Timor-Leste, formerly known as East Timor, will have no problem joining the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), according to officials of the 12th ASEAN Summit.

In a press conference at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) Tuesday afternoon, Summit Spokesman Ambassador Vic Lecaros said that as the youngest nation in the region, "it is just a matter of time" before Timor-Leste would become a full-fledged member of ASEAN.

Lecaros said that the attendance of Timor-Leste Prime Minister Jose Ramos Horta means that "ASEAN is good enough to join in."

He said that since Timor-Leste shares the same characteristics as the rest of the members of ASEAN, the former Portuguese colony would "not be an odd man out among us."

Lecaros said that Timor-Leste, through Prime Minister Horta, would first sign the ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit, which is the first step toward formally joining ASEAN.

According to Lecaros, the five other nations that joined ASEAN went through the same process.

Brunei Darussalam joined ASEAN on Jan. 8, l984, Vietnam on July 28, 1995, Laos and Myanmar on July 23, 1997, and Cambodia on April 30, l999.

The first five members are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

(Xinhua News Agency January 10, 2007)