Since Timor-Leste was granted official observer status and received in-principle approval to become a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) during the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits in Cambodia in 2022, the nation has moved slowly toward membership in the 10-nation bloc. Last May, at the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, … Read more
The view from the old fortress in Balibo is of the Savu Sea and volcanic slopes consisting of sun-torched branches and eroded soil. Children of war-plagued parents play here, running along the boulders that the Indonesian invaders sprayed with bullets that day in late 1975 when Timor-Leste was overrun by the Indonesian army and pro-Indonesian … Read more
Advertisement Amid Southeast Asia’s democratic backsliding, Timor-Leste’s success is impressive. In May, the country elected a new parliament. In July, power was transferred peacefully from Fretilin to a National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT)-led coalition headed by Xanana Gusmao. This was the country’s sixth parliamentary election since its independence from Indonesia in 2002, during which … Read more
Advertisement The recent agreement between Timor-Leste and China to upgrade their bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership draws plenty of reactions. Many speculated about what the agreement means for the political and security situation in the Asia-Pacific, particularly for Timor-Leste’s close neighbor Australia, which sees the region as its sphere of influence. Seen through … Read more
Advertisement Last month, Xanana Gusmao, the prime minister of Timor-Leste, the youngest nation in Southeast Asia, reaffirmed his country’s stance that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has to resolve the human rights crisis in Myanmar and that it would not accept the military junta regime. The comment was later backed up by Timor-Leste’s … Read more
Advertisement A Philippine university professor who became a peace negotiator and helped ease decades of Muslim insurgency violence in her country and an Indian doctor who chose to work in a far-flung rural region to reach poor cancer patients desperately in need of medical help were among those who won this year’s Ramon Magsaysay Awards … Read more
Advertisement Myanmar’s military government has ordered Timor-Leste’s senior diplomat to leave the country in retaliation for a meeting that his government held with the opposition National Unity Government (NUG). On Sunday, the junta’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it had informed the charge d’affaires of the country’s embassy in Yangon on Friday to leave … Read more
ASEAN Beat | Politics | Southeast Asia In parliamentary elections in May, the veteran leader capitalized on widespread discontent with the outgoing Freitilin government. New East Timorese Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao delivers a speech during his inauguration in Dili, the capital of East Timor, Saturday, July 1, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Lorenio L. Pereira Advertisement Former Timor-Leste independence fighter Xanana … Read more
ASEAN Beat | Politics | Southeast Asia A parliamentary election and the climax of a month of independence celebrations came and went last weekend in Asia’s youngest nation. People queue up to give their votes during the parliamentary election, at a polling station in Dili, East Timor, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Lorenio L.Pereira Advertisement A parliamentary election … Read more
Advertisement Timor-Leste’s opposition party won Sunday’s parliamentary election, meaning independence fighter Xanana Gusmao is likely to return as prime minister in Asia’s youngest democracy. The final vote count released by the National Elections Commission on Tuesday showed Gusmao’s National Congress of the Reconstruction of Timor-Leste, known as CNRT, won 41 percent of the votes and … Read more