Australia Offers East Timor Aid Package to Counter Chinese Influence in the Pacific

Australia Offers East Timor Aid Package to Counter Chinese Influence in the Pacific
East Timor Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak (R) meets Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (L) at the government office in Dili on August 30, 2019. (Photo by Valentino Dariell DE SOUSA / AFP) Photo credit should read VALENTINO DARIELL DE SOUSA/AFP/Getty Images
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SYDNEY—Australia will refurbish a naval base and help bring high-speed internet to the tiny Pacific nation of East Timor, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Aug. 30, the latest effort by Canberra to win influence in the region.

The aid package follows similar assistance for Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands as Australia seeks to undercut increasing Chinese aid to poor but resource-rich Pacific nations.