Timor-Leste rejects Myanmar’s opposition to its ASEAN membership

Timor-Lestehas dismissed Myanmar’s objection to it becoming the 11th member of the ASEAN grouping as “inconsequential and irrelevant,” said Timor President José Ramos-Horta.

Timor’s path to full membership of ASEAN has already been secured, UCA News quoted Ramos Horta as saying.

In its letter to ASEAN, Myanmar has formally objected to Timor-Leste’s accession to the Southeast Asian regional bloc, accusing Dili of violating the bloc’s core principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other nations.

“Myanmar’s opposition is irrelevant. The formal decision for Timor-Leste to join ASEAN has already been made and is reflected in the final communiqué,” according to Ramos-Horta.

The ceremony to mark the nation’s full membership is scheduled for the ASEAN Summit in October this year.

“If the ASEAN Chair wishes, they may respond to Myanmar’s objection, but preparations for Timor-Leste’s accession are well underway,” he added.

Media are reporting that Myanmar submitted an official letter to Malaysia, the current ASEAN Chair, asserting that Timor-Leste "does not adhere to the principle of non-interference in internal affairs, as enshrined in the ASEAN Charter."

The letter, signed by Myanmar’s Director General and Alternate Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) Leader, Han Win Aung, further stated that, if Timor-Leste continues its “blatant violations” of this principle, ASEAN must “firmly reject any consideration of granting membership” to the country.

Myanmar, which has been under ASEAN sanctions and excluded from high-level meetings since the 2021 military coup, currently holds limited influence within the organisation.

Ramos-Horta emphasised that the country's pariah status undermines its capacity to influence major decisions within the bloc.

Valentin da Costa, executive director of the Timor-Leste NGO Forum (FONGTIL), also pushed back against Myanmar’s accusations, saying the objection stems from Timor-Leste’s consistent support for democracy and human rights in Myanmar.

“Myanmar’s stance is a reaction to Timor-Leste’s principled solidarity with democratic movements. Both Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao and President Ramos-Horta have publicly criticised Myanmar’s junta and supported the National Unity Government [NUG],” da Costa said.

Established by elected lawmakers deposed in the 2021 coup, the exiled NUG claims to be the country’s legitimate government, in contrast to the unelected and widely despised military junta.

“What truly unsettles the junta is the democratic example Timor-Leste sets, a society where citizens can openly challenge both domestic and international governments without fear,” da Costa added.

Timor-Leste’s firm support for democratic values in Myanmar has been consistent. In August 2023, Prime Minister Gusmao warned that his country might reconsider its ASEAN membership bid if the bloc continued to legitimise military regimes.

Shortly after, President Ramos-Horta invited officials from the NUG to official events in Dili, prompting a backlash from the junta, which expelled Timor-Leste’s chargé d’affaires in retaliation.

In March 2024, Gusmao met with members of the Myanmar diaspora in Melbourne, Australia, where he reiterated his support for their struggle and urged the junta to respect the 2021 Five-Point Consensus, ASEAN’s roadmap for peace and democratic restoration in Myanmar that has, so far, gone unimplemented.