Now Portugal is understood to have promised to underwrite the newly independent state economically for several years, though the cost of rebuilding the devastated nation may be more than the relatively small European power can afford on its own. East Timor's independence is not a model of which the Portuguese can be proud. Yet it is an interesting coincidence that the Portuguese empire will be formally wound up later this year when its only other remaining colony, Macao, is returned to China. Nowadays it is economic imperialism which matters more. Those nations keen to help East Timor recover from the state in which Indonesia has left it may well have an eye on the rich oil and gas fields of the Timor Sea, as indeed did Jakarta.
Hydrocarbons are the new spices.
Portugal ruled East Timor for 20 times as long as Indonesia, hence its cultural influence runs much deeper. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.