DILI, East Timor: East Timor is slated to become the 11th member of the ASEAN regional bloc in October, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Tuesday during a visit to the Southeast Asian nation.
The accession will be formalized at a gathering of world leaders in Kuala Lumpur, confirmed Anwar, whose country currently chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
East Timor is the youngest country in the region, having gained independence from Indonesia in 2002 after 24 years of occupation.
“The accession of Timor-Leste to ASEAN will be of immense benefit to us all,” Anwar told a press conference after a meeting with East Timor’s president, Ramos-Horta, in the country’s capital, Dili.
“We will certainly have a big celebration for your accession to ASEAN in October 2025,” he said.
Anwar said the two leaders also discussed trade, investments, tourism, education and defense during the bilateral talks.
He is also scheduled to meet with East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao during his visit.
President Jose Ramos-Horta has long campaigned for ASEAN membership, and an application was first submitted in 2011.
“Our discussions have been a warm, constructive focus on the future as we prepare for our historic accession to ASEAN in October in Kuala Lumpur,” Horta said.
“We are committed to working closely with Malaysia and all ASEAN members to fulfil their remaining milestones on our path to full membership.”
East Timor continues to grapple with high inequality, malnutrition, and unemployment.
Its economy remains heavily reliant on its oil reserves.
Earlier this month, thousands of protesters, led by students, rallied against a multi-million dollar plan to purchase Toyota Prado SUVs for each of the country’s 65 members of parliament and lifetime pensions for former MPs.
Demonstrators and police clashed for two days in a row. Following the protests, the country’s parliament unanimously adopted a resolution to cancel the new vehicle procurement. The parliament bowed to public pressure on the pensions matter as well.
ASEAN began as a five-member bloc in 1967 and has gradually expanded, with Cambodia the most recent addition in 1999.
US President Donald Trump has confirmed he will attend the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur next month.
East Timor to become ASEAN bloc’s 11th member in October
https://arab.news/5hr9k
East Timor to become ASEAN bloc’s 11th member in October
- The accession will be formalized at a gathering of world leaders in Kuala Lumpur
- East Timor is the youngest country in the region, having gained independence from Indonesia in 2002
Philippine lawmakers start VP Duterte impeachment hearings
- The revived impeachment bid leans heavily on allegations that the younger Duterte misused public funds
MANILA: A Philippine congressional committee began impeachment hearings Monday that could dash Vice President Sara Duterte’s run for the country’s top job.
The daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, who recently announced her candidacy for the 2028 presidential election, was impeached by the country’s House of Representatives last year only to see the Supreme Court toss the case out over procedural issues.
The revived impeachment bid leans heavily on allegations that the younger Duterte misused public funds while in office and will see the House justice committee debate three such complaints.
A fourth case was dropped by complainants who hoped to speed up the process.
Duterte also stands accused of making a death threat against her former ally and current President Ferdinand Marcos, with whom she is engaged in an explosive political feud.
Under the Philippine constitution, an impeachment triggers a Senate trial. A guilty verdict would result in Duterte being barred from politics and sidelined from the 2028 presidential race.
The latest impeachment bid faces a changed environment with the vice president ahead in recent polls, analysts told AFP.
“The political context will be very different, especially now that Sara declared her candidacy,” University of the Philippines political science professor Jean Franco said.
“It’s definitely going to weigh on the minds of the members of the House of Representatives,” Franco said, adding that a vote for impeachment would effectively see a lawmaker’s career “marked for death.”
Anthony Lawrence Borja, an associate professor of political science at De La Salle University agreed saying: “It is ultimately a question of whether the patronage of the current administration outweighs their fear of Duterte’s condemnation.”
The same committee hearing the case against Duterte last month tossed out a pair of impeachment complaints against Marcos, ruling that allegations of corruption over a scandal involving bogus flood control projects lacked substance.
Michael Wesley Poa, spokesman for Duterte’s defense team, told AFP they were closely monitoring deliberations and trusted “the same standards” used in the Marcos hearing would be applied.
