Canberra, 25 August 1975
O.CH258914 SECRET AUSTEO IMMEDIATE
Portuguese Timor
Ref O.JAI4081
For Woolcott (Jakarta), Cooper (Lisbon) and the Minister (Lima)
We have discussed your telegram O.JA1408 with the Acting Minister. He has confirmed the advice in our O.CH2583832 that he does not think that any direct or indirect message from him to President Soeharto is called for at this stage. For your own information, he does not repeat not wish to give a prior indication to the Indonesians that he would understand an Indonesian military intervention in Portuguese Timor in the absence of a Portuguese request. If the Indonesians themselves should decide such intervention necessary he would however be prepared publicly to show understanding of its causes and circumstances. In this connexion we note Tjan’s remarks in your O.JA1408 para 5.
2. Our O.CH258383 as to our serving on U.N. Committee, Indonesians will understand for domestic and other reasons we could scarcely give a negative response if we were to receive a request to serve from Secretary-General. We consider however that such a body would not in fact get off the ground unless conditions relating to Indonesia in penultimate sentence of our para 6 were met.3
[NAA: Al0463, 801/13/11/1, xii]
- 1 Document 183.
- 2 Document 185.
- 3 An earlier reply to document 183, comprising the substance of paragraph I of this cablegram, was dispatched to Jakarta at 4.08 p.m. (Cablegram CH258289). It was subsequently withdrawn. with instructions to treat the information ‘with particular discretion’, in favour of this version, dispatched at 11.15 p.m.