East Timor is an island country located in Southeast Asia, with its territory located on Timor Island. Timor Island is the largest and most easterly island among the Nusa Tenggara Islands in Southeast Asia, with a total area of approximately 30,777 square kilometers. East Timor does not occupy Timor Island alone. Its territory mainly includes the eastern part of Timor Island and the Oecussi area, covering an area of about 15,000 square kilometers. The other areas of Timor Island belong to the territory of Indonesia .
The main territory of East Timor is located in the eastern part of Timor Island, while most of the western part of Timor Island belongs to Indonesia. However, in the northwest of Timor Island, there is still a piece of land owned by East Timor. This land is the Ocussi area. The Oecussi region borders the Savu Sea in the north and is surrounded by Indonesian territory in other directions, equivalent to an enclave of East Timor.
The Ocussi region covers an area of about 2,460 square kilometers and has a population of about 57,000. It is a first-level administrative district in East Timor on the administrative division . Because it is not connected to other parts of East Timor, transportation from the Oecussi area to the mainland of East Timor is very inconvenient. So how did the Oecusse region come into being, and how are the two lands in East Timor connected by transportation?
Historically, Timor Island was ruled by the Kingdom of Srivijaya and the Kingdom of Majapahit. After the Age of Discovery began, Portuguese colonists were the first to invade Timor Island. Portugal is a small country located in the west of the Iberian Peninsula in Europe. At the beginning of the Age of Discovery, its national power was not strong. Therefore, Portugal's early expansion was all about establishing colonial strongholds in coastal areas and did not go deep into inland areas.
After the Portuguese colony invaded Timor Island, they established a colonial stronghold in the northwest of the island. This stronghold was the Oecussi area. Then the Portuguese colonists used the Oecusse area as their base and gradually took control of the entire island of Timor. But at the beginning of the 17th century, Dutch colonists invaded the western part of Timor Island and basically pushed the Portuguese power to the eastern part of Timor Island. However, in the western part of Timor Island, Portugal still controlled the Ocussi region.
In 1859, the Netherlands and Portugal signed a treaty to carve up Timor Island. The eastern part of Timor Island and the Oecussi area belonged to Portugal, and other areas belonged to the Dutch East Indies controlled by the Netherlands. The Dutch East Indies was the predecessor of Indonesia. When Indonesia became independent in 1945, the eastern part of Timor Island and the Oecussi region were still Portuguese colonies. It was not until 1975 that East Timor declared independence. However, not long after East Timor became independent, Indonesia sent troops to annex East Timor. Since then, Timor Island has completely belonged to Indonesia.
After East Timor became independent in 2002, the eastern part of Timor Island and the Oecussi region belonged to East Timor. However, since the two pieces of land are separated by Indonesia, transportation is very inconvenient. The transportation links between the two places are divided into three aspects. The first is aviation. Timor-Leste has several airports in the mainland. The largest airport is the international airport located in the capital, Dili. There is a small airport in the Oecussi area. Its main purpose is to facilitate transportation links with the mainland of Timor-Leste.
Second, land. There are no railways in Timor-Leste, but roads connect it to Indonesia. Therefore, the two pieces of land in Timor-Leste can be connected through Indonesian territory. However, transportation links through Indonesian territory require relevant procedures, which is cumbersome and time-consuming.
Third, sea route. Both lands of East Timor are close to the sea and have many ports. The largest port in East Timor is the capital Dili Port. This port is a deep-water port and is the main seaport for East Timor's foreign trade. There are also ports in the Oecussi region. The main port is Pant Makassar, about 150 kilometers away from the capital Dili. Therefore, transportation links between East Timor and East Timor can also be established through sea routes.
