Canberra – The government threatened Sunday to suspend the second round of talks with East Timor over a maritime boundary between the two neighbors after the opposition called for a fresh start to negotiations on how seabed oil and gas riches will be shared.

Opposition Labor Party Leader Mark Latham last week promised a fresh start to negotiations with the world's newest nation if he wins elections due this year.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said there was no point in continuing with scheduled talks in September if Labor had withdrawn from its bipartisan support for the government's negotiations.

"If the Labor Party is still going to take the view that it wants to politicize these delicate negotiations, we'll have no choice but to suspend the next round of negotiations," Downer told reporters.

The two nations have agreed to a treaty to carve up a resource-rich area of the Timor Sea.

But the deal is temporary pending a permanent seabed boundary decided between them.

East Timor, the poorest country in Southeast Asia, wants the boundary set at the midpoint between the two nations and estimates that would give it access to up to $12 billion worth of seabed oil and gas reserves.

But Australia wants the border to follow the edge of its continental shelf, which in some places is just 90 miles from East Timor's coastline, and more than 280 miles from northern Australia.

That was the boundary agreed between Australia and East Timor's former ruler, Indonesia.

East Timor argues its is losing to Australia $1 million a day in royalties as companies continue to drill oil and gas on the basis of the old boundary.

The country also accused Australia of dragging out negotiations to exploit its unfair advantage. East Timor wants to hold monthly negotiations on the maritime boundary but Australia will only agree to six monthly meetings.