East Timor government officials attending meetings at this week's Pacific Islands Forum in Fiji say they are not supporting the campaign by Papuan separatists.

Abel Guterres from East Timor's ministry of foreign affairs says while he understands Papua's attempts to gain the support of forum countries, East Timor will not join their campaign.

A delegation from the Indonesian province of Papua formerly known as West Papua or Irian Jaya is currently in Suva to lobby forum delegates, claiming their ethnically Melanesian province should separate from Indonesia and become an independent Pacific nation.

East Timor is not a member of the forum and Mr Guterres says the matter is one for forum member countries and Papua – not East Timor.

"We understand the West Papuans," Mr Guterres says. "Nobody can understand them better than us. But our leaders have indicated over and over ... respecting Indonesia's territorial integrity and therefore we will not make any public pronouncement," he adds.

East Timor also lobbying Pacific leaders

Meanwhile, the government of East Timor says it is confident South Pacific countries will support its bid for European aid by endorsing its membership of the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific grouping of states. Under the 2000 Cotonou agreement, ACP countries are entitled to EU aid packages and preferential access to European markets.

East Timor officials – currently in Fiji to lobby Pacific leaders at the South Pacific Forum – say their strong cultural ties with the Pacific have bolstered their attempts to join the ACP.

"Culturally, we have strong links and therefore there is this natural affinity to get endorsement from Pacific island countries with regard to East Timor's accession to the ACP," Mr Guterres says.