Accession of East Timor to ASEAN

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 of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the future.[1] The country officially applied for membership in 2011.[2]

Flag of East Timor
ASEAN (blue) and Timor Leste (red)

Closer ties with ASEAN are supported by all political parties in East Timor.[3] East Timor would have by far the smallest GDP in the ASEAN, less than 15% of the smallest current ASEAN member state Laos.[4] In 2022, the country was admitted "in principle" as the organization's 11th member, with full membership pending.[5]

Accession requirements

The ASEAN Charter defines the following criteria for membership:[6]

  • The state must be geographically located in Southeast Asia.
  • The state must be recognized by all ASEAN member states.
  • The state must agree to be bound by the ASEAN Charter
  • The state must be able and willing to carry out the obligations of membership such as:
    • Maintaining embassies in all current member countries of the bloc[7]
    • Attending all ministerial meetings and summits
    • Acceding to all treaties, declarations and agreements in the bloc[8]

While there are no membership requirements pertaining to a country's level of development, some countries had historically opposed East Timor's accession due to its underdeveloped economy.[9][10][11]

By 2015, East Timor had fulfilled three major requirements: the country was located in Southeast Asia, was recognized by all ASEAN member states, and has opened embassies in all ASEAN member countries.[12]

The 2023 roadmap to membership included a number of steps East Timor needs to fulfil, including the capacity to host large meetings and sufficient English-speaking government staff.[13]

Timeline

History

Early relations

In 2002, East Timor was recognized as an observer of ASEAN and joined the ASEAN Regional Forum in 2005.[1] In January 2007, the country acceded to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, pledging to renounce the use of force and binding East Timor to non-interference in the internal affairs of ASEAN member states.[14]

In 2005, East Timor said it wanted to be a member by 2010.[17] In December 2007 President José Ramos-Horta restated that joining was a top priority, and he hoped to join by 2012.[18] In January 2009, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said that his country would support East Timor's membership of ASEAN by 2012.[19]

Accession efforts

East Timor officially applied for membership in ASEAN on 4 March 2011.[2] After elections in 2012, the new government reaffirmed their commitment to joining the association.[20] While Indonesia, which East Timor gained their independence from in 2002, has pushed for them to be granted ASEAN membership, other countries, such as Singapore and Laos, have objected on the grounds that East Timor is not yet developed enough to join.[21][22] However, after the ASEAN summit in April 2013, Secretary General of ASEAN Lê Lương Minh stated that all member states supported East Timor's admission to the association,[23] although he also said that the country was not yet qualified for membership.[9] Philippine President Benigno Aquino III pledged his country's support to East Timor's ASEAN membership in June 2013. The Philippines has previously supported East Timor's ASEAN membership through official documents in 2002 and 2010.[24]

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.[25] Singapore pledged that it would not block East Timor's membership in the association but did not explicitly support it, stating that plans for economic integration must not be derailed by the country's accession.[26] In November 2013, U Aung Htoo, ASEAN Affairs Department deputy director, said that East Timor 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.[4]

In 2015, East Timor said it is now ready to join the association at any time, telling via East Timor's ambassador to Malaysia that their country had at least fulfilled two major requirements for ASEAN membership.[12] The Philippines re-echoed its support for East Timor's accession to ASEAN on the same year.[27][28]

In 2017, the Philippines, a close ally of East Timor, became the ASEAN host for 2017. However, ASEAN bypassed East Timor's membership in 2017, mostly because of its lack of human resources which was pointed out by Singapore. Despite this, it was announced that East Timor Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri will continue East Timor's participation in ASEAN as an observer during the 2017 summit. The Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Cambodia reiterated East Timor's membership application during the summit, but 6 member states led by Singapore did not support the move.[11][29]

In 2018, East Timor's application for membership was still being studied by the association.[30] Despite Singapore being historically opposed to Timor-Leste's accession to the association due to economic reasons, the country began to openly state that they are welcoming the country's membership application when the Timorese Prime Minister visited the latter.[10]

In 2019, ASEAN formed a fact-finding mission to visit the country in September to determine its readiness in joining the association.[15] In June 2019, several ASEAN ministers reiterated their support for East Timor's membership bid.[31][32][33]

In 2021, East Timor 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. The vote was influenced by ASEAN chair Cambodia, who also voted to abstain alongside the ASEAN states of Brunei, Laos, and Thailand, while Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam supported the resolution. East Timorese officials later expressed their regret, with Ramos-Horta calling the vote a "vote of shame" and stated that the country may have isolated itself from the other members of the association.[34]

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.[35] He later criticized the lengthy process of joining the organization, stating 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."[36]

Accession process and negotiations
Taur Matan Ruak welcomed to represent East Timor on its first high-level meeting in ASEAN. A privilege only bestowed to ASEAN's members

In November 2022, following the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh, 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.[16]

In February 2023, the country made its debut at a foreign ministerial level meeting of ASEAN, appearing at the ASEAN Ministers’ Meeting held in Jakarta.[37]

At the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo in May 2023 a roadmap to Timor Leste's accession was adopted.[38]

See also

References
  1. "East Timor Needs Five Years to Join ASEAN: PM". Secretary-General of ASEAN. Archived from the original on 9 June 2007. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  2. McGeown, Kate (4 March 2011). "East Timor applies to join Asean". BBC News. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  3. "Political Parties and Groupings of Timor-Leste" (PDF). Australian Labor Party's International Projects Unit. May 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  4. Aung, Nyan Lynn; Mclaughlin, Tim (7 November 2013). "Timor Leste on the ASEAN waiting list". Myanmar Times. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  5. Min, Chew Hui (11 November 2022). "ASEAN agrees in principle to admit Timor-Leste as 11th member". CNA. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  6. Thuzar, Moe (2 June 2017). "What does it take to join ASEAN?" (PDF). ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute (2017).
  7. Aquino to back East Timor's bid for ASEAN membership Archived 27 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 14 May 2011
  8. Preparations for the Membership of ASEAN Retrieved 14 May 2011
  9. Hou Qiang (29 April 2013). "Timor Leste faces uphill to join ASEAN". Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on 3 May 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  10. Gnanasagaran, Angaindrankumar (5 January 2018). "Admitting ASEAN's 11th member". The ASEAN Post. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  11. "ASEAN to pass on letting East Timor join grouping this year: Kyodo sources". Kyodo News. ABS-CBN News. 5 November 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  12. "Timor Leste is ready to join Asean grouping". Bernama. Daily Express. 11 April 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  13. Parker Novak (17 May 2023). "Timor-Leste update: Parliamentary elections and a roadmap to ASEAN membership". The Interpreter. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  14. Brago, Pia Lee (14 January 2007). "France, East Timor sign non-aggression treaties with Asean". The Philippine Star. Associated Press. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  15. Bandial, Ain (6 July 2019). "Timor Leste says Brunei will support its bid to join ASEAN". The Scoop. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  16. "ASEAN agrees in principle to admit East Timor as 11th member". Reuters. 11 November 2022. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  17. "Timor-Leste wishes to join ASEAN in 5 years". Xinhua News Agency. 2 December 2005. Archived from the original on 2 March 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  18. Hegel Goutier (2007). "Timor's key concern: preparing for ASEAN membership". The Courier (ACP-EU). Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  19. "East Timor: Thailand to fund development of Timorese energy resources". Macau Hub. 14 January 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2019. During the meeting, the Thai Prime Minister told Ramos-Horta that Thailand, as the current president of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), would support East Timor's entry as a member of ASEAN in 2012.
  20. "Timor Leste remains steadfast to ASEAN aspiration". Secretary-General of ASEAN. 7 December 2012. Archived from the original on 12 December 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  21. Brian Padden (29 March 2011). "Indonesia Supports East Timor's Bid to Join ASEAN". Voice of America. Archived from the original on 26 November 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  22. "Philippine Civil Society To Support Timor-Leste Bid for ASEAN Membership". Initiatives for International Dialogue. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  23. Ismira Lutfia Tisnadibrata (16 May 2013). "Timor-Leste poised to win ASEAN membership". Khabar Southeast Asia. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  24. "Singapore and the Philippines express support for Timor-Leste's bid for ASEAN membership after Official visits". Government of Timor-Leste. 19 June 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  25. Sally Piri (12 September 2013). "Timor Leste must wait for full ASEAN membership". The Brunei Times. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  26. "S'pore won't block Timor Leste's bid to join ASEAN". The Brunei Times. 21 September 2013. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  27. Edmund Sim (29 April 2015). "Reviewing the 26th ASEAN Summit in Malaysia". The Diplomat. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  28. "Timor-Leste continues to strengthen relations with the Philippines". Government of Timor-Leste. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  29. Luke Hunt (27 May 2016). "East Timor Hopes for ASEAN Membership by 2017". The Diplomat. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  30. "Timor Leste application for ASEAN membership still being studied – chairman's report". Interakyson. 16 November 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  31. "Official Visit of Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, Dr. Dionísio Da Costa Babo Soares to Malaysia 1 - 2 July 2019" (Press release). Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  32. Ben Sokhean (4 June 2019). "Hun Sen backs Timor Leste Asean bid". Khmer Times. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  33. Yuni Arisandy Sinaga; Bambang Purwanto (2 August 2019). "Indonesia backs Timor Leste for membership in ASEAN". Antara. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  34. "Timor-Leste's Bid for ASEAN Membership Tarnished by Myanmar Vote – The Diplomat".
  35. "East Timor expected to join ASEAN in 2023: President-elect Ramos-Horta". Kyodo News+. 21 April 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  36. "Easier to Enter Heaven than ASEAN, Says Timor Leste President". Jakarta Globe. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  37. "AMM convenes with Timor-Leste present, Myanmar absent". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  38. "Milestone of ASEAN-Timor Leste Relations". Kompas English Edition. Retrieved 24 May 2023.

Further reading
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