By Luke Hunt
Timor-Leste wants help. Australian troops are pulling out of the country leaving it much to its own security devices as it wallows as the poorest in Asia, with a recent report revealing 54 percent of the nation’s children under the age of five are stunted because of malnutrition.
With that in mind, East Timor’s Foreign Minister Zacarius Albano da Costa has been scouting for support, with the country increasingly pitching its future on joining the 10-member trading bloc, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Read the full story at The Diplomat
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PacificSentinel: For the record, Australian troops aren’t “pulling out” on their own accord, Australia has been asked to leave by the East Timor/Timor-Leste Government.
Timor-Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao said the country could now manage its own problems and Australian troops should leave, Australia's media reported on Friday.Read the full story at the People's Daily Online