ASEAN Sentiment on Timor-Leste's Admission
Based on the State of Southeast Asia: 2025 Survey Report by the ASEAN Studies Centre at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, opinions across ASEAN regarding Timor-Leste's membership are varied:
- Proceed as Planned (Status Quo): Nearly half (44.5%) of respondents from the current 10 ASEAN member states prefer to follow the existing roadmap, admitting Timor-Leste when it is deemed ready. This is the majority view in almost all member countries.
- Accelerate Admission: Vietnam is a notable exception, with 53.5% of its respondents believing Timor-Leste is ready now and advocating for faster admission.
- Delay Admission: About 21.4% of ASEAN-10 respondents feel admission should be delayed because Timor-Leste has not yet met the requirements set out in the roadmap. Support for delaying is higher than average in Singapore (29.8%).
- Reverse Admission: Only a small fraction (4.1%) believe the admission should be reversed due to concerns it might burden ASEAN. This view had the highest support in Laos (6.0%).
Timor-Leste's Perspective:
- Respondents from Timor-Leste itself largely favour accelerating their admission (62.1%).
- A smaller group (24.2%) agrees with proceeding as per the current roadmap (status quo).
- Another 13.6% feel that admission might need to be delayed because the country is not yet fully prepared.
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