Future Indonesia-East Timor relations: an analysis of the regional security practices in the Cold War and after

• Main Author: Kusuma, Agus Renaldi.
• Other Authors: Christoffersen, Gaye
• Published: Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School 2012
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10945/9720

This thesis describes the history of Indonesia and East Timor as former colonial states. Indonesian leaders believed that East Timor was part of Indonesiab2ss pre-colonial family and legacy, but East Timorese were more influenced by the Portugueseb2s 450 years colonialism. In 1975, the Government of Indonesia launched a military intervention and occupied East Timor. In the Cold-War era, having feared that the communist movement had infiltrated East Timor, the United States and its allies thus supported Indonesian military intervention in East Timor. The reaction of the international community was to condemn the Indonesian military intervention of East Timor. Indonesia always received some support from year to year in United Nationsb2s resolutions. This study examines the different views of major countries in the East Timor case during the Cold War and its aftermath. The situation in East Timor changed dramatically after the Cold War ended. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as a mature organization, will continue to play a critical role in the future of East Timor. This thesis concludes by exploring the ASEAN role in rebuilding East Timor both politically and economically.