East Timor Joins ASEAN, Becoming Bloc’s 11th Member

East Timor has officially joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), becoming the bloc’s 11th member after more than a decade of waiting, a milestone Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao called “a dream realised.”

At Sunday’s ceremony in Kuala Lumpur, the flag of East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste, was raised alongside those of the other ten ASEAN members, drawing loud applause from delegates.

“For the people of Timor-Leste, this is not only a dream realised, but a powerful affirmation of our journey – one marked by resilience, determination and hope,” Gusmao 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.”

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, whose country currently chairs ASEAN, called the move historic, saying East Timor’s entry “completes the ASEAN family, reaffirming our shared destiny and deep sense of regional kinship.”

The decision ends a 14-year wait since Dili first applied for membership in 2011, in what observers see as one of the key achievements of Malaysia’s current ASEAN chairmanship.

A former Portuguese colony, East Timor was invaded and occupied by Indonesia after Lisbon’s abrupt withdrawal in 1975, enduring years of violence before achieving full independence in 2002.

President Jose Ramos-Horta, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 and has long championed regional integration, was also present at the ceremony. He first floated the idea of ASEAN membership back in the 1970s and said in a recent interview that his country’s inclusion “secures East Timor’s future through regional cooperation.”

East Timor, home to about 1.4 million people, is among Asia’s poorest nations, with 42 percent of its population living below the poverty line and nearly two-thirds under 30. Its $2bn economy, heavily reliant on depleting oil and gas reserves, stands in sharp contrast to ASEAN’s collective GDP of $3.8 trillion.

Still, membership brings access to ASEAN’s free trade deals, investment opportunities and regional markets, a potential lifeline for the small economy.

Ramos-Horta told Channel News Asia in September that Timor-Leste aimed to “maintain stability and not burden ASEAN,” adding that it could share lessons from its own conflict experience. “If we can in the future contribute towards strengthening ASEAN mechanisms such as conflict mechanisms, that is key,” he said. “In each country in ASEAN, we put emphasis on dialogue.”

Founded in 1967 as a five-member alliance, ASEAN has steadily expanded over the decades, with Cambodia the last to join in 1999.