ASEAN to admit East Timor as its 11th member

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has agreed to accept East Timor into the bloc, said a communique issued on Friday.

The communique issued from Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital, where the 40th and 41st ASEAN and related summits officially began on Friday, stated that it "in principle" agreed to admit East Timor, also known officially as the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, as its 11th member.

The country was granted observer status at ASEAN meetings, including summit plenaries, until it is formally inducted as 11th member, the communique added.

A report for formal entry for East Timor as basic member of the ASEAN will be submitted at 42nd summit of the regional bloc.

The nation of 1.34 million people declared independence from Indonesia in 2002 and applied for ASEAN membership in 2011.

ASEAN – a regional bloc comprising Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam – was founded on Aug. 8, 1967, in Bangkok, Thailand.

During the summit, which will conclude on Sunday, the ASEAN leaders are expected to adopt over 100 outcome documents.

Hun Sen, Cambodia's prime minister and current ASEAN chair, stated during the summit's opening ceremony that the long list of over 100 outcome documents will "guide their actions and cooperation for the coming years."

Several world leaders, including the US, and South Korean presidents, are attending the summit.

China’s Premier Li Keqiang is also attending the summit, while Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida postponed his Southeast Asian trips, which included attending ASEAN meetings after he dismissed his justice minister on Friday.​​​​​​​