Slide 1

Demarcation of Portuguese and Dutch Dominions on Timor

Compiled and presented by Dr R.J.Williams

from information provided by DSMGI Map Research Officer Mr R.Rees

November 1999

His Majesty The King of Portugal and of the Algarve, and His Majesty The King of the Netherlands, having deemed it prudent to put an end to disputes regarding the boundaries of the Portuguese and Dutch dominions on the Timor and Solor Archipelago, and wishing to prevent for all time any misinformation that might bring about ill-defined boundaries … … agreed to enter into a Treaty of ...

Signed in Lisbon on 20 April 1859, Ratifications having been exchanged as at 13 August 1860

Slide 2

The survey of the border CARTA DE PORTUGAL

PROVÍNCIA DE TIMOR

NOTE: Boundary stones are shown as black triangles

The centre island boundary of Timor was surveyed in 1915 by a joint Dutch-Portuguese commission. The work of the commission began early in April 1915, and it had completed its work by the 26th of that month. In addition to the boundary posts ‘A’ and ‘B’, on both banks of the mouth of the Motta Bikoe, and ‘C’ and ‘D’, at the mouth of the Motta Massin, a further 29 boundary posts were located. … … The 29 posts were numbered ‘1’ to ‘29’ from north to south, and the upper surfaces were provided with grooves pointing in the direction of the following posts. In addition, five astronomic stations were surveyed in for accurate fixing of the boundary posts and stones.

Post 19 must be accessed through a narrow opening in a thick cactus hedge in the middle of Fatoe Rokon

Slide 3

A border incident

Border incident

Bulletin: Mon, Oct 11 1999 9:20 Indonesian forces fired at Australian troops with the Interfet multinational force in the first officially-acknowledged exchange of fire in a disputed area on the border between East and West Timor ... near the border town of Motaain. [The incident occurred on Sunday Oct 10 1999] Reporters on the scene say the TNI [Indonesian military] were using an old Dutch map, showing Motaain in West Timor. The Australians were using an Indonesian map, showing Motaain in East Timor.

Bulletin: Tue, Oct 12 1999 7:28 Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alitas says he wonders how this can happen, given the sophisticated equipment the Interfet forces carried.

Copy of part of Dutch map [Possibly] the one used by TNI

Slide 4

Location of examples

1

3 2

TYPES OF AMBIGUITY AND ERROR Differences in demarcation of the border as described in the Treaty between Portugal and the Netherlands, and the border between the Indonesian provinces of Propinsi Timor Timur and Propinsi Nusa Tengarra Timur are due to: 1 Probable administrative convenience 2 Ambiguity in interpretation of landform 3 Physical change in landform

LEGEND for following slides Main map and boundary marked compiled by BAKOSURTANAL [INDONESIA] in 1992 from 1982 photography Inset map and boundary marked compiled by CENTRO de GEOGRAFIA do ULTRAMAR [PORTUGAL] by photogrammetric techniques in 1962

Slide 5

Probable administrative convenience

Part of Indonesian map 2407-122/121 BATUGADE

Part of Portuguese map No.18 BATUGADE

A

A

B

B

Batugade

Motaain

TREATY OF DEMARCATION 1. Starting from the mouth of the Mota Biku1 (Silaba) via the thalweg of this river up to its tributary, the We Bedain, as far ...

Probable location of the border incident

Notes 1 The Indonesian map names the river the Mota Bico and shows it flowing to the coast between the two villages near the place name Motaain. The Portuguese map shows the river along the alignment of the red line

Mota Bico

Slide 6

Ambiguity in interpretation of landforms

A

A

B B

Part of Indonesian map 2406-532 FATULULIK

Zol Sele

Part of Portuguese map No.29 MALIANA

TREATY OF DEMARCATION 3. … … via the thalweg of the Mautilu1 and Pepies2, as far as the Bulu Hulu3 (Bulu Bulu) Mountain; 4. From that point, up the Karawa Kotun4; from the Karawa Kotun via the thalweg of the River Marecs5 (Lolu), as far as the River Tafara … ...

Notes 1 Mautilu is shown as Rib Selazol on Portuguese map and Zol Sele on Indonesian map 2 Pepies is shown as Pepis on Portuguese map and not named on Indonesian map 3 Bulu Hula is not named on Indonesian map 4 Karawa Kotun is not named on Portuguese nor Indonesian maps 5 Marecs is named Mares on Portuguese map and not named on Indonesian map

Slide 7

Physical change to landform

Part of Portuguese map No.28 MALAUNE

Part of Indonesian map 2406-444 ATAMBUA

TREATY OF DEMARCATION 3. Following the thalweg of the Telau as far as ...

Mota Talau

Slide 8

Physical change to landform A historical perspective

Background - Recent imagery - Compiled by BAKOSURTANAL [INDONESIA] in 1992 from 1982 photography - Compiled by CENTRO de GEOGRAFIA do ULTRAMAR [PORTUGAL] by photogrammetric techniques in 1962