section_path: Foreign relations and military
section_name: Foreign relations and military
paragraph_text: Foreign relations and military
  
  International cooperation has always been important to Timor-Leste; donor funds made up 80% of the budget before oil revenues began to replace them.: 42–44 International forces also provided security, with five UN missions sent to the country from 1999. The final one, the United Nations Integrated Mission in East Timor, began after the 2006 East Timorese crisis and concluded in 2012.: 4, 14
  
  Timor-Leste formally applied to join ASEAN in 2011,: 42–44 and was granted observer status and accepted "in principle" in November 2022. Despite the nationalist political leadership promoting closer ties with Melanesian states, the country has targeted ASEAN membership since before its independence, with its leaders stating that joining Pacific bodies would have precluded ASEAN membership. Timor-Leste is thus an observer to the Pacific Islands Forum and the Melanesian Spearhead Group. More broadly, the country is a leader within the Group of Seven Plus (g7+), an organisation of fragile states. It is also a member of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.: 42–44 ASEAN membership was sought for economic and security reasons, including to improve the relationship with Indonesia. Nonetheless, the process has been slow due to a lack of support from some ASEAN states and concerns about Timor-Leste's institutional capacity to meet the ASEAN's commitments.: 10–11 As part of its efforts to demonstrate commitment and capacity, Timor-Leste had established diplomatic missions in each ASEAN member state by 2016. On 27 May 2025, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, ASEAN chair for the year, announced that Timor-Leste would be admitted as the regional bloc's 11th full member during the ASEAN Summit scheduled for October 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, subject to the completion of remaining obligations under the economic pillar.
  
  Continuing bilateral donors include Australia, Portugal, Germany, and Japan, and Timor-Leste has a reputation for effectively and transparently using donor funds. Good relations with Australia and with Indonesia are a policy goal for the government, despite historical and more-recent tensions. These countries are important economic partners and provide most transport links to the country.: 42–44 China has also increased its presence by contributing to infrastructure in Dili.: 12
  
  The relationship with Australia was dominated from before independence by disputes over natural resources in the ocean between them, hampering the establishment of a mutually agreed border. The dominance of Australian hard power led Timor-Leste to utilise public diplomacy and forums for international law to push their case. The dispute was resolved in 2018 following conciliation procedures before the Permanent Court of Arbitration, when the two states established by treaty a maritime boundary between them along with an agreement on natural resource revenues.
  
  The Timor Leste Defence Force (F-FDTL) was established in 2001, replacing Falintil, and was restructured following the events of 2006. It is responsible not only for safeguarding against external threats, but also for addressing violent crime, a role it shares with the National Police of Timor-Leste. These forces remain small: 2,200 soldiers in the regular army and 80 in a naval component. A single aircraft and seven patrol boats are operated, and there are plans to expand the naval component. There is some military cooperation with Australia, Portugal, and the United States.