Timor puts Top End in the spotlight - Darwin, Australia - Statistical Data Included

Business Asia, Sept 30, 1999

Darwin's long-stated goal of being the "gateway to Asia" is coming true as the tragic events of East Timor unfold. CAMERON COOPER speaks to the man responsible for the NT's engagement with Asia

The locals seem as laidback as ever. The usual hordes of backpackers roam the streets in search of a beer and a good time. And the weather -- well, it's always hot in Darwin.

But these are not normal days in the Northern Territory's tropical capital.

An inordinate number of soldiers have been roaming the streets lately. United Nations officials are in town. The hotels in the city are full. Elsewhere, about 1500 East Timorese refugees are being fed in temporary centres.

Darwin, a city of 80,000 people, has suddenly become the centre of the world's biggest peacekeeping operation since Kosovo. The closest town to Darwin is in East Timor, about 700km away.

Sceptics have long questioned Darwin's claim to being Australia's "gateway to Asia". That role has never been more true than now.

The East Timor crisis and this month's NT-BIMP-EAGA Finance and Investment Conference has underlined Darwin's standing as a logistics and business centre for the Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area.

The NT's Minister for Asian Relations Daryl Manzie said Darwin's ability to provide support to military, aid and administrative services had been an "eye opener" to the region and the rest of Australia.

"We've been providing logistical support services to mining areas both in the Territory and also to our north for a few years," he said, adding that the NT has long been an important military and tourism centre.

"This process (with East Timor) has highlighted that role to people outside the Territory and that, therefore, gives legitimacy to our claim that we do have the ability to act as a service hub."

Manzie said turmoil in Indonesia could threaten trade throughout the region, coming on top of the debilitating Asian financial crisis of the past two years.

He hoped the BIMP-EAGA conference on October 27-28, which has attracted leading political and economic figures from the region, would help the process of conciliation.

The conference could build on the economic turnaround that had been gathering momentum in the BIMP-EAGA region.

"It's really important that we look at ways and means of working together to try to build on that improvement and also we need to make sure that we continue to have dialogue to make sure that we minimise potential problems in the region," Manzie said.

"If any of us have problems then we all have problems, and if all of us are successful then we'll all be successful ... History shows that trade is always the area which brokers international relationships."

Despite putting Darwin in the spotlight, Manzie hopes the conflict in East Timor will soon end.

"What's happening offshore is not a pleasant thing and hopefully we can get the situation over there back to some sort of normalcy," he said. "It just creates tensions in the region that we can all do without."

He admits, however, that a protracted engagement in East Timor seems likely for the West.

He added that the NT and all countries in the BIMP-EAGA region had an opportunity to take part in the rebuilding of East Timor and especially in its capital, Dili.

"No one wishes to get an advantage out of the circumstances that have occurred ... but in the short-term there will be some (benefits) for people involved in the construction process," he said.

BIMP-EAGA: THE STATISTICS

BRUNEI

* GDP: US$5.27 billion

* GDP per capita: US$18,000 (1997 est.)

* Export of goods and services: US$2.62 billion (1996 est.)

* Import of goods and services: US$2.65 billion (1996 est.)

INDONESIA

* GDP: US$214.9 billion

* GNP per capita: US$1110

* Export of goods and services: U$$60.1 billion

* Import of goods and services: US$60.7 billion

MALAYSIA

* GDP: US$98.47 billion

* GNP per capita: US$4530

* Export of goods and services: US$92.87 billion

* Import of goods and services: US$91.36 billion

PHILIPPINES

* GDP: US$82.15 billion

* GNP per capita: US$1200

* Export of goods and services: US$40.28 billion

* Import of goods and services: US$48.77 billion

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators 1999, CIA Factbook 1998