Asia’s youngest nation defends its China ties: ‘it’s the Chinese helping us’

Since emerging from decades of brutal occupation in 2002 on the back of an independence vote 25 years ago, Asia’s youngest nation has made remarkable political strides in its short history.

“The most successful? National healing, reconciliation, peace and stability,” President Jose Ramos-Horta said in a recent interview at his home in Dili. “There has been tremendous progress.”

Independent observers also say the microstate of 1.3 million stands out as a regional beacon of democracy and press freedom.

“It’s probably the most resilient and strongest democracy in Southeast Asia,” said Joshua Kurlantzick, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

But the country is fighting new battles on various fronts – a poverty rate above 40 per cent, crucial energy reserves that experts say will deplete within years, and a balancing act between Western allies and China.