Timor Sea Treaty
Encyclopedia
Formally known as the Timor Sea Treaty between the Government of East Timor and the Government of Australia was signed between Australia
and East Timor
in Dili
, East Timor on May 20, 2002, the day East Timor attained its independence from United Nations rule, for joint petroleum exploration of the Timor Sea
by the two countries. The signatories of the treaty were then Australian prime minister John Howard
and his East Timorese counterpart at that time Mari Alkatiri
.
The treaty entered into force on April 2, 2003 following an exchange of diplomatic notes and was backdated to May 20, 2002. The treaty was to run for 30 years from the day it came into force or when a seabed boundary could be established, whichever earlier. However, the subsequent signing of the Treaty on Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea
(CMATS) in 2007, the period of validity for the Timor Sea Treaty was extended to 2057, when the validity of CMATS also ends.
The Timor Sea Treaty provides for the sharing of the proceeds of petroleum found in an agreed area of seabed, called the Joint Petroleum Development Area and does not determine the sovereignty and maritime boundary
between the two countries. The treaty expressly states that the right of either country to claim the overlapping portion of the seabed is maintained.
which was signed between Australia and Indonesia on December 11, 1989 which was no longer valid once the territory of East Timor ceased to become a province of Indonesia. It virtually puts East Timor in the place of Indonesia in the Timor Gap Treaty but with a few differences.
The significant difference between the Timor Gap Treaty and Timor Sea Treaty is that the latter only creates one Joint Petroleum Development Area, with East Timor getting 90% and Australia 10% of the revenue derived from the area. The former created three zones, with the revenue of the middle Zone of Cooperation being divided equally between the two countries.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
in Dili
Dili
Dili, spelled Díli in Portuguese, is the capital, largest city, chief port and commercial centre of East Timor.-Geography and Administration:Dili lies on the northern coast of Timor island, the easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands....
, East Timor on May 20, 2002, the day East Timor attained its independence from United Nations rule, for joint petroleum exploration of the Timor Sea
Timor Sea
The Timor Sea is a relatively shallow sea bounded to the north by the island of Timor, to the east by the Arafura Sea, to the south by Australia and to the west by the Indian Ocean....
by the two countries. The signatories of the treaty were then Australian prime minister John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
and his East Timorese counterpart at that time Mari Alkatiri
Mari Alkatiri
Mari Bim Amude Alkatiri was the first Prime Minister of an internationally-recognized East Timor. He served from May 2002 until he resigned on 26 June 2006 following weeks of political unrest in the country...
.
Treaty on Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea
Officially known as the Treaty between Australia and the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste on Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea , the treaty provides for the equal distribution of revenue derived from the disputed Greater Sunrise oil and gas field between Australia and East Timor...
(CMATS) in 2007, the period of validity for the Timor Sea Treaty was extended to 2057, when the validity of CMATS also ends.
The Timor Sea Treaty provides for the sharing of the proceeds of petroleum found in an agreed area of seabed, called the Joint Petroleum Development Area and does not determine the sovereignty and maritime boundary
Maritime boundary
Maritime boundary is a conceptual means of division of the water surface of the planet into maritime areas that are defined through surrounding physical geography or by human geography. As such it usually includes areas of exclusive national rights over the mineral and biological resources,...
between the two countries. The treaty expressly states that the right of either country to claim the overlapping portion of the seabed is maintained.
Effects of the treaty
The treaty replaces the Timor Gap TreatyTimor Gap Treaty
Officially known as the Treaty between Australia and the Republic of Indonesia on the zone of cooperation in an area between the Indonesian province of East Timor and Northern Australia, the Timor Gap Treaty is a treaty between the governments of Australia and Indonesia...
which was signed between Australia and Indonesia on December 11, 1989 which was no longer valid once the territory of East Timor ceased to become a province of Indonesia. It virtually puts East Timor in the place of Indonesia in the Timor Gap Treaty but with a few differences.
The significant difference between the Timor Gap Treaty and Timor Sea Treaty is that the latter only creates one Joint Petroleum Development Area, with East Timor getting 90% and Australia 10% of the revenue derived from the area. The former created three zones, with the revenue of the middle Zone of Cooperation being divided equally between the two countries.
See also
- Sunrise International Unitization AgreementSunrise International Unitization AgreementThis agreement is officially known as the Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste relating to the Unitisation of the Sunrise and Troubadour Fields....
(Sunrise IUA) - Timor Gap TreatyTimor Gap TreatyOfficially known as the Treaty between Australia and the Republic of Indonesia on the zone of cooperation in an area between the Indonesian province of East Timor and Northern Australia, the Timor Gap Treaty is a treaty between the governments of Australia and Indonesia...
- Treaty on Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor SeaTreaty on Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor SeaOfficially known as the Treaty between Australia and the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste on Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea , the treaty provides for the equal distribution of revenue derived from the disputed Greater Sunrise oil and gas field between Australia and East Timor...
(CMATS) - East TimorEast TimorThe Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
- Australia-Indonesia borderAustralia-Indonesia borderThe Australia–Indonesia border is a maritime boundary running west from the two countries' tripoint maritime boundary with Papua New Guinea in the western entrance to the Torres Straits through the Arafura Sea and Timor Sea and terminating in the Indian Ocean...