Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen expressed his country`s support for Timor Leste`s application in his speech at the ASEAN Summit`s first plenary session saying the tiny state was located in Southeast Asia.
"Cambodia welcomes East Timor`s application to be a member of ASEAN as East Timor is located in Southeast Asia," he said.
East Timor`s aspiration to join ASEAN was officially known since December 2010 when East Timorese Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao expressed his country`s wish at the third Bali Democracy Forum.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono himself had hinted his support for Timor Leste to join the 10-member regional organization at his meeting with Xanana Gusmao at the Merdeka Palace here on March 22, 2011.
For Indonesia, the acceptance of East Timor was believed not to affect the ASEAN`s efforts to create its regional economic integration, widely known as the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), by 2015.
By that time, ASEAN was expected to have such characteristics as "a single market and production base, a highly competitive economic region, a region of equitable economic development, and a region fully integrated into the global economy".
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa argued that ASEAN had experience in dealing with the economic gaps among its member countries.
Apart from Indonesia`s optimism, Guspiabri Sumowigeno, director of political studies at the Center for Indonesian National Policy Studies (CINAPS), has asked Jakarta`s wisdom in responding to East Timor`s wish to gain full ASEAN membership.
East Timor`s entrance into ASEAN could potentially disrupt the ASEAN`s integration process if there were no significantly economic improvements in the country with unproven political stability.
"With East Timor`s entry, ASEAN`s image can be affected in the eyes of the world community," he said.
ASEAN had so far been regarded as a regional organization that had been quite successful in fostering its member states` economic development, he said.
Instead of forcing itself to join ASEAN, East Timor was suggested to develop an economic cooperation with Indonesia if it needed an access to ASEAN`s economic progress, he said.
The economic integrity model that could be adopted by East Timor was the one used by France and Monaco because despite the fact that Monaco was not an EU member country, it could still enjoy the EU`s economic benefits.
In this context, Guspiabri Sumowigeno said Indonesia and East Timor could look at an economic integrity scheme, which will allow free capital flow, people, goods, and services as well as use of Rupiah currency in East Timor.
The 18th ASEAN Summit, held at the Jakarta Convention Center, will end on Sunday. Besides Indonesia and Cambodia, the regional grouping is also joined by Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam.
(R013/H-YH)
Editor: Suryanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
