Good morning. Long-running tensions between Australia and Timor-Leste are threatening to escalate after José Ramos-Horta said his country could turn to China to secure a new gas pipeline. The Bali bomber Umar Patek has been recommended for early release from prison. And Ukraine claims Russia is planning a “provocation” at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant today.
Timor-Leste’s president has warned that his nation will seek Chinese support if Australia and Woodside Energy fail to back a gas pipeline between the resource-rich Timor Sea and his country’s southern shore, rather than Darwin. José Ramos-Horta said despite being Australia’s neighbour and ally, his country would “absolutely” look to Chinese investment to secure what he says is the “national strategic goal” of piping gas from the Greater Sunrise fields to his nation’s coast. The oil and gasfields, worth an estimated $71bn, are critical to Timor-Leste’s future.
