After 14 years of intensive diplomatic campaign, East Timor officially has become the 11th member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), starting a new era of regional integration for Asia’s youngest nation.
The milestone was announced on Sunday (October 26) at the opening session of the 47th ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
‘Dream realised’
The event was hailed as “historic” by East Timor’s Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, who said that the nation’s accession to the Southeast Asian economic bloc will open new doors for trade and investment.
“For the people of Timor-Leste, this is not only a dream realised, but a powerful affirmation of our journey,” he said.
“Our accession is a testament to the spirit of our people, a young democracy, born from our struggle.”
“This is not the end of a journey. This is the beginning of an inspiring new chapter.”
Also known as Timor-Leste, the 1.4-million-strong nation has one of Asia’s smallest economies – about US$2 billion compared to ASEAN’s collective US$3.8 trillion.
It continues to suffer from deep-rooted economic issues, such as its high reliance on oil revenues, unemployment, inequality, and starvation.
14-year-long campaign
Following its independence from European colonialism and Indonesian invasion in 2002, the East Timorese government put a high emphasis on its ASEAN accession, calling it a “strategic decision” towards a more effective nation-building.
Its diplomatic campaign began in 2011, when it officially applied for ASEAN membership after years of being an observer.
East Timor’s preparedness to fully participate in the ASEAN economic community had been repeatedly put into question due to workforce and infrastructure constraints.
The nation had to pass three intensive screenings based on the following pillars of eligibility: the ASEAN Political-Security Community, the ASEAN Economic Community, and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.
In 2022, the Southeast Asian economic bloc gave East Timor observer status in all of its high-level meetings.
The nation then acceded to the Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty in 2025.
Its membership was formalised during the opening session of the 47th ASEAN summit, where the Declaration on the Admission of Timor-Leste into ASEAN was signed.
President and Nobel laureate José Ramos-Horta, who first envisioned ASEAN membership in the 1970s, said East Timor aims to “maintain stability and not burden ASEAN.”
He added that it hopes to share its own lessons from post-conflict nation-building.
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Stability after unrest
Analysts see East Timor’s accession as a crucial step toward stability.
The East Timorese government has dealt with domestic unrest in the past.
On September 15, thousands of students flooded the streets of Dili to protest against the government’s decision to purchase million-dollar SUVs for parliament members.
The demonstrations escalated, with demands for the cancellation of lifetime pensions for former members of the parliament.
It concluded after three days with a concession between protest leaders and the government, which led to the cancellation of nationwide demonstrations and a parliamentary resolution granting the protesters their demands.
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John Christopher Aquino 
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