Southeast Asian leaders on Friday agreed to allow East Timor to join the 10-nation regional bloc ASEAN, summit host Cambodia said in a statement. "We, the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have agreed in principle to admit Timor-Leste as the 11th member of ASEAN," the statement said.
East Timor is the youngest country in Southeast Asia and gained independence from Indonesia in 2002 after 24 years of occupation. During their meeting in Phnom Penh, regional leaders agreed to grant East Timor observer status and the right to attend ASEAN meetings and summits, the statement said.
The block will now produce a roadmap detailing the criteria that East Timor must meet before it can be granted full membership. The former Portuguese colony is one of the poorest countries in the world, struggling with high levels of inequality, malnutrition and unemployment.
President José Ramos-Horta has long campaigned for ASEAN membership, first applying in 2011. Ramos-Horta, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, won a second term in April after previously serving mandates from 2007 to 2012. Indonesia, which will replace Cambodia as ASEAN presidency in 2023, hoped that East Timor could officially join the ASEAN family next year.
But Philippine Secretary of State for ASEAN Affairs Dan Espiritu said the timeline for full membership is unclear. "Not because we want to delay their entry, but we have to make sure they are really ready for the commitments and responsibilities," he said. Reporter in Phnom Penh. ASEAN began as a five-member bloc in 1967 and has gradually expanded, with Cambodia being the latest addition in 1999.
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