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Subject: Rep. Kennedy during U.S.-Australia FTA debate
From Congressional Record
UNITED STATES-AUSTRALIA FREE TRADE IMPLEMENTATION ACT -- (House of
Representatives - July 14, 2004)
[Page: H5715]
Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the hard
work and leadership of the Chairman and Ranking Member in producing this
Australian Free Trade Agreement.
It is a credit to the diligence and dedication of the Australian government
that this complex Free Trade Agreement was completed in under a year.
That is why I'm hopeful that the Australian government will employ that same
diligence and dedication in resolving a dispute over maritime boundaries with
its neighbor, East Timor.
Fifty-three of my colleagues have already joined in supporting East Timor's
call for a fair and expeditious resolution to this dispute.
These disputed boundaries are a reminder of the invalid agreements made
between Indonesia and Australia during the Indonesian military occupation of
East Timor.
The East Timorese struggle for independence will not be complete until East
Timor, a fully sovereign country, no longer has to bear that lingering reminder
of subjugation.
To be sure, there is tremendous enormous financial benefit dependent upon how
these maritime boundaries are drawn.
Rich with oil and natural gas reserves, these critical areas are an economic
resource for a struggling country of very little economic activity.
A country struggling with high maternal mortality, widespread malaria and
tuberculosis, rampant poverty, and desperately needed education.
The Australian government was a leader in assisting East Timor's transition
to democracy. It provided peacekeepers and foreign aid. But since 1999,
Australia has acquired an average of $1 million a day in petroleum from the
disputed areas, exceeding the amount of assistance it provided to East Timor.
The Free Trade Agreement today between our two countries are a mark of
respect we have for each other. A fair and equitable resolution of this boundary
dispute with East Timor honors Australia's leadership and commitment to
fostering a strong and enduring democracy.
As a friend of Australia, I respectfully urge its government to rejoin the
international dispute resolution mechanisms and expeditiously negotiate a
permanent maritime boundary in the Timor Sea in good faith, according to the
established principles of international law.
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