Timor-Leste’s Upcoming Membership to ASEAN: Clearer Guidance Needed
By Johan Pahlepi
Published on 2 March 2025
Image credit: Association of Southeast Asian Nations (orthographic projection). The map has been created with the Generic Mapping Tools: https://www.generic-mapping-tools.org/ using one or more of these public-domain datasets for the relief. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
Introduction
Since its establishment in 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been vital in enhancing regional stability through its unique political, security, economic and socio-cultural integration. Over the years, the membership of the organisation has grown considerably beyond the initial five countries—Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand—to now include ten member states, following the accession of Brunei Darussalam, Viet Nam, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Cambodia. Following the entry into force of the ASEAN Charter on 15 December 2008, ASEAN has evolved into a rules-based intergovernmental organisation. The Charter, as a legally binding instrument, governs various aspects such as legal personality, purposes and functions, organs, principles, rights and obligations, immunities and privileges, decision-making processes and the settlement of disputes. Despite its vast development, since the entry into force of the Charter, no new member state has been admitted to the organisation.
In November 2022, almost 14 years after the entry into force of the Charter, ASEAN agreed in principle to admit Timor-Leste as the 11th member of ASEAN and granted it “observer” status, allowing it to participate in ASEAN activities at all levels without decision-making rights. Since then, Timor-Leste has been proactively working towards its full ASEAN membership by participating in various ASEAN activities such as ministerial meetings, senior official meetings and capacity-building activities. Following the adoption of a roadmap for Timor-Leste’s full membership in 2023 by ASEAN leaders, President José Ramos-Horta has targeted for Timor-Leste to achieve its full ASEAN membership by 2025. However, until the first quarter of 2025, there has been very little progress in Timor-Leste’s admission process to ASEAN, and at the same time, the organisation has yet to establish the admission procedure as required by the Charter, making it legally challenging for the observer to finalise the admission process within this year. This essay will argue that the prescription of an admission procedure is mandatory to ensure ASEAN compliance with the Charter.
Admission of New Members: Before the Charter
The 1967 Bangkok Declaration that established ASEAN did not confer any legally binding rights or obligations on its member states, nor did it grant a legal personality to the organisation. However, it allowed other countries in the region to join ASEAN if they could commit to ASEAN’s core values. The admission of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam was thus an admission to a regional bloc rather than to an intergovernmental organisation with a legal personality.
Prior to the ASEAN Charter entering into force, the admission process to become a new member of ASEAN was straightforward and involved two documents known as the Declaration on the Admission and the Protocol of Accession to ASEAN legal instruments. The first document was co-signed by both the current ASEAN member states (AMS) and the new member state; it simultaneously declared the new country’s full membership and its agreement to accede to all ASEAN legal instruments and declarations. The latter was signed solely by the new member state, confirming its accession to ASEAN legal instruments and declarations. By signing these two documents, the new member state not only became member state but also confirmed its accession to the commitments that had been agreed upon by AMS, as stipulated in all ASEAN legal instruments and declarations.
On the other hand, Timor-Leste’s admission to ASEAN today should be approached differently, given ASEAN’s status as an intergovernmental organisation with legal personality. Since the entry into force of the Charter on 15 December 2008, ASEAN requires its member states to comply with a set of legally binding rights and obligations under international law as stipulated in all of its legal instruments for the purpose of political, security, economic and socio-cultural integration. Moreover, ASEAN integration today is relatively more complex compared to the era before the Charter’s entry into force; it is characterised by the existence of new organs and communities, including new political and legal commitments that possess distinct features, nature, and objectives. The admission of Timor-Leste to ASEAN today is distinct from that of previous AMS due to the new organisational structure and legally binding commitments since the entry into force of the Charter.
Post-Charter: Absence of an Admission Procedure
The admission process of a country to an intergovernmental organisation, in general, is subject to general treaty law. The process itself is not a unilateral act; it requires acceptance/consent by the current member states. Under intergovernmental organisations’ practice, such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organization, the admission process of a new member state is governed by a specific procedure that outlines the request for membership, negotiation, approval and entry into force requirements. In the context of ASEAN, the accession procedure requirements are stipulated in Article 6(1) of the Charter. According to this Article, the ASEAN Coordinating Council (ACC) is tasked with developing a procedure for the application and admission of a new member state to ASEAN. This procedure will serve as formal guidance for the applicant state in preparing the necessary arrangements for its admission process, while at the same time, it will also provide guidance during the negotiation process for both the AMS and the applicant state. However, since the entry into force of its Charter until February 2025, the ACC has not established said procedure. In the absence of such a procedure, Timor-Leste’s admission process is progressing without guidance and could potentially cause confusion. This situation not only jeopardises the predictability of new member state admissions to ASEAN but also endangers the principle of legal certainty and ASEAN’s identity as a rules-based organisation.
Accession to other ASEAN Legal Instruments
ASEAN’s goals are to enhance regional resilience by promoting greater political, security, economic, and socio-cultural cooperation. Consequently, 255 legal instruments have been concluded from 1967 to February 2025. Each of them possesses distinct characteristics, independent rights and obligations, and unique technicalities. They can be categorised into three main community pillars: the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) with 33 instruments, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) with 212 instruments, and the Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) with 10 instruments. Since AMS are parties to all of these legal instruments, it must be understood that ASEAN membership cannot be separated from the commitment to all obligations contained in the said legal instrument. For a state that wishes to become a new ASEAN member, its participation in these legal instruments is mandatory in order to align its rights and obligations with the current AMS. This measure is necessary to ensure that the new member state can integrate smoothly and operate on equal terms with the current AMS within the ASEAN legal framework while pursuing ASEAN integration. Therefore, Timor-Leste’s accession to the above-mentioned legal instruments is essential to guarantee equal treatment under the organisation’s legal framework
The accession process for APSC and ASCC legal instruments is generally less contentious due to their straightforward nature of rights and obligations. However, accession to AEC legal instruments is slightly more complicated because it involves sensitive topics related to the market access of goods and services of the applicant to the ASEAN internal market. This process may require bilateral negotiations with each AMS on matters pertaining to tariff reduction schedules, product-specific rules, schedules of commitments, and special and differential treatment for Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam (the so-called CLMV countries). Considering the number of ASEAN legal instruments and the technicalities of each, the negotiation process to accede to those commitments will require some time to complete. Consequently, Timor-Leste’s accession to the said legal instruments is unlikely to be finalised in the near future. Another key consideration for Timor-Leste’s accession to the legal instruments is its capacity to fulfil all associated rights and obligations. Even if Timor-Leste has formally agreed to accede to these legal instruments, assurance regarding its ability to implement these commitments within its national legal system and jurisdiction is mandatory. Without this assurance, there is a possibility that some or all of the agreed commitments may not be implemented.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Timor-Leste’s application and admission to ASEAN represent a positive outlook for future Southeast Asian integration, solidarity, peace and stability while simultaneously expanding the region’s internal market. However, the completion of Timor-Leste’s full membership in ASEAN by 2025 may not be achievable due to two factors: (1) the absence of a new member state admission procedure and (2) the large number of legal instruments to be acceded to by Timor-Leste. It is important to recognise that a country’s admission to an intergovernmental organisation involves more than just ceremonial acts and political gestures; it also requires the implementation of commitments specified in legal instruments that have been agreed upon by the parties within the organisation’s legal framework. Furthermore, the admission process must also adhere to international law and the legal principles agreed upon by member states, in the case of ASEAN, the 2007 Charter. Therefore, enacting a procedure for the application and admission of new members should be one of ASEAN’s priorities.
Johan Pahlepi is Research Associate at Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore. He served at the ASEAN Secretariat/Headquarters from 2017 to 2024 as the main focal point for the Depositary of all ASEAN Treaties.