Some believe that Timor is a mélange in a seduction zone under thrust by the Australian plate, Others argue that Timor is part of the over thrust boundary of the Australian plate with the major tectonic boundary lying north of Timor. It would be possible to establish a research program to settle question but it would be very expensive because geologists have demonstrated that fore deeps and trenches cannot be distinguished from one another by the surface processes which operate in them. The distinction can only be made by detailed geophysical research.