PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has agreed in principle to admit East Timor as the group’s 11th member, the bloc said in a statement on Friday, November 11.
The half-island nation, officially called Timor Leste, will also be granted observer status at high-level ASEAN meetings, the bloc said after regional leaders met in Phnom Penh for a summit.
“We the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations…agreed in principle to admit Timor Leste to be the 11th member of ASEAN,” the statement said, adding that next steps would include a “roadmap for full membership” to be submitted at next year’s summit.
East Timor is the youngest country in Southeast Asia, having gained independence from Indonesia in 2002 after 24 years of occupation.
The East Timorese voted for independence from a brutal occupation by neighboring Indonesia in a 1999 UN-supervised referendum, and the country was officially recognized by the United Nations in 2002, making it Asia’s youngest democracy.
The resource-rich country of 1.3 million people immediately started the process of accession to ASEAN, but only formally applied for membership in 2011.
During their gathering in Phnom Penh, regional leaders agreed to grant East Timor observer status and the right to attend Asean meetings and summit sessions, according to the statement.
The bloc will now draw up a roadmap setting out the criteria East Timor must hit before being granted full membership.
By signing up with an email address, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
The former Portuguese colony is one of the poorest countries in the world and is grappling with high levels of inequality, malnourishment, and unemployment.
East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta has long campaigned for Asean membership and an application was first submitted in 2011.
Ramos-Horta, who was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, won a second term in office in April, having previously served from 2007 to 2012.
Indonesia — which takes over the Asean chair from Cambodia in 2023 — had hoped East Timor can officially join the Asean family next year.
But Philippine Assistant Secretary for Asean Affairs Dan Espiritu said the timeline for full membership was not clear.
"Not because we would like to delay their entry, but we must make sure they are really ready for the obligations and responsibilities," he told reporters in Phnom Penh.
Asean began as a five-member bloc in 1967 and has gradually expanded, with Cambodia as the most recent addition in 1999.
