Exclusive | Asean membership draws a tiny but strategic Indo-Pacific nation closer to US-China chess match
East Timor set to become newest member of Asean bloc, but can it balance relations with its neighbours while safeguarding its own interests?
At 71, he still carries the weight of a tiny country that only gained sovereignty in 2002, after nearly 400 years under Portugal and a generation under Jakarta’s rule.
Back in Washington for a second, non-consecutive stint as ambassador – his first was under George W. Bush – Guterres sipped Timorese coffee on a late summer afternoon and reflected on the turbulent path that his nation of about 1.3 million people took to independence, and the challenges ahead.
“We are focused on the future, not on revenge for past mistakes,” he told The Post, noting the dramatic turnover of Indonesia from occupier to partner.
