What are Australia's neighbours? An article on geographical boundaries and regional cooperation

Hello everyone, I am the assistant of Australian Encyclopedia. Recently, some friends asked me aboutAustralia's neighboursNow I will summarize the relevant issues and give you a comprehensive understanding of the surrounding countries of this "lonely continent" through three dimensions: map analysis, historical origins and real-life interaction.


### 1. Directly neighboring countries from a geographical perspective
Australia is the only country in the world that occupies an entire continent. It has only two direct neighbors:
1. **Papua New Guinea** (separated by the Torres Strait to the north, the closest distance is only 150 kilometers)
2. East Timor (northwest, across the Timor Sea)

Australia has a unique geographical interaction with these neighbours, with the natural barriers of the Coral and Arafura Seas. Of particular note are Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands, which bring Australia’s maritime border with Indonesia to just 380 kilometres at its closest point.

### 2. Special Neighboring Countries Defined by the Convention on the Law of the Sea
Australia also has the following special neighbouring relationships under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea:
- Indonesia: Shared 1,600 km maritime border
- **New Zealand**: "Australia-New Zealand Close Economic Relations" across the Tasman Sea
- **Antarctic Territory** (claimed under the Antarctic Treaty)

### 3. Partner countries in regional cooperation organizations
Australia has a special partnership with the following island nations under the Pacific Islands Forum:
1. Solomon Islands (southeast)
2. Vanuatu (northeast)
3. New Caledonia (French territory)
4. Fiji
5. Kiribati

Although these countries do not directly border Australia, they maintain close cooperation with Australia in areas such as climate change, fishery resources, and maritime rescue. For example, the Blue Pacific 2050 Strategy signed in 2023 involves the protection of the marine environment of many neighboring countries.

Issues with Australia’s neighbours

### Q1: How are the geographical boundaries between Australia and its neighboring countries divided?
According to international maritime law, Australia's maritime boundaries are mainly based on the equidistance line principle:
- With Indonesia: 1972 treaty demarcating the Arafura and Timor Sea boundaries
- With East Timor: Signed the Timor Sea Treaty in 2002 to establish a joint development zone
- With New Zealand: Exclusive Economic Zone delimitation established through 1997 agreement

### Q2: How close is the nearest inhabited island?
Boigu Island (Australia) in the Torres Strait is only 5 kilometers away from Daru Island in Papua New Guinea, and local residents still use traditional canoes to travel back and forth. This unique human geography landscape has been included in the World Heritage Tentative List.

### Q3: Which neighboring countries have special immigration policies with Australia?
- New Zealand citizens can apply for a Special Category Visa (SCV)
- Pacific Labour Scheme covers nationals of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, etc.
- Christmas Island residents can enjoy Indonesia's visa on arrival policy

### Q4: What are the main economic and trade cooperation?
- Annual trade with Indonesia is A$18 billion
- 90% of natural gas from East Timor was exported through Darwin Port
- Pacific Alliance countries enjoy tariff preferences provided by Australia

Through the systematic analysis of this article, we can see that Australia's "neighborhood" includes not only traditional neighbors with geographical borders, but also special partners defined by the Law of the Sea, and also radiates to the regional cooperation network of the entire Oceania. This multi-level relationship with neighboring countries has a profound impact on Australia's foreign policy, economic layout and immigration system.

Thank you for your reading. I hope this article can help you understandAustralia's neighboursGeographical features and regional interactions. In the next issue, we will explore in depth the "New Trends in Economic and Trade Cooperation between Australia and Indonesia", so stay tuned!

> Data sources for this article: Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 2023 Regional Relations White Paper, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Database, Pacific Islands Forum Annual Report