East Timor

‘Australia’s Foreign Policy since WWII has largely been shaped by fears and threats, both real and perceived, policies and actions’. Australia’s foreign policy was the justification for inaction in the East Timor war, which resulted in several thousand deaths. Some societies have different views on whether or not Australia sat back and watched the Timor Leste war because of fear or policy. This essay will be examining, exploring and explaining if this statement is true or false in regards to the war in Timor Leste. The key arguments that will be discussed are, the Foreign Policy that was used in the circumstances, the Fears and Threats that Australia had during the Timor Leste war, and Australian’s involvement in the East Timor war. To support these argument further, this essay will use the following sources; A, N, S, T, U, W, X and Y.  
Foreign Policy is the diplomatic policy of a nation in its interactions with other nations. For example in World War I, Australia and New Zealand established the ANZAC Treaty, this stated that whenever Australia or New Zealand went to war, the other country must support them. From 1972-1975 Gough Whitlam was Prime Minster of Australia, he changed the focus of foreign policy so that Australia could become more involved with Asia and establish a friendly cooperative relationship with nations in the region, in particular Indonesia. This is shown in sources W and X, where Australia provided foreign aid to regional countries, giving the most support to the counties that Australia feared the most, then stating ‘Good Neighbours Make Good Friends’. So when Indonesia asked Australia’s opinion on whether they could extend their country into East Timor Australia gave a weak diplomatic answer of qualified support. As said by Prime Minister Paul Keating 1994, in source N, Indonesia was a vital country to our economic future and needed a positive relationship for continued cooperation.
Australian’s population is around 21 million, Indonesia...