‘This is history’: tears as East Timor completes journey into Asean

South China Morning PostCenterEN 1 min read 100% complete by Iman Muttaqin YusofOctober 26, 2025 at 09:06 AM

AI Summary

short article 1 min

East Timor officially became the 11th member of ASEAN at the 47th summit held in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, more than a decade after its initial application in 2011. The ceremony marked a significant milestone for East Timor, symbolizing its integration into the broader regional community. Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao delivered an acceptance speech during the event, which also featured emotional reactions from Timorese journalists witnessing their country's flag raised alongside other ASEAN nations' flags. This addition makes East Timor the first new member to join ASEAN since Cambodia in 1999. The summit focused on regional trade, security, and unity amid global power rivalries between China and the United States.

Key Topics & Entities

China 50% US 50% Malaysia 70% Andre Paulo 70% Xanana Gusmao ×280% Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre ×280% East Timor ×6100% Asean ×4100%

Keywords

asean 100% east timor 100% southeast asian nations 90% kuala lumpur convention centre 80% 47th summit 80% regional security 60% power rivalries 50% xanana gusmao 50% china and the united states 50% belonging inside a wider regional community 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Very Positive

Score: 0.80

Source Transparency

Source

South China Morning Post

Political Lean

Center (0.10)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

East Timor

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

Topic Connections

Explore how the topics in this article connect to other news stories

No topic relationship data available yet. This graph will appear once topic relationships have been computed.

asean east timor southeast asian nations kuala lumpur convention centre 47th summit regional security power rivalries xanana gusmao china and the united states belonging inside a wider regional community

Explore Full Topic Graph