Timor-Leste is poised to become the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) 11th member. The region’s youngest state, it has been an ASEAN observer since 2022, participating in discourse but with limited voting privileges.
The nation’s long-awaited ascension to full membership in the influential group is slated for formal affirmation at the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in October 2025.
“Timor-Leste has demonstrated admirable resilience, steadfast dedication, and a deep alignment with ASEAN’s fundamental principles and norms,” ASEAN Secretary-General Dr. Kao Kim Hourn said at the group’s Jakarta, Indonesia, headquarters in August 2025. “Its forthcoming integration will not only enrich the ASEAN community but also fortify our shared commitment to peace, stability, good governance and inclusive development.”
ASEAN formed in 1967 with five members: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam later joined. The intergovernmental organization promotes regional cooperation in economic, social, cultural, technical and educational fields, as well as peace and stability.
ASEAN’s challenges include resolving Myanmar’s nearly five-year civil war and settling territorial disputes in the South China Sea through initiatives such as the Five-Point Consensus to end Myanmar’s strife and a proposed code of conduct for the resource-rich sea, a global trade route.
A former Portuguese colony and Indonesian territory, Timor-Leste (also known as East Timor) gained independence in 2002. The nation of 1.5 million people primarily comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, about 600 kilometers northwest of Darwin, Australia, across the Timor Sea. Timor-Leste’s capital is Dili.
Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta expressed hope for a new era of prosperity when his country formally joins ASEAN. “We are the newest [member], the least developed, but with tremendous potential to have our economy accelerated,” he told Japan’s public broadcasting network NHK in August 2025. “And we already [are] witnessing it, more and more foreign investors from the region and beyond interested in exploring investment in Timor-Leste partly because of our ASEAN membership.”
The Timor-Leste Defense Force hosts the annual multinational Exercise Hari’i Hamutuk, which means “build together” in the Tetum language. The 2025 iteration includes personnel from Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United States.
“Today, we embark on a demanding and practical program that strengthens interoperability, deepens technical mastery, and builds confidence in our forces,” Timor-Leste Brig. Gen. José da Costa Soares said at the opening ceremony in late August. “The objective of this exercise is clear: to prepare our forces for real-world missions in disaster response, humanitarian assistance or security operations through realistic, standards-based training.”
Hourn noted Timor-Leste’s similar readiness to contribute to ASEAN. “In an increasingly complex and uncertain world, Timor-Leste’s journey toward full membership underscores ASEAN’s ability to evolve while remaining anchored in the core values of peace, cooperation and regional solidarity,” he said.
About the Author
