The Minister of Defense and Acting Minister of the Interior, Brigadier General Filomeno da Paixão de Jesus, was invited by the Australian Defense Minister, His Excellency Christopher Pyne, to observe directly the construction of the two patrol vessels that the Australian government offered to Timor-Leste, to patrol the Timor Sea area.

The Minister, with his delegation, visited the Austal company in Perth, the shipyard on which the two Guardian Class Patrol Boat (GCPB) patrol boats, which the Australian government offered to Timor-Leste, will be built.

During the visit to Austal, the managers and engineers of this company gave a presentation on the company’s profile and explained in technical terms the capabilities and advantages of these GCPB ships.

In the presentation, Austal then explained the capabilities of the GCPB ships, which will be able to carry out operations and patrolls in the East Timor sea, especially on the South coast. Austal is a company known internationally for its experience and the quality of ships of different classes it produces, to various countries in the world.

At the meeting between the Australian Defense Minister and Timor-Leste’s Defense Minister, the leaders exchanged views on a number of bilateral, regional and global issues.

The Timor-Leste Defense Ministry began by expressing its deep appreciation to the Australian government and people for continuing to support Timor-Leste’s national development effort. The Minister of Defense of Timor-Leste referred to the priorities of the Eighth Constitutional Government program in the area of ​​defense and also shared a bit about the threats that Timor-Leste faces now and for the future.

The Minister also spoke about the political situation at the regional and global levels, especially the Indo-Pacific region, and the importance of joining ASEAN in terms of defense and security. The Indo-Pacific bloc is now a region with great potential in the world, so it is very important to ensure that this region is stable, has clear rules and laws, is free and open to all countries. It is very important to create and maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, and throughout the world, by promoting and solidifying a culture of peace.

At the same time, the Australian Defense Minister thanked the visit of his counterpart and spoke about the importance of the bilateral relationship between Timor-Leste and Australia, a historical and emotional relationship between the two peoples and the two nations.

According to the Australian Defense Minister, Australia is committed to continuing to consolidate bilateral relations and to continue to explore the various areas of cooperation with Timor-Leste. At the meeting, the two Ministers agreed to continue strengthening the relationship in the area of ​​defense, and in particular agreed that the two sides, Timor-Leste and Australia, will analyze, at technical and operational level, the conditions and the preparations necessary before Timor-Leste receives these two ships in 2023. Thus, the two parties agree that the preparation for Timor-Leste to be ready to receive these ships must be clear, well understood and be part of an integrated package.

So far, Australia has offered several trainings to the naval component of the F-FDTL. From now on, the two sides will step up the preparation of the training, including the preparation of infrastructures, so that when Timor-Leste receives these two ships, it will be able and ready to operate with them, thus ensuring, sovereignty at sea in Timor-Leste.

This visit was accompanied by the Defense Attaché of Timor-Leste to Australia, Colonel Trix, and advisers and officers of the Ministry of Defense of Timor-Leste. The visit took place from March 16 to 21, 2019.