Australian claims to the Timor sea's petroleum resources: Clever, cunning, or criminal?

Abstract

On 12 January 2006 Australia and East Timor signed the Treaty on Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea between Australia and the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. The signing of CMATS marked the conclusion of over six years of negotiations between the two states over the rights to petroleum resources in the Timor Sea. However, the origin of the dispute over these resources pre-dates the existence of the independent State of East Timor. Contention over the rights to the petroleum resources under the Timor Sea first emerged in the 1950s, following Australia's official claim to thereto in 1953. This article will discuss the international legal dispute that ensued, with a view to assessing the adequacy of the final resolution of the matter, marked by the conclusion of the CMATS.