Australia–East Timor relations
Bilateral relations / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Bilateral relations exist between Australia and East Timor. Both countries are near neighbors with close political and trade ties. East Timor, the youngest and one of the poorest countries in Asia, lies about 610 kilometres northwest of the Australian city of Darwin and Australia has played a prominent role in the young republic's history.
Australia led international support for East Timor during its first 10 years of independence, not only as the largest bilateral donor of development assistance, but also by providing a leadership role to ensure security and stability in the country. Australia also led the military force that helped stabilize the country after it gained independence from Indonesia in 1999 and it has been a major source of aid since. Since 2004, relations between the two countries have deteriorated as a result of the Australia–East Timor spying scandal.