Australia Announces More Than A$60 Million in Security and Regional Cooperation Support for Timor-Leste Over Five Years
CANBERRA — The Australian government announced on October 22 that it will invest more than A$60 million over the next five years in security and regional cooperation with Timor-Leste. The funding will support cybersecurity, maritime policing, digital forensics and disaster response, and will expand the existing Timor-Leste police development programme.
Australia and Timor-Leste face each other across the Timor Sea and have long cooperated on maritime security and border management. Canberra said the new investment aims to strengthen Timor-Leste's law-enforcement and emergency-response capabilities against cross-border challenges such as cybercrime and illegal maritime activity.
In the same week, Australia also announced A$7 million in El Niño response assistance for Papua New Guinea and confirmed that PNG citizens will be able to apply to join the Australian Defence Force from November 16, 2026, underlining Canberra's deepening defence and development ties with its Pacific and near neighbours.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 堪培拉澳大利亚国会大厦 / Parliament House, Canberra。图片：© JJ Harrison / CC BY-SA 3.0，Wikimedia Commons
