Should East Timor join ASEAN?

In March this year, East Timor officially submitted its application to the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) secretariat to join the organization. If the application is successful, Timor Leste will become ASEAN`s 11^th member.

To date East Timor’s application has gained considerable support from a number of the ASEAN member states like Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Philippine, Malaysia including Indonesia, the former occupier of East Timor from 1975-1999. Indonesia has been vocal in advocating for East Timor’s bid to join ASEAN despite the historical animosity between the two countries, dating back to East Timor’s separation from Indonesia in 1999.

However, East Timor’s chance of joining ASEAN has been increasingly uncertain after Singapore voiced its objection. It is argued that currently East Timor is still experiencing a lack of capable human resources which enable the country to effectively take part in at least the 1000 or more ASEAN meetings that are held annually. They further argued that economically East Timor is not ready to compete both regionally and internationally, hence preparations are needed prior to the ascension.

The assumption is that any hasty decision to welcome East-Timor into ASEAN will further burden the organization which is being overwhelmed by problems faced by some of its members, in particular Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia.

Like any organization the acceptance of any member has to be approved by all member countries. Article 6 (3) of the ASEAN Charter states that “admission shall be decided by consensus by the ASEAN Summit, upon the recommendation of the ASEAN Coordinating Council.” This implies that for East Timor to be accepted into ASEAN, consensus has to be reached amongst all member countries of ASEAN. This also suggests that East-Timor must also fulfill all criteria prescribed by ASEAN for the membership to be fully considered.

Amongst the opinions being circulated, some argue that East Timor should be incorporated into ASEAN now rather than later. Writing in the Jakarta post on 5 May 2011, Dewi Fortuna Anwar, Research Professor at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) argued that currently East Timor is blessed with oil and gas, and enjoys the goodwill and support of the international community. Furthermore, with the functioning democracy that has taken roots in East Timor, the country will definitely have no trouble with ASEAN values prescribed in the Charter.

Similar arguments are made by East Timor president, Jose Ramos Horta. Writing in the East Asia Forum on 16 May 2011, Horta argued that since achieving independence in 2002, East Timor has made significant progress in areas of human rights, good governance, human rights, foreign relations, social, economic, political and security conditions. According to Horta, in comparison with countries like Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, East Timor has performed extremely well and is on the right track to achieve the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) 2015.

From East Timor’s point of view, the ascension to ASEAN will help East Timor to gain a greater access to ASEAN markets, increase trade and accelerate economic development, which is vital to poverty alleviation.

Regardless of any opinion on this subject, there are a number of good reasons of why East Timor should not rush to join ASEAN.

First it is often argued that the East Timor’s ascension to ASEAN will further strengthen democratic principles and respect for human rights. While trade and economic cooperation is making headway, ASEAN has been criticized for intransigence when it comes to human rights issue. For instance, Chia Thye Poh was the Singapore's longest-held political prisoner. He was arrested in 1966 without charge until the restrictions limiting his civil and political rights were lifted in 1998. Adding to that the suppression of human rights activists (eg Aung San Suu Kyi) and persecution of ethnic minority groups (eg the Chin, Rohingya and Karen) in Burma under the JUNTA regime is a clear violation of the ASEAN charter, and yet none of these issues has been properly addressed by ASEAN forum.

Other issues include human trafficking, money laundering, child prostitution and others. Despite adhering to human rights principles, ASEAN failed to address those issues. The policy of appeasement towards one another subsequently caused one observer to label ASEAN as “big on words but small on action” (BBC, 2010). The concept of Asian values has often been used as a justification to counter western criticisms against ASEAN’s inaction on those issues.

Furthermore, the inability of ASEAN to resolve the regional tensions (eg the recent conflict between Cambodia and Thailand) clearly demonstrates some of the weaknesses on the part of ASEAN to effectively deal with its members and foster peace and security within the region.

Unlike the European Union where most of its members share a lot of common feature s– politically, socially and culturally, ASEAN member countries are more apprehensive towards each other. The preamble to the ASEAN charter clearly states that “respecting the fundamental importance of amity and cooperation, and the principles of sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity, non-interference, consensus and unity in diversity.” That suggests that any member country should refrain from criticizing the internal affairs of every member country.

Second East Timor’s major infrastructure such as public transports, communication, financial institutions and other government services remain underdeveloped. These problems will further undermine the country’s ability to improve its global competitiveness and attract foreign direct investment which is vital for economic growth. All of these problems have been highlighted in the recent United Nations Development Reports in 2011.

Today 90 percent of the state’s budget is funded by oil revenues. On the contrary, most non-oil sectors such as forestry, fishery, agriculture, tourism and others have not been properly developed. Almost all essential goods - building materials, food items, clothing, medicines and others - are imported from overseas. The over reliance on imported goods has pushed prices up, creating the so called “Dutch disease” syndrome.

Right now investment law and other trade arrangements remain weak or even non-existent. One immediate consequence of this will be that East Timor might become a dumping ground for cheap goods from other ASEAN member countries. This has been a major problem for many emerging economies where governments are unable to control the operation of market forces.

Economically East Timor has not produced manufactured goods which would allow the country to engage in trade with other member countries of ASEAN. Though East Timor is famous for its organic coffee, the coffee production is considered minuscule and has not generated massive revenue to the country. Lack of support to engage farmers in productive farming activities has reduced the country’s ability to engage in major exporting activity.

Third, some suggest that East-Timor’s ascension to ASEAN will bring positive outcomes for the country. Nonetheless, it must be noted that right now ASEAN is pushing towards stabilizing the so called ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 2015, aiming at creating economic integration in the region by 2015. This economic integration suggests that all ASEAN member states will give up some of its political, social and cultural rights. These include relaxation of trade restrictions, movement of goods and services as well as people.

While some will argue that such a move would be positive for economic development, it would also generate a number of problems including increased human trafficking, money laundering, illegal drug trading, environmental issues or even international terrorism. A survey carried out by the Alola foundation in 2004 revealed that human trafficking has been a major problem in East Timor since gaining independence. Human traffickers used sophisticated networks and empty promise s such as promising well-paid jobs in other countries to lure victims. Though the government has taken some efforts to address the issue, poverty and unemployment provide a breeding ground for such recruitment.

Last the increased number of foreign nationals is another issue. Since 2002, there has been a large influx of foreign nationals - Chinese, Indias, Indonesian, Philippino, Vietnamese and others – coming to do business in East Timor despite sometimes being only on tourist visas. Some foreign nationals even appropriate lands in the country even though such practices are forbidden under the East Timor constitution. Almost all well-paid construction work in East Timor have been monopolized by foreign workers leaving the East Timorese to do the underpaid works. These problems will continue to pose challenges to the country if not properly addressed.

If East Timor is serious about joining ASEAN, it must address these challenges. Failure to do so will further undermine East Timor’s future economic development programme. ASEAN membership will provide solutions to all the problems currently being faced.

Perhaps East Timor should learn from the fact that presently some European countries like Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and many others have never been part of the European Union, and yet these countries have developed sophisticated trade agreements with most UE members which in turn bring mutual economic benefits. Therefore, instead of rushing to join ASEAN, East Timor should ask itself what membership of ASEAN would actually achieve for it.