Timor-Leste realised a “dream” on Sunday, becoming the newest member of the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN, the young nation eager to take the next step on its journey, reports the AP.
Applause rang out at the ASEAN leaders’ annual summit in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday as Timor-Leste’s flag joined the other 10 on stage. “Today, history is made,” Timorese Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão told the assembly. “For the people of Timor Leste this is not only a dream realised, but a powerful affirmation of our journey – one marked by resilience, determination and hope.”
The island nation of 1.4 million people is among the poorest in Asia, and membership in ASEAN, while not expected to be transformational, still “brings immense opportunity in trade, investment, education and the digital economy,” Gusmão said. “We are ready to learn, innovate and uphold good government.”
Timor-Leste joins founding members Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, as well as Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. It is the first new member since 1999.
Timorese President José Ramos-Horta first envisioned joining the bloc nearly half a century ago, near the end of Portuguese rule in 1975. The dream of independence collapsed just days after Portugal relinquished the colony, when a military invasion by neighbouring Indonesia kicked off a brutal 24-year occupation.
[See more: Timor-Leste abruptly shut down online gambling]
Multiple referendums on independence, and subsequent violence, led to temporary governance by the United Nations in 1999 until Timor-Leste emerged fully independent in 2002.
Timor-Leste first applied for membership in ASEAN in 2011, its bid receiving open support from Indonesia but ultimately failing as members argued the fledgling nation lacked the state capacity to meet the bloc’s requirements.
Looking back, Ramos-Horta told Monocle, delaying the country’s accession was the right call. “It forced us to increase the pace of our efforts to develop resources, infrastructure and so on,” he said. “Of course, we have made progress.”
Timor-Leste far outpaces other member states on global indexes of press freedom and civil liberties, and has navigated other issues plaguing the bloc – from Gen-Z protests to opposition to Myanmar’s military junta – with skill. Still, the country is by far the poorest member of ASEAN, contending with high levels of unemployment, malnutrition and poverty.“It’s not all rosy,” Ramos-Horta told Monocle. “There’s the realisation that Timor-Leste’s membership is only the beginning. The next day, after getting over the hangover from the celebration, we will be working even harder than before.”
