The Australian High Commissioner believes that the interim legal framework for Timor Sea petroleum development is a winner for East Timor (letters, October 20).

In fact, the real winner is Australia. Under arrangements East Timor signed on its first day of independence, Australia receives revenues from about 59% of the deposits that are closer to East Timor than to Australia. Under accepted legal principles, these deposits would belong to East Timor, but Australia responded reluctantly to requests to begin negotiations on a maritime boundary; preliminary talks begin next month, but as the Australian foreign ministry said: "We wouldn't start putting time frames on it."

If a boundary settlement is not agreed while there is still oil under the sea, Australia's withdrawal from international legal mechanisms for settling boundary disputes will leave the tiny nation without recourse.

Many programmes, including some funded by Australia, teach East Timor about the rule of law. But the lesson of Australia's position is that if the booty is rich enough, law is irrelevant. It prefers to bully a country that needs oil to fund basic health care and education.

Australia claims to be a major benefactor of East Timor, but its assistance pales in comparison with the tens of billions of dollars it will reap from East Timor's resources under current arrangements. In fact, Australia has taken in more (over $1.2 billion) from the Laminaria oilfield than it has given East Timor in aid. This field began production in 1999 while the smoke was still rising from East Timor, but more than 70% of its oil has already been extracted and sold.

[Jesuina Cabral Charles Scheiner Institute for Reconstruction Monitoring, Dili, East Timor.]