Oil in Troubled Waters: The politics of Oil in the Timor Sea - Softcover

Taudevin, Lansell

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1449909361 ISBN 13: 9781449909369

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2009

Synopsis

When East Timor voted in 1999 to opt for independence from the occupation of Indonesia, its main hope for economic stability lay in accessing a fair share of the oil reserves of the Timor Sea. The island of Timor is separated from the Australian mainland by the same sea. Who would have the right to benefit from that oil? Australia already had oil wells operating on the North West shelf and claimed a maritime boundary that reached hundreds of kilometers across the Timor Sea to the edge of its continental shelf, only a few kilometers from Timor's eastern coastline. Was this fair? Was it 'legal'? This book looks at the complexities of boundaries: maritime, economic and the many other 'terms' beloved of international lawyers. It examines how the laws of the sea affected other nations with narrow (and not so narrow) bodies of water between them, and how disputes were settled, or, in several cases, never settled! Where do you draw the line between two countries? Draw it down the middle, the median or where? Half way? It seems so simple. But it is not.

About this title

About the Author:

Lansell Taudevin lived in East TImor from 1996 to 1999. He has written several books on the subject of East TImor. This is a fascinating analysis of the legal arguments and negotiations between countries based on the vexed issue of boundaries and entitlements. It provides an insight into the sometimes dubious dealings that took place between Australia and the newly independent nation, Timor L'Este concerning oil rights in the Timor Sea.

About this edition

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1449909361
• ISBN 13: 9781449909369
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 248