Prime Minister John Howard today urged the United Nations to maintain its support for East Timor and not to skimp on resources for the new nation after it achieved independence.

In a speech to the United Nations Security Council, Mr Howard warned the successes of the past two years could not be maintained without strong international support.

"East Timor remains a small, fragile country," Mr Howard said. "Without continued support, those successes cannot be sustained."

The security council is meeting to decide whether to extend its mandate in East Timor until independence on May 20.

Mr Howard said he would personally represent Australia at East Timor's independence celebrations in May.

He said decisions taken by the United Nations over the coming months would be crucial to the long-term success of the new nation. Mr Howard said Australia remained fully committed to supporting peacekeeping and development in East Timor.

Australia has 1,500 peacekeepers still serving in East Timor, and has spent more than $1.4 billion on military operations there since late 1999. Mr Howard said Australia had also committed $150 million in foreign aid over four years. But more needed to be done.

"East Timor will, however, need more than the help and goodwill of its nearest neighbours," he said. "There also needs to be an assurance of solidarity from the United Nations system. We should not undo the good work already done by skimping on resources. Australia will stay the course. It is critical that the United Nations stay the course."

The UN administrator in East Timor, Sergio Vieira de Mello, said the long-term stability of the new country would depend on how quickly it could recover from the violence of late 1999, following the vote to break free of Indonesia.

He said despite substantial progress in arresting the crime rate and bringing peace to East Timor, UN peacekeepers would still be needed after independence. "The security situation in East Timor remains stable, I am happy to report," Mr de Mello told the security council. "Crime rates in East Timor are not increasing. Nonetheless, hard-line militia elements may pose a long-term threat. And until there is substantial progress in the establishment of an operational East Timor defence force, the presence of an appropriate military component will be necessary."

Mr de Mello said UN civilian police would be scaled back from about 1,500 at present to about 100 mainly advisory positions by early 2004. He said the 5,000 peacekeepers in East Timor would be gradually reduced depending on the security conditions and the handover to an East Timorese defence force. However he gave no timetable on the withdrawal of peacekeepers.

He also said more needed to be done to attract 60,000 East Timorese refugees back to their homes from neighbouring West Timor.