Global General

East Timor's leader prefers cheap Chinese warships

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-06-24 08:21

CANBERRA, Australia - East Timor would prefer to buy a "fake Gucci ship from China" than pay extra for Western military hardware, the nation's president said after acquiring two Chinese warships.

East Timor this month took delivery of two Shanghai class navy patrol boats from defense company China Poly Group in a move widely interpreted as a diplomatic rebuff to near neighbor Australia, which has been the biggest military supporter of East Timor since it became independent of Indonesia in 1999.

Australia developed a purpose-built patrol boat for its South Pacific neighbors in the 1980s as part of its foreign aid program and 12 island nations now use them for maritime surveillance.

But East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta on Wednesday likened military technology produced by developed countries to the expensive Italian fashion label Gucci.

"It's a bit like buying ... a genuine Italian Gucci ship against buying a fake Gucci ship from China," Ramos-Horta told the National Press Club during his first state visit to Australia.

"If the Chinese Gucci ship is cheap and good quality, well, sorry, I'm not going to buy the Australian or Italian Gucci equipment," he added.

Although the price tag of the Chinese patrol boat deal has not been made public, Ramos-Horta said conditions included a five-year guarantee and crew training.

Neil James, executive director of the independent security think tank Australian Defense Association, doubted the large Chinese warships would prove cost effective and suspected the East Timorese wanted to demonstrate that Australia was not their only defense partner option.

China became the first country to open an embassy in energy-rich East Timor and has become a significant aid donor.

East Timor's former colonial ruler, Portugal, had previously donated two of its own aging patrol boats.

Associated Press