Indonesia backs E Timor's ASEAN membership bid 

Monday, 17 January 2010

The Daily Star

 Indonesia yesterday voiced support for East Timor's bid to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

"ASEAN now has 10 members and we've heard that Timor Leste wishes to join and we openly support it," Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa told reporters, using the country's official name.

There has been no formal discussion on the membership yet "but Timor Leste has already conveyed its wish openly", he said at a retreat for the regional bloc's foreign ministers on the island of Lombok.

His comments demonstrate how the relationship between Jakarta and Dili has improved in recent years.