ASEAN should aim for South China Sea of peace, Timor-Leste president says

Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta discussed ASEAN's future and the challenges it faces during his recent visit to Jakarta, alongside 10 Nobel laureates and four Turing Award winners. The president joked that joining ASEAN was more difficult than going to heaven, emphasizing the high standards the bloc sets for new members in terms of political security, economic growth, and sociocultural development.

Beyond these initial requirements, Ramos-Horta highlighted the challenges of aligning a country's laws and regulations with international treaties, such as the WTO, which can be a significant undertaking. He also mentioned the importance of investing in human capital to meet these standards, noting that Timor-Leste had been allocating resources to send top talent abroad since 2009, when the nation began benefiting from oil and gas revenues.

By the time ASEAN gave its approval, Timor-Leste's development level was already surpassing that of Cambodia, which had joined the bloc at the time.