evidence: The lawsuit is viewed as the last resort by the Timorese Sea Indigenous People, who live across the Indonesian islands of Rote, Alor, Sawu, and Timor. They claim they have repeatedly asked Canberra to prove their ownership of the oil-rich islands, beyond their territorial claims, over the past two decades. The people also claimed their ancestors had been fishing around the Ashmore Reef, which is called Sand Island or Pulau Pasir in Indonesian, since 1642. The islands consist of four low-lying tropical islands in two separate reefs and are located closer to Indonesian territory – about 144km south from Rote Island in East Nusa Tenggara province – than Australia’s, which is located some 320km away.