KUALA LUMPUR – Timor-Leste has officially joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as its 11th member, marking the end of a 14-year wait. Experts say more needs to be done to smooth its integration.

At the Ninth ASEAN Editors Forum in Kuala Lumpur on November 6, Dato Zanariah Zainal Abidin, director-general of the ASEAN-Malaysia National Secretariat, hailed the admission as a “historic moment” for the regional bloc.

“This milestone underscores ASEAN’s enduring principle of inclusivity and its vision of shared peace, progress, and prosperity,” she said.

ASEAN Secretary-General Dr. Kao Kim Hourn praised Malaysia’s leadership as chair in achieving several milestones, including bringing Timor-Leste into the ASEAN family as part of the group’s regional expansion.

Ambassador of Timor-Leste to ASEAN Cipriana Coelho da Silva expressed gratitude to Malaysia and ASEAN members, describing the membership as a new phase of partnership rooted in mutual respect and shared interests.

“The goal is clear, which is to be a constructive partner that strengthens ASEAN’s unity, centrality, and regional impact,” she said, adding that membership is not the end but the beginning of a long journey.

Da Silva said Timor-Leste’s participation would be substantive, not symbolic.

“We will actively participate in ASEAN meetings, fulfill commitments under ASEAN agreements, and contribute to collective goals in economic, political, security, and people-to-people cooperation,” she said.

She added that Timor-Leste brings unique experience in peacebuilding, democratic governance and reconciliation, lessons that complement ASEAN’s vision of a rules-based and people-centered community.

Excitement and Challenges Ahead

For the Timorese people, the moment is historic. Cidalia A. F. da Conceição, a journalist from the state-run Tatoli news agency, said membership opens new doors for economic, educational and cultural exchange.

“Many countries, including Cambodia, already have embassies in Timor-Leste, and in five years there will be even more cooperation,” she said. “We already have many Timor-Leste students studying in Cambodia, and relations will only grow stronger.”

However, Fatima noted that connectivity remains a hurdle due to the lack of direct flights.

“I hope governments can work to improve connectivity so that people-to-people exchange and trade can flourish,” she added.

Ready to Host an ASEAN Summit?

When asked about Timor-Leste’s readiness to host the ASEAN Summit after Thailand in 2028, Dr. Kim Hourn said the issue is under discussion among member states.

He noted that Timor-Leste still needs to ratify key ASEAN conventions and agreements, and acknowledged that chairing ASEAN will be a major challenge requiring significant logistical, technical, and human resources.

“The work of ASEAN is quite daunting. Every chair hosts at least 500 meetings a year, from working groups to summits, requiring strong security, facilities and human capacity,” he said.

He added that discussions on the timeline will continue in the coming months and Timor-Leste could defer its turn to host if necessary.

“It can skip one round, as some member states have done before. Whether Timor-Leste is ready or not will be addressed at both the national and ASEAN levels,” Dr. Kao said.

Timor-Leste’s Integration: Learning from the Past

Joanne Lin, Senior Fellow and coordinator of the ASEAN Studies Centre at the ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute, said ASEAN’s enlargement is not new, recalling the 1990s inclusion of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

“What’s important now is to help Timor-Leste catch up and ensure inclusivity in practice, not just in principle,” she said.

She emphasized the importance of capacity building and flexibility during Timor-Leste’s integration.

“ASEAN must support the transition economically and institutionally. The Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI), which helped CLMV countries in the past, should now be applied to Timor-Leste,” she said.

Lin also urged ASEAN to be flexible with technical and economic instruments, allowing the new member more time to adapt, for example, by delaying tariff reductions on sensitive products.

Arividya Arimuthu, Senior Fellow at ISIS Malaysia, agreed that ASEAN should build on past best practices.

“The differential timelines for tariff concessions and other transitional arrangements have worked before. ASEAN can assess whether additional preferential treatment is needed to assist Timor-Leste,” she said.

Arimuthu added that sharing lessons from member states’ development, ranging from economic diversification to Singapore’s shift toward a services-driven economy, could be valuable.

“Small things matter. When you take care of the small things, the big things take care of themselves,” she said.