East Timor joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc on Sunday as its 11th member state, after 14 years of campaigning.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, whose country currently chairs ASEAN, said East Timor’s accession “completes the ASEAN family, reaffirming our shared destiny and deep sense of regional kinship.”
“Within this community, East Timor’s development and its strategic autonomy will find firm and lasting support,” Anwar said at an ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital.
East Timor, also known by its Portuguese name Timor-Leste, is the youngest country in the region, having gained independence from Indonesia in 2002 after 24 years of occupation.
President José Ramos-Horta has long campaigned for ASEAN membership, with an application first made in 2011 during his first term.
The signing on Sunday of a declaration on the admission of East Timor is also considered one of the greatest achievements of Malaysia’s ASEAN presidency.
East Timor was granted observer status in the regional body in 2022, but its full membership was delayed due to several challenges.
The country continues to grapple with high levels of inequality, malnutrition and unemployment.
It remains heavily dependent on oil, with little diversification into other sectors, and some concerns remain about its ability to meaningfully participate in ASEAN’s development agenda.
It also faces challenges in infrastructure development and human resource capacity, considered critical for effective participation in the ASEAN economic community.
In September, thousands of student-led protesters demonstrated against a multibillion-dollar plan to buy Toyota Prado SUVs for each of the country’s 65 members of parliament and lifetime pensions for former parliamentarians.
Protesters and police clashed for two days before parliament canceled the procurement of the vehicles.
Parliament has also bowed to public pressure over MPs’ pensions.
ASEAN began as a five-member bloc in 1967 and has gradually expanded, with Cambodia being the most recent addition in 1999.
