ASEAN is currently studying Timor Leste's bid to become a member of the association, secretary-general Le Luong Minh said on Monday.

"We've established a group to examine Timor Leste's application to become a member of ASEAN. However, it must be noted beforehand that Timor Leste must implement all obligations to be considered an ASEAN member," Minh said as reported by Antara news agency.

Minh said that one of the main obligations was to ensure that Timor Leste could meet ASEAN's three pillars, namely economic, political and sociocultural.

During the 22nd ASEAN Summit in Brunei Darussalam last week, leaders of the organization expressed their support for Timor Leste's bid for ASEAN membership.

In a joint statement issued after the summit, the leaders said, "We were encouraged by the progress in discussions by the ASEAN Coordinating Council [ACC] and the ACC Working Group [ACCWG], on all relevant aspects relating to Timor Leste's application as well as the possible implications for ASEAN; and we have agreed to explore the possibility of Timor Leste's participation in ASEAN activities within the context of its need for capacity building."

Timor Leste filed an application to become a member of ASEAN in 2011. (asw)