Philippines pulls Asean card on East Timor over extradition row. Will it work?

Manila is seeking the extradition of Arnolfo Teves Jnr, a former politician, who is facing murder and other charges

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Prime Minister of East Timor Xanana Gusmao (far right) poses for a photo at the 14th Asean-UN Summit in Vientiane, Laos, last year. Photo: Reuters

Published: 3:30pm, 28 Mar 2025Updated: 3:34pm, 28 Mar 2025

The Philippines has warned East Timor that it could fail to gain Asean membership over its refusal to extradite a former Filipino politician wanted for murder.

Referring to the move by Asia’s youngest country to seek entry into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Manila’s Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said it was “not going to be pleasant for East Timor”, citing how the Philippines was “one of the founding fathers of Asean”.

The saga centres on a Timorese court approving an appeal by Arnolfo Teves Jnr, a former Philippine House of Representatives member, to block his extradition to his home country. Teves is accused of murdering his political rival Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo and eight other people in 2023.

The Philippines founded Asean with Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand in 1967. Brunei, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia joined in the following years.

East Timor was granted observer status in Asean after its secession from Indonesia in 2002, with the bloc in 2022 agreeing “in principle” to admit the country, allowing it access to the bloc’s high-level meetings.

Remulla on Tuesday confirmed Manila’s Department of Foreign Affairs was in talks with its Timorese counterparts after Teves succeeded in his court appeal by citing political persecution from the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr.