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The Library will look into your claim and consider taking remedial action upon receipt of the written requests. Pao Yue-kong Library, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong http://www.lib.polyu.edu.hk THE FOREIGN AID REGIME IN TIMOR-LESTE: AUSTRALIA AND THE RISE OF CHINA CRISTIAN TALESCO Ph.D The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 2017 2 The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Department of Applied Social Sciences The Foreign Aid Regime in Timor-Leste: Australia and the Rise of China Cristian Talesco A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2016 3 4 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I hereby declare that this thesis is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it reproduces no material previously published or written, nor material that has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma, except where due acknowledgement has been made in the text. (Signed) ___Cristian TALESCO_________ (Name of student) 5 6 ABSTRACT This thesis carefully examines the foreign aid regime providing support to Timor-Leste, one of the youngest countries in Asia and heavily dependent on foreign aid from the West for its development. Australia, for example, has provided around U$600 million in aid to make its presence in humanitarian and political terms known in the region. However, in recent years, Chinese aid has made its way into Timor-Leste through building infrastructures that amounts only to U$60 million but are visibly imposing on Dili, its capital and its skyline. This led many commentators to see that China has been ‘invading’ Timor-Leste, most commonly known as the ‘backyard’ of Australia. In this context, using the framework of aid regime theory, this study intends to clarify if the presence of China’s aid is in competition with Australia, or whether it represents another way of aid delivery that could possibly evolve into a more cooperative mode of aid in Timor-Leste. Results are based on the analysis of the discourse and narratives gathered from political, diplomatic and local people on the role of Australian and Chinese aid in Timor-Leste. These narratives reveal how the discourse of development and underdevelopment has been created by the donors, and how the norms of the foreign aid regime are understood by the various recipient actors, ranging from East Timorese diplomats to farmers and students who have benefitted from aid coming from both countries as individuals or as a state in the post-independence era. Data for this study was collected through face-to-face interviews conducted in Timor-Leste, China and Australia and the informants were selected through purposive sampling. This thesis has found that both Australian and Chinese aid were given to Timor-Leste on three-core grounds: moral vision, national interests, and possible cooperation between the donor and recipient, balancing carefully among altruism, prestige, economic interest and partnership. In addition, East Timorese officials were generally very satisfied with Australian aid while feeling confident about Chinese aid, although they also saw both aids had problems in creating labour or work for locals. Those East Timorese studying in China on aid scholarships however seemed much more positive than the East Timorese farmers who believed that both aid from China and Australia would not be sustainable in the long-run regardless of the differences, in terms of approach in delivery and norms inherited in their aid delivery. 7 This thesis maintains that Chinese aid seems to become a good alternative for Timor- Leste to expand its infrastructure with little political pressure. However, Chinese aid in its current state is unlikely to challenge and revise the Australian or Western aid regime as Timor-Leste prefers to maintain the status quo by playing the Chinese as a supplementary and cooperating aid partner. Keywords: Foreign aid, China, Australia, Timor-Leste, Development, Regime Theory, Discourse Analysis 8 PUBLICATIONS ARISING FROM THE THESIS Talesco, Cristian. (2016, May 10). How East Timor’s Democracy Is Making It an Outcast. Foreign Policy. http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/05/10/how-east-timors- democracy-is-making-it-an-outcast-asean-southeast-asia/ Talesco, Cristian. (2016, April). Peace Media Style is “decisive” in East Timor. The Peace Journalist, 5(1). http://www.park.edu/center-for-peace- journalism/Peace%20Jounalist%20Apr2016%20web.pdf Talesco, Cristian. (2014). Foreign Aid to Timor-Leste and the Rise of China. Journal of International Studies, 10, 131-150. http://jis.uum.edu.my/images/pdf/10jis/8jis2014.pdf 9 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am thankful to all people I met and helped me in the last three years of this research. I acknowledge their help, suggestions and feedback. They have been generous in dedicating their time to my questions and doubts. I would like to thank my research supervisor from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Dr. David Ip, for his guidance. A special thank goes to all the East Timorese people I met in the course of my fieldtrip. I am also grateful to all the people I met in Australia and China, who answered to my questions even when ‘uncomfortable’ topics arose. Finally, yet importantly, I am very thankful to all the people at the Department of Applied Social Sciences, especially Ms Fanny Cheng and Ms Amy Chu for their patience in helping to solve problems. 10 TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY............................................................................3 ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................4 PUBLICATIONS ARISING FROM THIS THESIS...................................................6 ACNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................................................10 ABBREVIATIONS........................................................................................................14 MAPS OF TIMOR-LESTE...........................................................................................15 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................18 1.1 Scope of Research...................................................................................................................................19 1.2 Project’s Significance and Value............................................................................................................20 1.3 Case of Study: Timor-Leste....................................................................................................................21 1.4 Historical Background on Timor-Leste..................................................................................................22 1.5 Development Ethics: Doing Good for Those in Need............................................................................24 1.5.1 Development Ethics and China......................................................................................................25 1.5.2 The Ethics of Foreign Aid..............................................................................................................26 1.6 Thesis Structure................................................................ .....................................................................26 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW.....................................................................28 2.1 Definitions: Development and Official Development Assistance...........................................................28 2.1.1 Western Meaning of Development................................................................................................28 2.1.2 Chinese Meaning of Development.................................................................................................31 2.1.3 Western and Chinese Meaning of Development Assistance..........................................................32 2.2 How China Came to Become Involved With Timor-Leste.....................................................................35 2.3 Chinese Aid to Timor-Leste...................................................................................................................37 2.3.1 Concepts of Chinese Aid: Policy, Tradition and Motives.............................................................40 2.3.2 Socio-Political Impact and Socio-Economic Impact......................................................................44 2.3.3 Is Chinese Aid: Effective Aid?.......................................................................................................47 CHAPTER 3.