East Timor to become 11th member of ASEAN

• The AEAN members agreed in principle to admit East Timor as the 11th member of the bloc.

• Timor Leste or East Timor is a half-island nation in the eastern Lesser Sunda Islands. 

• It is situated at the southern extreme of the Malay Archipelago.

•  It occupies the eastern half of the Island of Timor.

• It is bounded by the Timor Sea to the southeast, the Wetar Strait to the north, the Ombai Strait to the northwest and the western Timor (part of Indonesian territory) to southwest.

• East Timor that was previously part of Indonesian territory. Indonesia occupied the island nation in 1976.

• Hundreds of thousands have died on the island while resisting the annexation of Indonesia. Due to the global pressure, the Indonesian government authorized a referendum in 1999 to determine future of East Timor.