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New Straits Times

[UPDATED] Mohamad: Asean supportive, but Timor-Leste must show commitment

KUALA LUMPUR: Timor-Leste must work "doubly hard" to secure full membership in Asean, including adopting the necessary guidelines related to Asean legal instruments under the Asean Foreign Ministers' (AFM) framework. Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said that while the economic bloc is keen to assist Timor-Leste, the country must also demonstrate its own commitment. "We will do our best to facilitate Timor-Leste's accession, because the majority of us (in Asean) want to see the country as part of the family. Now, Timor-Leste must work hard to fulfil and comply with the instruments (under the AFM framework), and we will try our best to assist them," he said. Mohamad said Malaysia, as Asean Chairman, has proposed that Timor-Leste be admitted into the economic bloc as its newest member this year, despite the country not yet having fulfilled all 84 of the bloc's legal instruments. He said Malaysia sees it as important for Timor-Leste to become part of the Asean family, and that the country should be given several years to meet all the legal instruments required for full compliance. "There are still many legal instruments that Timor-Leste must adopt, and from what we have seen, the number has been reduced from 84 to 66 — most of which fall under the purview of the Asean Economic Community Council. "At the same time, we are also exploring proposals that, if full compliance is not yet possible, Timor-Leste could be allowed to join first with a timeline set to fulfil the remaining conditions later," he said. He also said Asean will now begin undertaking their respective domestic legal procedures with the aim of finalising Timor-Leste's accession process by the 47th Asean Summit and Related Summits in October 2025. This, he said, follows the adoption of the Addendum to the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) Treaty and its deposit with Thailand as the Depositary State. Meanwhile, asked about claims that the Philippines was blocking Timor-Leste's accession to Asean, Mohamad briefly said such claims were merely rumours. "Do not listen to rumours — there is no truth to it."