So began a series of protracted and contentious negotiations over the
sovereignty of petroleum reserves in the Timor Sea, culminating in Australia and East Timor
signing the Australian-East Timor Treaty on Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor
Seas (CMATS) in 2006. These two treaties together with the Timor Sea Treaty 2002 (TST)
and International Unitisation Agreement (IUA) signed in 2003 are the basis for the joint
development of petroleum resources in the Timor Sea through, what has been described as,
the most comprehensive and exhaustive joint development agreement (JDA) of its kind
2
.