Cambodia's engagement with ASEAN : lessons for Timor Leste

ASEAN is an organisation dedicated to peace and stability and its prerequisite is that a prospective member state should maintain its internal stability and order before it engages itself in a larger community of nations in Southeast Asia. Cambodia’s engagement with ASEAN was a long and arduous process. It began with a deliberate and careful assessment of Cambodia’s new foreign policy, one that started since 1993 after the formation of the Royal Government of Cambodia arising from the UNorganised elections. Once it was decided by Cambodian leaders that the country should opt for open regionalism and engage itself with its neighbours in Southeast Asia and the rest of the world, preparations for entry into ASEAN began in earnest. The process of engagement involved all levels of Cambodian society from officialdom to civil society. In addition to the encouragement of ASEAN Leaders, Secretary-General of ASEAN played a crucial role. Despite obvious differences in culture and colonial history, the Cambodian engagement in ASEAN, in the writer’s view, brings a message of hope and promise to Leaders, officials and the people of Timor Leste. It is possible for this country to join ASEAN if there is a strong, visible national commitment to and understanding of ASEAN and its objectives. This paper documents the various stages that Cambodia went through in joining ASEAN including its accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) in 1994 to its formal admission in 1999. Cambodia became the 10 member of ASEAN, and has since been an active participant in its processes and activities. The Cambodian experience demonstrates that there are both tangible and intangible benefits to being in ASEAN.