After decades of struggle, Timor Leste has officially joined ASEAN as its 11th member state.
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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