East Timor, Asia’s youngest nation, officially became the 11th member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Sunday, fulfilling a vision its current president first championed nearly 50 years ago while the country was still under Portuguese rule.
Also known as Timor-Leste, the nation of 1.4 million people remains one of the poorest in Asia. Its economy, valued at about 2 billion dollars, is only a fraction of ASEAN’s combined 3.8 trillion dollar output. Leaders hope membership will open doors for trade, investment, and stronger regional ties.
The accession marks the end of a 14-year wait. While analysts do not expect East Timor’s entry to dramatically reshape the bloc, the move carries deep symbolic weight for President Jose Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, both central figures in the country’s independence struggle.
The moment was formalized at the opening of ASEAN’s annual summit in Kuala Lumpur, where East Timor’s flag was raised to applause from regional leaders.
A Historic Milestone
Prime Minister Gusmao described the occasion as a turning point for his nation. “For the people of Timor-Leste, this is not only a dream realized, 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.”
East Timor’s path to sovereignty has been turbulent. Portugal abruptly withdrew in 1975 after three centuries of colonial rule, leaving the territory vulnerable to annexation by neighboring Indonesia. Years of conflict followed before the country finally secured independence in 2002.
President Ramos-Horta awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996, first proposed ASEAN membership in the 1970s as a way to safeguard East Timor’s future through regional integration. He has emphasized that the country must remain stable and contribute constructively to the bloc, offering lessons from its own history of conflict that could be relevant to disputes such as those in the South China Sea.
SEO Tags: East Timor ASEAN, Timor-Leste joins ASEAN, ASEAN expansion, Jose Ramos-Horta, Xanana Gusmao
#Tags: #EastTimor #ASEAN #TimorLeste #abnewsinternational #JoseRamosHorta
+ There are no comments
Add yours