Abstract
Ambiguity and inconsistency governed Australia's East Timor policy during the Indonesian occupation era. Contradictions sometimes emerged in the 1970s and 1980s as foreign ministers' expressed sympathy with the East Timorese was insufficient to persuade prime ministers who valued the maintenance of strong ties with Indonesia. Australia's later shift from a pro‐Indonesia to a pro‐UN policy did not imply a pro‐East Timor one. Economic influences were significant, with Australian endorsement of Indonesia's sovereign right in East Timor a prerequisite for a treaty on sharing of natural resources in the Timor Gap.
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