Our articles are free for everyone to read. If you’d like to support our work and help us continue producing independent journalism, feel free to get in touch with us.
MANILA — Timor-Leste’s entry as the 11th member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) marks a new chapter for regional cooperation — one that carries strategic implications for the Philippines as it navigates tensions in the South China Sea and pushes for a rules-based Indo-Pacific. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.,Continue Reading
MANILA — When Xanana Gusmão clasped hands with Southeast Asia’s leaders in a familiar interlocking pose Sunday, it was more than a photo opportunity. For the former resistance fighter turned prime minister, it was the realization of a dream that took nearly a generation to fulfill — East Timor’s formalContinue Reading
MANILA, Philippines – Activists in Timor-Leste released a manifesto warning that transnational crime syndicates are trying to infiltrate state institutions through corruption and illicit financial flows. The 26-page document, titled “Manifesto for the Defence of Timor-Leste,” circulated this week in Portuguese and Tetum. It alleges that officials allowed private aircraftContinue Reading
Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta has expressed optimism that his country’s long-awaited entry into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will usher in a new era of prosperity and opportunity. In an interview with NHK on Tuesday, Ramos-Horta said the nation, formerly known as East Timor, is set to officiallyContinue Reading
DILI, East Timor — East Timor has served as an exemplar of United States foreign assistance in Asia for two decades. Billions of dollars of aid headlines and photo opportunities have framed an image of Washington “assisting” one of the globe’s newest democracies to get on its own two feet.Continue Reading
The arrest and immediate transfer of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to The Hague last month marked a historic moment—not just for the Philippines but for the international community’s evolving reckoning with impunity. But beneath the dramatic headlines lie a troubling question: was this a triumph of international justice, orContinue Reading
