Timor-Leste hosted the 5th Bilateral Defence Discussions with the United States of America
Timor-Leste and the United States of America joined together in Dili, on October 23rd and 24th, for a discussion to review the ongoing cooperation between their two militaries, and to set the way forward for the upcoming year. The 5th Bilateral Defence Discussions were co-chaired by Secretariat of State for Defence’s (SoSD) Director-General, João de Corte-Real Araújo and Naval Component Commander, Commander Higíno das Neves and by U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM), South East Asia Division Chief, Captain Gregory St. Pierre.
Multilateral engagement of the F-FDTL in South East Asia and in Asia-Pacific, as well as globally, in light of the rapidly changing international and regional theatre, was one of the main topics addressed by both Delegations during these discussions.
As a result, the two militaries will continue to seek opportunities to cooperate and build interoperability to support Timor-Leste’s aspirations to participate more fully in regional and global organizations, such as ASEAN, CPLP and the United Nations. In particular, through the holding of joint exercises both between the US and Timor-Leste and at a regional level with different partners. The success of such exercises and their usefulness for on-the-job training of military personnel was otherwise recognized by the F-FDTL Naval Component Commander.
Just recently, in June 2014, the Timorese F-FDTL successfully joined the Pacific Partnership, a regional engineering and medical exercise designed for engagement in humanitarian assistance and disaster preparedness, and is preparing for the 2015 edition.
Alongside the development of military doctrines and interoperability, the US also reaffirmed their commitment in working to support the F-FDTL’s ability to ensure the safety and security of Timor-Leste. Security and stability are the backbone of development, SoSD Director-General said, and have been strategic priorities for Timor-Leste. Regarding this matter, the Naval capability of the F-FDTL, in particular for safeguarding sovereignty and maritime borders, patrolling territorial waters and protecting maritime resources, is one of the issues of major concern.
The discussions followed a visit to the F-FDTL Naval base in Hera, where both delegations visited the ongoing engineering trilateral exercise between Australia, the US and Timor-Leste “Harii Hamutuk” (or “build together”). In addition to building barracks for sailors, F-FDTL, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine, and Australian Army construction engineers are renovating the Hera Community Center.
The US armed forces and the F-FDTL have been cooperating since the inception of the Timorese armed forces in 2001. This cooperation has increased on a yearly basis, shifting from building the technical and English language capacity of F-FDTL personnel to a more comprehensive effort for multilateral regional engagement of the Timorese armed forces.
Other delegates participated, both civilian and military, from the Secretariat of State for Defence, the Timorese armed forces F-FDTL, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, the Military House of the Office of the President, the U.S. Pacific Command and the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.
During the 5th Bilateral Defence Discussions Timor-Leste and the United States reaffirmed the long lasting friendship between the two countries.
