ASEAN member states have agreed to expedited completion of the documentation process, ensuring that Timor-Leste can take its place as a full member of the Southeast Asian bloc in October, reports Malaysian news agency Bernama.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan told the press that the matter was agreed upon during discussions with his ASEAN counterparts at the plenary session of the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, which ends today. He noted that the accession had been decided at the previous ASEAN Summit in May, with an aim to formally recognise Timor-Leste as a full member at the upcoming summit scheduled for October.
The young Southeast Asian nation first applied for membership in 2011, just nine years after declaring independence from its long-time Indonesian occupiers. It has undergone the accession process required by ASEAN countries, including direct assessments which were delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic. The accession process continued, though, and in 2022, Timor-Leste was accepted “in principle” as the bloc’s newest member, granting the country observer status at all high-level ASEAN meetings.
While Timor-Leste has enjoyed considerable support from other member states, including current ASEAN chair Malaysia and Indonesia, the military junta that took charge of Myanmar in 2021 has recently changed its stance on Timor-Leste’s accession.
In a letter to ASEAN, Myanmar lodged a formal objection to Timor-Leste joining the bloc as a full member, accusing the country of violating the core principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other member states. They contend that the Timorese government’s vocal support for the pro-democracy opposition movement in Myanmar constitutes interference, and that if Timor-Leste continues its “blatant” violations of this principle, ASEAN must “firmly reject any consideration of granting membership” to the country.
[See more: Timor-Leste enters the offshore gambling arena]
“Myanmar’s opposition is irrelevant,” Timorese President José Ramos-Horta fired back. “The formal decision for Timor-Leste to join ASEAN has already been made and is reflected in the final communiqué.”
Ramos-Horta’s confidence that the October ceremony will go ahead is not unwarranted. Myanmar has been under ASEAN sanctions and excluded from high-level meetings since 2021, after it failed to implement a five-point consensus to end the crisis in Myanmar despite agreeing to it previously. The agreement to expedite Timor-Leste’s documentation also came days after the formal complaint from Myanmar.
Timor-Leste’s firm support for democratic values in Myanmar is also not new. Both Ramos-Horta and Timorese Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão have publicly criticised the junta and voiced support for the National Unity Government (NUG), formed in exile by a group of elected lawmakers deposed during the 2021 coup.
In August 2023, Gusmão even said Timor-Leste might reconsider joining ASEAN if the bloc continued legitimising military regimes, underscoring his seriousness by inviting NUG officials to government events in Dili. Gusmão also met with exiles in Australia last year, and urged the junta to adopt the five-point consensus. “We urge the junta to respect democratic principles, human rights, and the freedoms of the Myanmar people,” Gusmão said at the time.
