ARTICLES

15 Aug 2025

What Can Timor-Leste Bring to ASEAN?

Julia Lau|Sharon Seah

The debut of Timorese respondents in the 2025 State of Southeast Asia survey reveals their sentiments pertaining to a challenging geopolitical landscape and hints at the potential value that the incoming eleventh member can bring to ASEAN.

14 Jul 2025

Myanmar’s Opposition to Timor-Leste’s ASEAN Membership

Max Lane

ASEAN faces an intriguing test of its own decision-making procedures, as consensus might be elusive given the apparent obstruction of one member to the full accession of its eleventh member.

ASEAN Myanmar Timor-Leste

27 Feb 2025

Introducing Timor-Leste

Alex Tilman

Fulcrum editor Julia Lau speaks to Ambassador Alex Tilman about Timor-Leste's imminent accession to ASEAN and its implications. They delve into aspects of Timor-Leste's identity as a Lusophone, small island, and majority Catholic nation-state.

ASEAN Dialogues at Fulcrum Timor-Leste

17 Feb 2025

Timor-Leste Bets on Online Gambling

Isabelle Chua

If the Timorese government can manage the potential negatives arising from allowing online gambling to be hosted in Timor-Leste, the returns from this bet could uplift the country’s fledgling economy.

Economy Gambling Online Timor-Leste

12 Jul 2024

Timor Leste’s First Quarter Century: Opportunities and Challenges

Hal Hill|Brett Inder

Having enjoyed 25 years as an independent entity, Timor Leste has a lot to celebrate. But there are major economic challenges.

Economic Development Timor-Leste

27 Feb 2024

Talking about Timor-Leste with Udan Fernando

Udan Fernando

Fulcrum editor Julia Lau sits down with Dr Udan Fernando, former Executive Director (2012-2020) of the Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA), a Sri Lankan think tank. Based in Singapore and working as a consultant with the Association for Asian Studies (AAS), Udan is currently working on a project to develop under-represented scholars in the humanities and social sciences in Cambodia, India, Pakistan, Timor-Leste and Thailand.

ASEAN Dialogues at Fulcrum Timor-Leste

11 Apr 2023

Short-Term Pain for Long-Term Gain: Tax Reforms for Timor-Leste’s Trade Integration with ASEAN

Sithanonxay Suvannaphakdy|Pham Thi Phuong Thao

Timor-Leste’s prospective ASEAN membership will potentially deliver both the benefits of expanded trade and losses in trade tax revenues. The latter can be avoided through a clear-cut strategy of tax reforms along with a trade-related adjustment programme.

ASEAN Timor-Leste

13 Feb 2023

Widodo Government Acknowledges Gross Human Rights Violations Happened: The Unstoppable Erosion of a Fundamental Taboo

Max Lane

President Joko Widodo’s recent acknowledgement of certain human rights violations in Indonesia took many by surprise. It may prove to kickstart a true national reckoning with one of the darkest periods of the country’s history.

Human Rights Indonesia Timor-Leste

8 Feb 2023

Why is Timor-Leste Important for ASEAN?

João da Cruz Cardoso

João da Cruz Cardoso emphasises the strategic importance of Timor-Leste’s accession to ASEAN.

ASEAN ASEANFocus Timor-Leste

25 Jul 2022

No Room at the Inn? ASEAN Should Not Delay Timor-Leste’s Membership

Julia Lau

Timor-Leste hopes to become a fully-fledged ASEAN member in 2023 when Indonesia takes over as ASEAN Chair. The regional grouping should allow its admission, even if embracing this newest member, the most democratic in the region by some measures, might prove to be uncomfortable.

ASEAN Timor-Leste