The island of Fatu Sinai (sometimes known as Batek) is located approximately 5km off the coastline of Oecusse's Nitibe subdistrict and the Amfoang Utara subdistrict of Kupang Barat district in West Timor. It is approximately the size of a football field raised on a plateau some 50 m above sea level. Since 1999 Timor Leste and Indonesia have disputed ownership of the island.

Fatu Sinai/Batek is in fact the "Fatu Lulik" or traditional "adat" stone for the people who live on the Nitibe coastline in addition to those who live in sight of the island in Amfoang Utara, West Timor. Fatu Sinai/Batek is mythologically believed by the people of Oecusse Enclave to originate from Oesilo subdistrict in Oecusse's interior, while the people of Amfoang Utara originates from Nuaf Mutis in the interior of West Timor. It is in fact a shared asset between people of common ethnic background divided by an international border. To both groups it is much like what Jaco Island is to the people of Tutuala, Los Palos.

The Colonial Period
(Portuguese Timor and Timur Timor, Indonesia)
Colonial treaties between Portugal and The Netherlands in 1859, 1896, 1904 and 1914 determined the border between the eastern and western parts of Timor Island, including the Oecusse Enclave. In these primarily land border treaties the only reference to the island off Nitibe (Timor Leste / Portuguese Timor) and Amfoang Utara (Indonesia / Dutch East Indies) is in the 1904 agreement in which the island is referred to as Pulau Batek, and in the in the treaty map the border splits the island in half between Timor Leste / Portuguese Timor and Indonesia / Dutch East Indies.

Between 1914 and 1999 there were no disputes regarding Fatu Sinai/Batek for a number of reasons not the least of which is that it was not perceived to be of any significance to parties in Jakarta or Dili; and, secondly, it was part of Indonesia from 1975 to 1999.

Fatu Sinai/Batek was a "forgotten island" by the colonial powers.

Since 1999
Fatu Sinai/Batek island has only become an issue since Timor Leste's liberation in 1999. In early drafts of the 2001 Oecusse Enclave Constitutional Commission report (based on a series of community consultations) Fatu Sinai/Batek was defined as part of the Oecusse Enclave and Timor Leste's national territory. However, the Constitution of Timor Leste as promulgated in March 2002 did not include Fatu Sinai/Batek in it definition of national territory.

In the second half of 2002 the Indonesian Government apparently constructed a small lighthouse on Fatu Sinai/Batek. On 14 December 2003 the TNI conducted what it described as a military exercise "in its territory" on Fatu Sinai/Batek when a warship, helicopter and jet shelled and bombed the island for several hours—seriously intimidating the people in Citrana, Nitibe.
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Indonesian warship blasts island [Herald Sun]>
East Timor concerned over Indonesian exercises[Agence France Presse]>
Indonesia Felxes Military Muscle [East Timor Action Network]>

Despite the fact it was disputed territory the TNI did not forewarn Timor Leste it would carry out this exercise. The Government of Timor Leste and the United Nations were particularly silent in reaction and did not speak publicly on the matter until it was reported in the Australian press several weeks later on 12 January 2004. On 5 February 2004 Col. Moesanip, the KOREM commander in Kupang, was reported by Antara News Agency as stating that the exercise was conducted to demonstrate Indonesia's sovereignty over Fatu Sinai/Batek and that if Timor Leste should choose to resist then Indonesia would consider deploying soldiers to the island.

Is Fatu Sinai tied to bi-lateral border demarcation?
Since 2001 UNTAET and latterly Timor Leste have been engaged in terrestrial border demarcation negotiations with Indonesia.

On the 30 June 2004 Timor Leste's Foreign Minister Ramos-Horta met with Indonesia's Foreign Minister Wirayuda in Jakarta to sign a border demarcation agreement on the 90% of the border that the two countries have successfully agreed upon.
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Indonesia's President to visit...[AP]>

For a number of reasons this border agreement was not signed until April 2005 when an agreement was signed covering 96% of the land border. The remaining 4% centres on two serious border disputes in the Oecusse Enclave. The first being at Naktuka to the east of Citrana Nitibe and the second being at Nuaf Bijae Sunan in Passabe.

It is important to note that Indonesia reneged on its 2000 Joint Border Committee agreement to use the 1914 Portuguese-Dutch Treaty establishing the border between Indonesia and Timor Leste as the agreed basis for negotiations over border demarcation. Rather Indonesia has either created, or reinvigorated local disputes to generate two potentially serious border disputes in Oecusse—over Nuaf Bijae Sunan and Naktuka.

On the 19 August 2004 the Jakarta Post reported that, according to Kupang KOREM commander Col. M. Moesanip, Ramos-Horta had ceded sovereignty of the island to Indonesia.

On 24 August 2004 the Indonesian Ambassador to the United Nations told the Security Council that "...in a comment to the press at the end of a meeting between Foreign Ministers of Indonesia and Timor Leste on 15 August 2004, Minister Ramos Horta stated that Batek Island was under the sovereignty of Indonesia...."

There has as yet been no official comment on the matter by the Government of Timor Leste -- either refuting the Indonesian claim that Ramos-Horta ceded the island to Indonesia or claiming it is the territory of Timor Leste. Although some members of Parliament have asked for Government clarification on the matter.