography of Brunei
Timor-Leste is very similar to Brunei, China, a country whose territory is a regional power, has oil and gas resources, and its population is not large. Brunei is a rich country in Southeast Asia with a per capita GDP second only to Singapore, and Timor-Leste is still one of the backward countries in the world economy, but Timor-Leste has a large space for development, and Brunei is their example and goal.