East Timor

    3 September 2026
    Pedestrians hold parasols to cope with a heat wave in Tokyo on July 15: Forecasters are predicting the El Nino weather phenomenon will intensify, pushing up temperatures in much of Asia.
    Tech groups and Japanese authorities and businesses launched the Japan Anti-Scam Alliance in Tokyo on Aug. 26. (Photo by Tsubasa Suruga)
    Cybersecurity

    Google, OpenAI, Meta, TikTok team up with Japan to fight scams

    Public-private initiative targets fraud linked to Cambodia, Myanmar, other hubs

    26 August 2026
    Cambodia has cracked down heavily on scam centers.
    Crime

    AI cuts costs for Southeast Asia-based scammers

    US-driven clampdowns drive fraud groups from Cambodia to countries like Sri Lanka

    21 August 2026
    East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta speaks during an online interview on June 11. He said a deal to develop the Greater Sunrise gas field between his nation and Australia might be finalized next month.
    Interview

    East Timor president says massive gas project development close to deal

    Ramos-Horta predicts Greater Sunrise field agreement could be signed in July

    12 June 2026
    East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta delivers a speech online at Nikkei's Future of Asia forum in Tokyo on June 11. (Photo by Sae Kamae) 
    Future of Asia 2026

    Fragile countries 'want to look up' to China, US: East-Timor president

    Ramos-Horta stresses importance of leadership and diplomacy amid Iran, Ukraine and Myanmar conflicts

    11 June 2026
    Decades of chewing tobacco together with betel nut has left telltale stains around Madalena Soares' mouth. The Dili resident, 67, has now broken her tobacco habit but still sells it to others from her stall in Taibesi Market in the East Timorese capital. (Photo by Silvino Freitas)
    Big in Asia

    In East Timor, tobacco still draws in new smokers

    Embedded in culture, the habit is hard to break for ASEAN's poorest member

    7 March 2026
    Coffee bags produced by the Letefoho Specialty Coffee Roaster cafe have become souvenirs. (Photo by Dimas Ardian)
    Agriculture

    Japan NGOs help East Timor grow Letefoho coffee exports

    Groups provide assistance to farmers of specialty bean in newest ASEAN member

    14 December 2025
    East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta, left, and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, right, appear alongside Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, this year’s ASEAN chair, at a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 26, marking Timor-Leste’s formal accession as ASEAN’s 11th member. 
    Comment

    Why bringing East Timor into ASEAN cuts both ways

    Poor yet fiercely democratic, the bloc's 11th member could prove a divisive force

    7 December 2025
    ASEAN leaders welcome East Timor's accession to the group in Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 26, some 14 years after the nation of 1.4 million people submitted its application, aiming to use membership to open up trading opportunities.
    Policy Asia

    Dream or mirage? East Timor starts life in ASEAN as trade clouds gather

    Infrastructure, law, jobs concerns remain; diversification urged as oil fund drains

    31 October 2025
    Left to right, East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, and ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn attend a signing ceremony for East Timor's admission into ASEAN on Oct. 26. (Photo by Norman Goh)
    International relations

    Trump deals and East Timor debut: 5 takeaways from ASEAN Summit

    Washington seeks 'battle of optics' edge as China stresses economic weight

    28 October 2025
    The logo for the ASEAN summit is displayed at the event's venue in Kuala Lumpur. (Photo by Norman Goh)
    International relations

    East Timor makes 'historic' entry into ASEAN as bloc faces test of unity

    Three-day summit kicks off in Malaysia amid rising internal and external challenges

    26 October 2025
    East Timor, Southeast Asia's youngest nation and one of its poorest, relies heavily on an oil fund to support the economy. The country's leaders tell Nikkei Asia of plans to develop other sectors. (Photo by Dimas Ardian)
    Economy

    East Timor faces uphill task to cut oil dependence and create jobs

    PM cites plan to set up National Development Bank to support new priority sectors

    23 October 2025
    Students protest near the parliamentary complex in Dili, East Timor, on Sept. 25. "It's important for the youth, anywhere in the world, to take a stand against injustice," one said. (Photo by Dimas Ardian)
    Politics

    Protests roil East Timor as economic dissatisfaction grows

    Wealth gap, injustice fuel student-led rallies in Southeast Asia's youngest nation

    30 September 2025
    Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is making upgraded versions of its Mogami-class frigate for the Royal Australian Navy.  (Photo by Shinnosuke Nagatomi)
    Defense

    Japan doubles security aid recipients, adding Sri Lanka, Thailand

    5 Indo-Pacific nations to join eligibility list as China concerns grow

    21 June 2025
    Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the chief of Myanmar's military government, presides over a parade. He has declined to engage fully with ASEAN to secure a lasting ceasefire in the country's protracted civil war.
    Myanmar Crisis

    ASEAN set to create permanent Myanmar envoy in bid to end crisis

    Leaders to approve role after annual appointments fail to achieve breakthrough

    26 May 2025
    Truong My Lan attends a trial in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on Apr. 11. The property tycoon was sentenced to death after being convicted of financial fraud.
    Your Week in Asia

    Vietnam death penalty case, China business gauge, India rate decision

    Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

    1 December 2024
    East Timorese Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao attends the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane on Oct. 10. The country is set to become the 11th ASEAN member, and the first new member since Cambodia joined in 1999.
    International relations

    ASEAN to shorten track to accept East Timor as new member

    Leaders agree to ease some rules as group is likely to become 11 nations in 2025

    11 October 2024
    Beijing is receiving one Southeast Asian dignitary after another this week, as the government seeks to shore up ties in the region. (Photo by Mizuho Miyazaki)
    International relations

    China hosts Vietnam, Laos, East Timor ministers in ASEAN outreach

    After Indonesia's Prabowo, Beijing woos diplomats from countries not aligned with U.S.

    2 April 2024
    East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao is visiting Tokyo for the summit commemorating 50 years of friendship and ties between Japan and ASEAN. (Photo by Nikkei)
    Interview

    East Timor gas project open to Chinese firms, PM Gusmao says

    Decision on Greater Sunrise partners to depend on 'cost and benefit'

    17 December 2023
    Kao Kim Hourn, secretary-general of ASEAN, speaks during an interview with Nikkei Asia in Tokyo on Oct. 27. (Photo by Yuki Kohara) 
    Myanmar Crisis

    ASEAN's Myanmar stance won't change with Laos in charge: official

    Secretary-General stresses bloc's unity in engagement with generals

    27 October 2023
    An empty chair for the Myanmar delegation at the 2022 ASEAN summit in Phnom Penh: It was a mistake for the bloc to bar the junta from meetings.
    Opinion

    ASEAN needs to get back its old hardheaded realism

    Bloc's handling of Myanmar and East Timor betrays erosion in strategic thinking

    7 July 2023
    East Timor's Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak, who is also a former East Timor independence fighter, and Indonesian President Joko Widodo wave to photographers as they meet at the Presidential Palace in Bogor, Indonesia, Feb. 13.
    International relations

    Indonesia, East Timor to expand economic ties at two border islands

    Jokowi pledges to help East Timor develop human capital to enter ASEAN

    13 February 2023
    Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, right, welcomes here East Timorese counterpart, Adaljiza Magno, during the 32nd ASEAN Coordinating Council meeting in Jakarta on Feb. 3.
    International relations

    East Timor faces economic challenges ahead of joining ASEAN

    Talent, financial deficits weigh on tiny state also caught up in China-U.S. tussle

    12 February 2023
    East Timor's new President Jose Ramos-Horta during his inauguration ceremony in Dili on May 20.
    Belt and Road

    East Timor's new president still driving China's Belt and Road

    Ramos-Horta supports initiative 'completely' and urges U.S. to cooperate

    21 May 2022
    Jose Ramos Horta speaks to supporters during a campaign rally in Dili on March 15: Ramos-Horta's pro-China tilt may make East Timor more vulnerable to great power competition.
    Opinion

    The outsized implications of East Timor's presidential election

    Ramos Horta victory will likely help Beijing secure another regional foothold

    21 April 2022
    Jose Ramos-Horta declares victory in East Timor's presidential election in Dili on April 21.
    Interview

    East Timor's president-elect says ASEAN membership a top priority

    Ramos-Horta won Tuesday's presidential election with 62% of the vote

    21 April 2022
    From left: Presidential candidates Jose Ramos Horta, Milena Pires and incumbent Francisco 'Lu-Olo' Guterres (Source photos by AP, AFP/Jiji and Kyodo) 
    Politics

    East Timor's generational divide in play during presidential polls

    Allure of old-school independence fighters fades as younger candidates emerge

    18 March 2022
    Passengers wearing protective face masks check-in at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam, in October 2021. The Vietnamese government will reopen its borders from Tuesday despite a surge in infections driven by the omicron variant. 
    Your Week in Asia

    U.S. court decision on ZTE, Vietnam reopens, Philippine presidential debate

    Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

    13 March 2022
    A vendor waits for customers at a traditional market in Dili on Apr. 16: there are no income streams of note.
    Opinion

    How East Timor went from democratic success to failed petro-state

    Hunger and hopelessness will persist without a complete economic overhaul

    17 October 2020
    Boys watch an Australian Navy ship maneuver off the coast of Dili, the capital of East Timor: the country's long-held dream to create a domestic petroleum industry is in jeopardy.
    Opinion

    COVID-19 wipes out East Timor's dreams of oil and gas riches

    Chinese investment the only hope for project championed by Xanana Gusmao

    26 September 2020