Challenges and Threats to ASEAN's Security on the Way to East Timor's Accession to the Association

The article is devoted to the analysis of the successes and failures of East Timor on the way to joining ASEAN, summarizes the results of the first two decades of independence and analyzes the concerns of the rest of the Southeast Asian countries regarding a new participant in international relations in the region. There is no consensus about the real reasons that East Timor has not yet become an ASEAN member. In 2002, the reason for the young state's refusal of membership was insufficient economic development particularly the country was able to open embassies only in two capitals of the ASEAN countries – Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta. Indonesia initially advocated the entry of its former 27th province into the Association. Laos and Singapore opposed it, but since 2018, Singapore has openly declared that it supports East Timor's accession to ASEAN as a full eleventh member. Nevertheless, a whole complex of problems and contradictions does not allow the ASEAN countries to accept a new member into the ranks of the Association.