![Protesters march towards the Australian Embassy building, Jakarta, Indonesia, March 24, 2016 (AP photo by Dita Alangkara).](https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/l_east_timor_australia_04142016_1.jpg?w=519&h=259&crop=1)
On Monday, East Timor asked the United Nations to begin the process of establishing a permanent maritime boundary with Australia in the Timor Sea. In an email interview, Clinton Fernandes, a professor at the University of New South Wales Canberra, discussed Australia’s ties with East Timor and the border dispute. WPR: What is the background to the current agreement on maritime boundaries between Australia and East Timor, and what changes is East Timor seeking to make to the agreement? Clinton Fernandes: In 1972, Australia negotiated a maritime boundary with Indonesia that granted it the lion’s share of oil and gas […]