Relationship dossier
Indonesia
Portugal
Relationship assessment
A serious historical dispute over East Timor was followed by normalized relations and limited political cooperation.
Indonesia toward Portugal
0Indonesia’s occupation of East Timor, a former Portuguese territory, brought it into conflict with Portugal’s position on the territory’s status. Indonesia accepted the 1999 referendum result and withdrew its forces; the governments later established political consultations.
Portugal toward Indonesia
0Portugal opposed Indonesia’s occupation of East Timor and supported the territory’s self-determination. After the 1999 referendum and Indonesia’s withdrawal, Portugal normalized relations with Indonesia and participated in political consultations.
Overall relationship
0The bilateral relationship was substantially shaped by the East Timor dispute, which generated sustained antagonism during Indonesia’s occupation. Indonesia’s acceptance of the 1999 referendum outcome and subsequent normalization enabled a more cooperative relationship, including political consultations. The later cooperation is meaningful but does not erase the historical dispute or establish a particularly close partnership.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Indonesia’s occupation of East Timor was a major source of conflict with Portugal, which supported East Timorese self-determination. After Indonesia accepted the 1999 referendum result and withdrew from the territory, the two governments normalized relations and developed political consultations. The relationship therefore combines a serious historical dispute with subsequent, comparatively limited cooperation.
Areas of tension
- Indonesia’s occupation of East Timor and Portugal’s opposition to it
- Disagreement over East Timor’s political status and self-determination
Key developments
Indonesia accepted the outcome of the East Timor referendum, followed by the withdrawal of Indonesian forces and normalization of relations with Portugal.
Indonesia and Portugal established political consultations as part of their post-dispute bilateral engagement.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of bilateral cooperation beyond political consultations are unclear.
- The level of current government engagement and the extent of remaining bilateral disagreements are uncertain.