For Dili, upgrading relations with China is about giving itself as many options as possible for economic development. It is not about choosing China over Australia.
Professor Damien Kingsbury is Director of the Centre for Citizenship, Development and Human Rights at Deakin University. He led in 2007 the Australian NGO observer group to the Timor-Leste presidential and parliamentary elections.
Diversifying the economy, which is massively dependent on oil and gas, is the biggest task facing Timor-Leste. The time is now, and every second counts.