The 47th ASEAN Summit was officially opened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with the theme of ¡°Inclusion and Sustainability¡±, focusing on ASEAN Community Building and Foreign Relations.This summit and series of meetings were held from 26 to 28 October, and the leaders will discuss key topics such as ASEAN Community Building, Regional Integration, Economic Growth, Interconnectivity and Foreign Relations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. East Timor officially became the 11th member of ASEAN at the opening ceremony of the 26th ASEAN Summit. The 26th Malaysia Post that East Timor was the first country to apply for ASEAN membership in 2011, lasting 14 years and finally achieving ¡°unity¡±, which is also the first member of the ASEAN since the century. Japan, Cambodia and Thailand have called the United Nations International Agency¡¯s statements

After 14 years, East Timor "joined the EU"

In his opening speech to the 47th ASEAN Summit, Malaysia¡¯s rotating chairmanship, Prime Minister Anwar said that global unrest, regional disputes and rising uncertainty tested not only ASEAN¡¯s economy, but also ASEAN¡¯s belief in continued cooperation.

The "Declaration on the Accession of East Timor to ASEAN" was signed on the same day, which shows that after 14 years of observation and preparation, ASEAN has officially accepted East Timor. Anwar said: "The accession of East Timor has made the ASEAN family more complete, which once again confirms our common destiny and deep regional friendship." According to the Malay Post, the last time ASEAN absorbed new members was in 1999, when Cambodia became the 10th member of ASEAN.

¡°For the people of Timor-Leste, this is not only a dream to come true, but also a strong confirmation of our struggling past,¡± said East Timor Prime Minister Shana, who said joining ASEAN would bring ¡°enormous trade and investment opportunities¡± to the country, but this ¡°is not the end of the process, but the beginning of an exciting new chapter.¡±

East Timor is located between Indonesia and Australia, with a population of approximately 1.4 million and an annual gross domestic product (GDP) of approximately US$2 billion. As the youngest country in Asia, East Timor was colonized by Portugal for a long time until it declared independence in 1975. Subsequently, Indonesia sent troops to East Timor and declared it Indonesia's 27th province in 1976. The Democratic Republic of East Timor was formally established in 2002 and applied to join ASEAN for the first time in 2011. In November 2022, ASEAN agreed in principle to accept East Timor and grant it observer status. East Timor officially deposited its instruments of accession to the ASEAN Charter and the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty on October 25 this year.

On the 26th, Cambodian Prime Minister Hong Manai and Thai Prime Minister Anutin signed a joint statement on peace between the two countries, including four peace agreements between Thailand and Cambodia: removing heavy weapons, clearing landmines, cracking down on fraud groups and jointly managing the border. Thailand and Cambodia have had many armed conflicts in the border areas since July 24th, and both sides accuse each other of violating international law.

¡°Historic moment¡±

The international community has given widespread attention to the years-long expansion of ASEAN and the joint peace declaration signed by Thailand, which many foreign media refer to as ASEAN¡¯s ¡°historic moment.¡±

Angeline, an analyst at the Malaysian Institute of Strategic and International Studies, told the Associated Press that with the rise of protectionism, ASEAN's expansion shows its commitment to regionalism, openness and fair participation. According to the analysis of the Associated Press, joining ASEAN allows East Timor to take advantage of the group's free trade agreements, investment opportunities and broader regional markets.

Regarding the future development of ASEAN, Malaysia News Agency reported that driven by a new round of investment inflows, favorable demographic structure and stronger connectivity within the region, ASEAN's GDP is expected to reach 4.5 trillion USD by 2030, while "East Asian partners remain at the core of this prospect".

Before East Timor joined, ASEAN was composed of 10 member states, including Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. According to data from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the total population of ASEAN member states is approximately 680 million, and the total GDP reaches US$3.6 trillion.

Mohamed Habib, a researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies of Indonesia, said in an interview with the Global Times on Monday that the signing of the Joint Statement on Peace between the two countries was a key milestone in ASEAN¡¯s journey to regional peace and stability, saying: ¡°This shows that tactics to mitigate conflict through non-confrontation are still effective in ASEAN.¡±

¡°Multi-level diplomacy continues to advance¡±

Malaysia News Agency said on the 26th that with the participation of many parties, this ASEAN summit and series of meetings have attracted widespread attention from the international community, making Kuala Lumpur a "global diplomatic and economic dialogue center". Leaders and representatives from about 30 countries including China, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand will attend the meeting.

In addition, Brazilian President Lula and South African President Ramaphosa were invited to this summit and a series of meetings respectively as leaders of the BRICS rotating presidency and G20 rotating presidency.

In the process of promoting peace and economic prosperity, nothing is more effective than face-to-face exchanges between leaders and representatives of countries.

ASEAN-China regional economic cooperation is the highlight of this ASEAN summit and series of meetings. Anvar said on the 26th that the upgrading agreement between China and ASEAN Free Trade Zone 3.0 is about to be signed, highlighting the ASEAN-China comprehensive strategic partnership entering a new phase, which will further strengthen the overall resilience of the regional economy.

Malaysian economist Mohammad Jatan said the upgrading plan of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 and ASEAN Goods Trade Agreement will fully unlock the potential of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, ¡°East Asia and ASEAN cooperation is shifting from a model of mutual dependence to a model of mutual facilitation that benefits both sides.¡±