Mohamad: Timor-Leste must meet ASEAN conditions before full membership

By AUFA MARDHIAH & HIDAYATH HISHAM

TIMOR-LESTE must fulfil key legal obligations before it can be admitted as a full ASEAN member.

According to Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, the outcome still depends on whether the country can meet the requirements in time.

He said there remains a caveat of “hopefully” as ASEAN members continue to support Timor-Leste’s entry, but the requirement is on the country to deliver.

“As much as we want to help them, they have to help themselves,” he told reporters during a press conference on the sidelines of the ASEAN meetings in Kuala Lumpur today.

Mohamad said Timor-Leste still needs to complete 66 out of 84 required legal instruments, most of which fall under the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) pillar.

He explained that ASEAN is now considering a political solution to admit Timor-Leste partially, followed by a transition period allowing time to comply with the remaining requirements.

“We are talking about why not we rope them in first, then we give them a certain number of years to slowly but surely fulfil and comply with the legal requirement,” he added.

Mohamad also dismissed reports claiming that the Philippines had blocked Timor-Leste’s accession due to a dispute involving a former politician, describing the matter as unfounded rumour.

At the ministerial level, ASEAN also welcomed the operationalisation of the Timor-Leste Unit, a dedicated mechanism to support the country’s integration process and its fulfilment of the roadmap towards membership.

Member states were recognised for extending capacity-building assistance, which ASEAN said is crucial to expediting Timor-Leste’s inclusion into the regional bloc.

A proposal is now on the table to admit Timor-Leste as a full member later this year, with a phased approach allowing the country to continue meeting outstanding legal obligations post-accession.

Timor-Leste was granted observer status in ASEAN in 2022. A decision on full membership is expected to be taken at the leadership level during the upcoming summits.