Myanmar–Timor-Leste relations

East Timor–Myanmar relations
Map indicating locations of East Timor and Myanmar

East Timor
Myanmar

East Timor and Myanmar established diplomatic relations on 26 September 2006.[1]

After the 2021 Myanmar coup d'etat and during the subsequent civil war in Myanmar, relations have significantly deteriorated between the two governments. In August 2023, the State Administration Council junta expelled the East Timorese ambassador in retaliation for the East Timorese government meeting with the National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG).[2] In December 2023, East Timor President José Ramos-Horta called for Tatmadaw soldiers to defect and join the resistance, making East Timor the only government to have openly expressed sympathies to anti-junta forces in Myanmar. Officials of the State Administration Council responded with outrage, running anti-East Timor articles in state media referring to Ramos-Horta as a "thoughtless mouthpiece of the NUG". Additionally, "junta-backed nationalists" held a protest in Yangon against Ramos-Horta.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Diplomatic Relations Between Timor-Leste and Myanmar as of 26 Sept. 2006". 2006-09-26. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  2. ^ "Myanmar expels East Timor's diplomat in retaliation for supporting opposition forces". AP News. 27 August 2023. Archived from the original on December 23, 2023.
  3. ^ "Myanmar Junta Rages Against E. Timor President After Defection Call". The Irrawaddy. Irrawaddy Publishing Group. 14 December 2023. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved 29 December 2023.