ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Marcos joins leaders in signing declaration of Timor-Leste's ASEAN membership

Marcos joins leaders in signing declaration of Timor-Leste's ASEAN membership

Published Oct 26, 2025 04:38 pm
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. joins ASEAN leaders in signing of the declaration marking Timor-Leste’s official admission into ASEAN on Oct. 26, 2025 at the 47th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Mark Balmores)
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. joins ASEAN leaders in signing of the declaration marking Timor-Leste’s official admission into ASEAN on Oct. 26, 2025 at the 47th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Mark Balmores)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—President Marcos has joined nine other leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in signing the declaration on the admission of Timor-Leste into the regional bloc as its 11th member.
Marcos welcomed Timor-Leste’s accession, describing it as a significant milestone that reaffirms ASEAN’s enduring commitment to unity, inclusivity, and regional solidarity.
"Today marks a historic milestone for Southeast Asia as we officially welcome Timor-Leste into the ASEAN family. Its admission reflects our region’s collective commitment to unity, cooperation, and shared prosperity," Marcos said in a statement.

"As we open the 47th ASEAN Summit, the Philippines stands ready to work with all member states to build a more inclusive, secure and sustainable future for our people," Marcos added.
As ASEAN’s newest member, Timor-Leste is expected to further strengthen regional cooperation in key areas such as economic growth, people-to-people exchanges, and regional integration.
According to Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro, Timor-Leste, like every ASEAN member, will now have shared goals as its fellow members in relations to economy and security, among others.
"Alam naman po natin na ang bawat miyembro ng ASEAN ay meron po silang mga goal, shared goals patungkol sa ekonomiya, sa security, so asahan po natin lahat ng miyembro ng ASEAN, including na po ang bansang Timor Leste ay pare-pareho po na gagawa at gagawin dito sa ganitong klaseng roles po (We all know that each member of ASEAN has its own shared goals when it comes to the economy and security. So we can expect that all ASEAN members, including Timor-Leste, will take on and perform roles of this kind)," Castro said in a press briefing on the sidelines of the summit.
Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão were present during the historic signing on Sunday, Oct. 26 at the 47th ASEAN Summit.
Timor-Leste, located in the eastern part of the island of Timor, first applied for ASEAN membership in 2011.
In 2022, ASEAN leaders agreed in principle to admit Timor-Leste as a member, granting it observer status and participation rights in ASEAN meetings.
Following the successful implementation of a comprehensive roadmap covering the political-security, economic, and socio-cultural pillars, Timor-Leste’s formal admission in October 2025 marks the culmination of this process, underscoring ASEAN’s continuing commitment to inclusivity and shared prosperity across the region.

Related Tags

President Marcos ASEAN Summit Timor-Leste
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.