![ASEAN and East Timor](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/ASEAN_and_East_Timor.svg)
The accession of East Timor to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a process that started following the
independence of the country in 2002 when its leaders stated that it had made a "strategic decision" to become a
member state
A member state is a state that is a member of an international organization or of a federation or confederation.
Since the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) include some members that are not sovereign states ...
of
Association of Southeast Asian Nations
ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...
(ASEAN) in the future.
Closer ties with ASEAN are supported by all political parties in Timor Leste. Timor Leste would have by far the smallest GDP in the ASEAN, less than 15% of the smallest current ASEAN member state
Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
.
In 2022, the country was admitted "in principle" as the organization's 11th member, with full membership pending.
In 2022,
President of East Timor
The president of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste ( pt, Presidente da República Democrática de Timor-Leste; tet, Prezidente Republika Demokratika Timor-Leste) is the head of state of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste. The executiv ...
,
José Ramos-Horta
José Manuel Ramos-Horta (; born 26 December 1949) is an East Timorese politician currently serving as president of East Timor since May 2022. He previously served as president from 20 May 2007 to 20 May 2012. Previously he was Minister of Fore ...
stated that "It seems as if to reach ASEAN, you have to fulfill all the criteria to enter heaven. And then the next step is ASEAN."
Background
In 2002,
East Timor
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...
was recognised as an observer of ASEAN and joined the
ASEAN Regional Forum
ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military ...
in 2005.
In January 2007, the country acceded to the
Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia
The Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) is a peace treaty among Southeast Asian countries established by the founding members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a geo-political and economic organisation of ...
, pledging to renounce the use of force and binding East Timor to non-interference in the internal affairs of ASEAN member states.
In 2005, Timor Leste said it wanted to be a member by 2010. In December 2007 President
José Ramos-Horta
José Manuel Ramos-Horta (; born 26 December 1949) is an East Timorese politician currently serving as president of East Timor since May 2022. He previously served as president from 20 May 2007 to 20 May 2012. Previously he was Minister of Fore ...
restated that joining was a top priority, and he hoped to join by 2012. In January 2009, Thai Prime Minister
Abhisit Vejjajiva said that his country would support Timor Leste's membership of ASEAN by 2012.
Accession efforts
East Timor officially applied for membership in ASEAN on 4 March 2011. After
elections in 2012, the new government reaffirmed their commitment to joining the association.
While
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, which Timor Leste gained their independence from in 2002, has pushed for them to be granted ASEAN membership, other countries, such as
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
and Laos, have objected on the grounds that Timor Leste is not yet developed enough to join. However, after the ASEAN summit in April 2013, Secretary General of ASEAN
stated that all member states now supported Timor Leste's admission to the association. Minh also stated that "Timor Leste is not yet ready to join ASEAN. So we are pushing them to qualify the obligations". Philippine President
Benigno Aquino III
Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III (; February 8, 1960 – June 24, 2021), also known as Noynoy Aquino and colloquially as PNoy, was a Filipino politician who served as the 15th president of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016. The son of ...
pledged his country's support to Timor Leste's ASEAN membership in June 2013. The
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
has previously supported Timor Leste's ASEAN membership through official documents in 2002 and 2010.
By September 2013, the ASEAN's Coordinating Council Working Group was still evaluating East Timor's membership application, and Minh said that there was no timeline for when the assessment would be completed. Singapore pledged that it would not block East Timor's membership in the association, with their Second Minister for Foreign Affairs,
Grace Fu
Grace Fu Hai Yien ( zh, s=傅海燕, p=Fù Hǎiyàn; born 1964) is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Minister for Sustainability and the Environment since 2020. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), she has bee ...
, saying "For any member to come into ASEAN and to be ready for 2015 will be quite a big step. Whether Timor Leste is ready, whether it has its eyes on 2015, we like to have a working group to evaluate". In November 2013, U Aung Htoo, ASEAN Affairs Department deputy director, said that Timor Leste would not be ready to join in 2014 since they do not have an embassy in all 10 current ASEAN member states, a necessity for membership.
In 2015, Timor Leste said it is now ready to join the association at any time, telling via Timor Leste's ambassador to Malaysia that their country had at least fulfilled two major requirements for ASEAN membership such as the country was located in this region and it had opened embassies in ASEAN member countries. The Philippines re-echoed its support for Timor Leste's accession to ASEAN on the same year.
In 2017, the Philippines, a close ally of Timor Leste, became the ASEAN host for 2017. A general meeting is expected to conclude in 17 November, however, foreign reports in 4 November have said that ASEAN would bypass Timor Leste's membership in 2017, mostly because of its lack of human resources which was pointed out by
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
. Despite this, it was announced that Timor Leste Prime Minister
Mari Alkatiri
Mari bin Amude Alkatiri, GCIH ( ar, مرعي بن عمودة الكثيري '; born 26 November 1949) is a Timorese politician. He was Prime Minister of East Timor from May 2002 until his resignation on 26 June 2006 following weeks of politica ...
will continue Timor Leste's participation in ASEAN as an observer during the 2017 summit. The Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Cambodia reiterated Timor Leste's membership application during the summits, however, the other 6 ASEAN member states led by Singapore did not support the move. On the last day of the summit, the Philippines was mandated by tradition to pass the ASEAN chairmanship to Singapore, whose chairmanship begins in January.
As according to the ASEAN chairman's statement which hosted by the Philippines in 2018, the association is still studying Timor Leste's application for membership. Despite Singapore being historically opposing Timor-Leste's accession to the association due to economic reasons, the country began to openly stating they are welcoming the country's membership application when Timorese Prime Minister visited the latter.
In June 2019, Cambodian Prime Minister
Hun Sen
Hun Sen (; km, ហ៊ុន សែន, ; born 5 August 1952) is a Cambodian politician and former military commander who has served as the prime minister of Cambodia since 1985. He is the longest-serving head of government of Cambodia, and o ...
expressed his country support for Timor Leste to become the 11th member of ASEAN ahead of a meeting with Timor Leste
Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
Dionísio Babo. Since Thailand took over the chairmanship of the association in 2019, Timor Leste Foreign Affairs Minister Dionísio noted that a fact-finding mission has been formed to visit their country in September to determine their readiness in joining the association, adding that Brunei has given assurance to support the country's bid to join ASEAN, in which the latter hopes "it will happen sooner rather than later". Further in July, Malaysia's Foreign Minister
Saifuddin Abdullah
Dato' Sri Saifuddin bin Abdullah ( Jawi: سيف الدين بن عبدالله; born 27 January 1961) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Indera Mahkota since May 2018. He served as Minister of Forei ...
reiterated their support for the country to join ASEAN during his meeting with Dionísio who was in
Putrajaya
Putrajaya (), officially the Federal Territory of Putrajaya ( ms, Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya), is a planned capital city which functions as the administrative capital and the judicial capital of Malaysia. The seat of the federal government ...
for a visit in the same month, telling their country stand that Malaysia is always consistent to support Timor Leste's admission into the association ever since the republic submitted its application in 2011. Similar support was expressed by Indonesia's Foreign Minister
Retno Marsudi
Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi (born 27 November 1962) is an Indonesian diplomat who has been serving as the Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet of Joko Widodo since 2014. She is the first female minister appointed to the post. She was ...
in the same month during the plenary session of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) in
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
, Thailand where she explained that "Indonesian support has been expressed many times even since the beginning, not only on political sense, but including through various assistance schemes to prepare and improve Timor-Leste capacity to meet the requirements in joining the association".
In 2021, Timor Leste, under the influence of Cambodia, voted to ''abstain'' in a United Nations resolution which aimed to condemn the military dictatorship in Myanmar which ousted the democratically-elected government of
Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi (; ; born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar (equivalent to a prime minister) and Minister of Foreign Affairs from ...
. The vote met backlash from pro-democracy groups in Myanmar, which experts say have tarnished Timor-Leste's membership bid. It gained favor from Cambodia, which only has a minor influence in the region (largely because of its ties with China). Other states, as experts noted, may become against the inclusion of Timor Leste in ASEAN due to the pro-China and anti-democracy vote. East Timorese officials expressed their regret and called the vote a "vote of shame", while calling out who made the decision at the UN assembly. Following his 2022 reelection, Ramos-Horta reiterated the country's desire to join ASEAN, aiming for a 2023 admission when Indonesia is set to chair the organization.
In November 2022, following the 40th/41st
ASEAN Summit
The ASEAN Summit is a biannual meeting held by the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in relation to economic, political, security, and socio-cultural development of Southeast Asian countries. In addition, it serves ...
in
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...
, the organization issued statement agreeing "in principle" to East Timor's membership, granting East Timor observer status at high-level meetings and stating that a roadmap to full membership would be submitted in the 2023 summit.
See also
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Enlargement of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
The Enlargement of the of Southeast Asian Nations is the process of expanding the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) through the accession of new member states. This process began with ASEAN's five original members, who founded the a ...
References
Further reading
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{{Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
Foreign relations of East Timor
East Timor
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...