Abstract

At a mere 23 years of independence, the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste is Asia’s youngest nation. However, it faces the same strategic and foreign policy challenges as its larger and more politically mature neighbors. Growing tensions between China and the United States are posing great challenges for the young nation. Australia is particularly concerned about China’s growing presence in the South Pacific, Timor-Leste included and are responding to counter this. Timor-Leste has a tradition of independence, and it seeks to maintain this posture. It is not easy. In a world of growing uncertainty, options are limited. As a small, young nation, how should Timor-Leste navigate its foreign relations amidst great power competition?

About the Speaker

Loro Horta is a diplomat and scholar from Timor-Leste. He is currently the Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to China.

He has served as Timor-Leste’s ambassador to Cuba and counsellor at the Timor-Leste embassy in Beijing. He has been writing on China for over 15 years. He is a graduate of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore, the Chinese National Defense University, the US Naval Post Graduate School, the American National Defense University, and Sydney University. He has won several awards for his academic and diplomatic work.