Australia's close neighbour Timor Leste has acceded to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations grouping.
The historic step is the culmination of a longstanding ambition, and arrives more than two decades after a bloody fight for self-determination won its independence.
Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao has stood proudly, interlocking arms with the bloc's 10 other regional leaders in the Malaysian capital, a traditional ASEAN gesture of unity.
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