Since emerging from decades of brutal occupation in 2002 on the back of an independence vote 25 years ago, Asia's youngest nation has made remarkable political strides in its short history. "There has been tremendous progress," President Jose Ramos-Horta told AFP in a recent interview at his home in Dili. But the country is fighting new battles on various fronts -- a poverty rate above 40 percent, crucial energy reserves that experts say will deplete within years, and a balancing act between Western allies and China. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES ARRANGED IN SEQUENCES