By Alec Go
The membership of East Timor in the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) has been agreed in principle by the leaders of ASEAN, according to the statement shared by host country Cambodia.
Based on the ASEAN leaders’ statement, East Timor will be granted an observer status and will be given access to participate in all meetings and summit plenaries by the regional body.
Leaders of the ASEAN also agreed to formalize an objective criteria-based roadmap for the full membership of East Timor through the ASEAN Coordinating Council that will be reported to the 42nd Summit.
“[All] ASEAN Member States and external partners shall fully support Timor-Leste to achieve the milestones through the provision of capacity building assistance and any other necessary and relevant support for its full membership in ASEAN,” the statement read.
JUST IN: East Timor, magiging ika-11 miyembro na ng Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), ayon sa pahayag na ibinahagi ng Cambodia Government Spokesperson Unit.
(Courtesy: Cambodia Government Spokesperson Unit/Facebook)#PBBMatASEAN2022 pic.twitter.com/Dq5pRV6wqy— PTVph (@PTVph) November 11, 2022
The decision was made during the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and Related Summits in Phnom Penh, which looked into the result of the fact-finding missions by the ASEAN Political-Security Community, ASEAN Economic Community, and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.
The Political-Security Community fact-finding mission was held from September 3 to 6 in 2019, while the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community fact-finding mission took place from July 6 to 8 this year.
