NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar – Myanmar’s military government has ordered the expulsion of East Timor’s most senior diplomat in Yangon, escalating tensions between two Southeast Asian nations in a rare and consequential rupture within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Myanmar informed East Timor’s chargé d’affaires, Elisio do Rosario de Sousa, that he must leave the country by Feb. 20, according to a statement published in the state-run newspaper Myanma Alinn. The move came days after judicial authorities in Dili accepted a criminal complaint accusing senior figures in Myanmar’s armed forces of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The complaint was filed by the Chin Human Rights Organization, an advocacy group representing the Chin ethnic minority. In a Feb. 2 statement, the group said East Timor’s courts had opened legal proceedings against Myanmar’s military administration, including its leader, Min Aung Hlaing. The filing alleges evidence of gang rape, the killing of 10 civilians including a journalist, the deaths of Christian religious leaders, and airstrikes on a hospital and religious sites in Chin State.
East Timor’s legal framework permits its domestic courts to pursue serious international crimes regardless of where they were committed — a doctrine known as universal jurisdiction. Legal experts in Southeast Asia have described the move as unprecedented within ASEAN, whose members traditionally adhere to a policy of noninterference in each other’s internal affairs.
Myanmar’s Foreign Ministry accused East Timor’s president, José Ramos-Horta, of engaging in mid-January with representatives of the Chin rights group and proceeding with the complaint despite “strong condemnation” delivered through diplomatic channels. Mr. Ramos-Horta, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has repeatedly criticized Myanmar’s military leadership and expressed sympathy for the country’s pro-democracy opposition.
There was no immediate response from East Timor’s government to requests for comment. International human rights organizations have welcomed the legal action, describing it as a test case for accountability within the region. United Nations investigators and global rights monitors have long accused Myanmar’s military of widespread abuses since it seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.
The coup triggered mass protests that evolved into a nationwide armed resistance. Western governments downgraded diplomatic relations, and sanctions were imposed on senior junta officials. Within ASEAN, however, the response has been cautious and divided, with repeated but largely unsuccessful attempts to implement a five-point peace consensus.
A Pattern of Diplomatic Friction
The expulsion marks the second such incident between the two countries in less than three years. In August 2023, Myanmar’s military authorities expelled East Timor’s chargé d’affaires after Mr. Ramos-Horta met with representatives of the opposition National Unity Government, a shadow administration that claims legitimacy over Myanmar.
At the time, Myanmar’s leaders also threatened to obstruct East Timor’s long-pursued bid to join ASEAN. Despite those tensions, East Timor — also known as Timor-Leste — was formally admitted as the bloc’s 11th member in October last year, overcoming resistance from some quarters.
The latest dispute underscores a broader test for ASEAN’s principle of consensus and noninterference. Analysts say East Timor’s actions may embolden civil society groups across the region, while deepening unease among governments wary of setting precedents for cross-border prosecutions.
For Mr. Ramos-Horta, whose country gained independence in 2002 after decades of conflict, the legal move aligns with a foreign policy that has emphasized human rights and accountability. One day after securing ASEAN membership, he told The Associated Press that he was willing to mediate personally in Myanmar’s civil war.
Whether East Timor’s courts will advance the case beyond preliminary review remains uncertain. But Myanmar’s decision to expel its envoy suggests that the legal complaint — even before any formal charges — has already reverberated diplomatically, exposing fault lines within a regional bloc long defined by its reluctance to confront its own members.