October 27, 2025
KUALA LUMPUR/JAKARTA – Timor-Leste’s long-awaited admission into ASEAN and United States President Donald Trump’s attendance, his first since returning to office, have dominated the first day of the bloc’s 47th summit on Sunday, when its members reiterated the importance of unity and cooperation amid rising global tensions.
Leaders of Southeast Asian nations, including President Prabowo Subianto, convened in Kuala Lumpur over the weekend for the three-day summit hosted under Malaysia’s chairmanship, as the regional grouping seeks to regain its footing after several bruising months of tariffs and other trade uncertainties.
This year’s summit marks a milestone for ASEAN as it welcomed Timor-Leste, Asia’s youngest nation, as its newest member, completing Southeast Asia’s geographical representation and marking the bloc’s first expansion in 26 years since Cambodia’s admission in 1999.
The accession was formalized through the signing of the Declaration on the Admission of Timor-Leste into ASEAN during the opening ceremony of the annual summit on Sunday, when applause rang out as the country’s flag was placed alongside those of other member states.
“[Timor-Leste]’s place here completes the ASEAN family – reaffirming our shared destiny and deep sense of regional kinship. Within this community, Timor-Leste’s development and its strategic autonomy will find firm and lasting support,” Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in his opening speech.
Timor-Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, who shed tears of joy after the signing, expressed gratitude to all ASEAN nations, describing his country’s accession as a “dream realized” and a powerful affirmation of the Timorese people’s journey of resilience.
“Timor-Leste joins with humility and with pride, fully embracing core values of ASEAN: mutual respect, peaceful cooperation, unity in diversity and regional solidarity,” he said in his speech.
Indonesia has been one of Timor-Leste’s strongest advocates since it first applied for membership in 2011. During its ASEAN chairmanship in 2023, Jakarta secured a landmark decision granting Timor-Leste observer status while preparing for full membership.
During the closed-door plenary session of the summit, Prabowo welcomed Timor-Leste as ASEAN’s 11th member and called on Southeast Asian nations to strengthen unity and cooperation as the region faces rising global tensions and economic uncertainty.
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“ASEAN unity must also be reflected through stronger coordination, integration and transformation in our economies to prepare for future challenges,” Prabowo said, as quoted from a press release from his office.
In addition to Southeast Asian leaders, attendees include US President Trump, who arrived and was welcomed by Anwar at the airport on Sunday morning, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Diplomacy in transit
Marking another first, Trump’s attendance at the summit has drawn global attention, after he repeatedly skipped ASEAN gatherings during his first term and amid perceptions of a waning US interest in Southeast Asia.
Soon after landing in Kuala Lumpur, Trump marked his ASEAN debut by cosigning with Malaysia the expanded Thailand-Cambodia ceasefire, a deal he said he had “proudly brokered” en route to Kuala Lumpur.
He then quickly turned to business, signing critical mineral pacts with ASEAN partners such as Malaysia and Thailand, in a move widely seen as part of Washington’s ongoing contest with Beijing for influence in the sector.
Later, addressing the now-eleven leaders of Southeast Asia, Trump pledged his administration’s continuing commitment to the region, emphasizing his interest in deepening economic and security cooperation with its members.
“The US is with you 100 percent. And we intend to be a strong partner and friend for many generations to come,” Trump said in his speech at the 13th ASEAN-US Summit. “It is really a pleasure to be with all of you in Southeast Asia – some of America’s most important allies, countries and partners.”
Yet, while Trump and his delegation billed the visit as evidence of America’s renewed focus on ASEAN, analysts say they remain uncertain whether the appearance signals a lasting commitment to the bloc or simply a diplomatic stopover ahead of his anticipated meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Gyeongju, South Korea.
“I’m skeptical about any shifts in the US foreign policy outlook,” international relations expert Ahmad Rizky M. Umar from Aberystwyth University told The Jakarta Post. “There is still a lot of momentum for ASEAN to assert its diplomacy while also strengthening its institutional capacity. The issues and nations of this region are larger than Trump’s meeting with Xi.