East Timor and Indonesia: Problems of Historical Memory and Modern Partnership

ЮГО-ВОСТОЧНАЯ АЗИЯ: АКТУАЛЬНЫЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ РАЗВИТИЯ, 2023, №2(59), 198-206

 
Annotation: Relations between East Timor and Indonesia have an extremely difficult history, which continues to influence the current state of interstate relations. The cruelty of the Indonesian authorities during the occupation of East Timor to a large extent set the population of the country hostile towards the Indonesians. Nevertheless, at the official level, Dili prefer not to focus on the problems of historical memory, seeing the benefits in cooperation with Jakarta. The beginning of East Timor's independence, which coincided with the democratization processes in Indonesia, ushered in a new era in bilateral relations. Indonesia has long maintained the status of East Timor's main trading partner, only recently losing to China. In addition, Jakarta has become Dili's guide to ASEAN's institutions of multilateral cooperation and has consistently advocated the inclusion of the former province in the Association itself.

Keywords: Timor-Leste, Portugal, Community of Portuguese Language Countries, bilateral relations