Timor-Leste dismisses Myanmar objection to its ASEAN membership

Originally published on UCA News

Timor-Leste has dismissed Myanmar’s reported objection to it becoming the 11th member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as “inconsequential and irrelevant.”

Myanmar has formally objected to Timor-Leste’s accession to the Southeast Asian regional bloc, accusing Dili of violating the bloc’s core principle of non-interference in internal affairs of other nations, media reported on July 2.

President José Ramos-Horta dismissed the accusation as inconsequential, while reaffirming that the path to full membership of ASEAN has already been secured.