Beyond Reconciliation: Indonesia and Timor-Leste’s New Strategic Partnership

By: Hafid Abbas
Director General of Human Rights and later Head of the Research and Development Agency, Ministry of Justice and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia (2000–2010); key contributor to the establishment of the Indonesia–Timor- Leste Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) and the implementation of its Per Memoriam ad Spem recommendations

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Twenty-five years ago, few observers would have imagined Indonesia and Timor-Leste
becoming among Southeast Asia’s closest strategic partners. The wounds left by the 1999 referendum appeared too deep, the political divisions too profound, and the memories too painful to permit genuine reconciliation.

Yet today, the relationship between the two neighbours stands as one of the most remarkable transformations in contemporary international relations. Rather than remaining prisoners of history, Indonesia and Timor-Leste have chosen to become architects of a shared future.

This transformation did not happen by accident. It was made possible by visionary leadership on both sides—leaders who understood that reconciliation is not about forgetting history, but about refusing to allow history to dictate the future.

Indonesia deserves considerable credit for consistently supporting Timor-Leste’s reintegration into the regional and international community. From the earliest years of Timor-Leste’s independence, Jakarta adopted a policy that rejected isolation in favour of engagement. Instead of treating its newest neighbour as a former adversary, Indonesia embraced Timor-Leste as an equal partner.

Indonesia strongly supported Timor-Leste throughout its long accession process, culminating in Timor-Leste’s admission as ASEAN’s 11th member state on 26 October 2025 at the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur

That policy has now borne remarkable fruit.

With Timor-Leste becoming ASEAN’s newest member, Southeast Asia has completed an important chapter in its own regional evolution. ASEAN is no longer merely an association of geographically adjacent states; it is becoming a community built upon reconciliation, trust and shared prosperity.

Indonesia’s unwavering support throughout Timor-Leste’s accession process reflected more than diplomatic courtesy. It demonstrated a mature understanding that ASEAN’s strength depends not on excluding former conflict zones but on integrating them into a common regional architecture.

Timor-Leste’s membership also carries wider strategic significance.

Located at the crossroads of Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific, Timor-Leste occupies an increasingly important geopolitical position. As strategic competition intensifies across the Indo-Pacific, the country can become an important bridge connecting Southeast Asia with the Pacific while reinforcing ASEAN centrality.

Indonesia has every reason to encourage Timor-Leste to become an active contributor to the wider Indo-Pacific architecture—not merely politically, but economically, socially and culturally. The future of the Indo-Pacific will depend less on military competition than on building networks of trust, connectivity and human cooperation.

Another opportunity lies in Indonesia’s support for Timor-Leste’s greater engagement with the Global South, including eventual participation in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). Although often viewed as a legacy institution of the Cold War, the Movement retains relevance for many developing countries seeking strategic autonomy in an era of renewed great-power rivalry.

For Timor-Leste, participation in the Non-Aligned Movement would complement, rather than contradict, its ASEAN membership. It would allow Dili to contribute to discussions on peace, sustainable development, climate resilience, South-South cooperation and the rules-based international order.

Indonesia, one of the Movement’s founding members, is uniquely positioned to mentor Timor-Leste in this broader diplomatic role.

Yet perhaps the most enduring lesson from Indonesia and Timor-Leste is not institutional membership. It is the demonstration that reconciliation can become a strategic asset.

The Indonesia–Timor-Leste experience challenges conventional assumptions in international relations. Former adversaries are often expected merely to normalize relations. Indonesia and Timor-Leste have gone considerably further. They have transformed historical conflict into strategic partnership.

Few bilateral relationships have progressed so rapidly—from conflict to reconciliation, from reconciliation to friendship, and from friendship to regional cooperation.

This success owes much to leaders who placed long-term peace above short-term political gain. Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão deserves recognition for consistently choosing reconciliation over revenge. Equally important was Indonesia’s willingness to respond with openness, mutual respect and confidence-building, including the establishment of the Commission of Truth and Friendship, a pioneering model of post-conflict reconciliation that emphasized truth, institutional learning and healing rather than retributive justice alone.

The next stage of the relationship should move beyond diplomacy into knowledge diplomacy.

Hasanuddin University’s decision to confer an Honorary Doctorate upon Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão offers an opportunity to institutionalize the intellectual legacy of Indonesia–Timor-Leste reconciliation. Rather than remaining a ceremonial recognition, it could become the foundation for developing the Makassar Principles for Reconciliation and the Makassar Peace Index—two initiatives capable of transforming Southeast Asia’s reconciliation experience into globally relevant academic frameworks.

Such initiatives would position Indonesia not merely as a participant in regional diplomacy but as a producer of new ideas for global peacebuilding.

Universities have always played important roles in shaping international norms. Just as institutions elsewhere became synonymous with human rights, development or peace studies, Hasanuddin University has an opportunity to become an international reference point for reconciliation and conflict transformation in the Indo-Pacific.

The broader significance extends beyond Indonesia and Timor-Leste themselves.

In a world increasingly characterized by geopolitical rivalry, polarization and armed conflict—from Eastern Europe to the Middle East—the Indonesia–Timor-Leste experience offers a different narrative. It demonstrates that history need not determine destiny. Even the deepest political divisions can be transformed through courage, dialogue and mutual respect.

The relationship between Jakarta and Dili should therefore no longer be viewed primarily through the lens of the past. It should instead be recognised as one of the Indo-Pacific’s most promising partnerships for the future.

If the twentieth century defined Indonesia and Timor-Leste through conflict, the twenty- first century offers a different possibility: two neighbouring nations working together to strengthen ASEAN, contribute to the Indo-Pacific, amplify the voice of the Global South and demonstrate that reconciliation is not merely a moral achievement, but one of the most valuable strategic assets a region can possess.

History will remember Indonesia and Timor-Leste not for the conflicts they once endured, but for the peace they chose to build together. Their partnership reminds us that reconciliation is never the final destination; it is the foundation upon which nations create a more just, prosperous, and peaceful future. In the words of Nelson Mandela, “No future without forgiveness.” That timeless truth remains the strongest bridge between yesterday’s wounds and tomorrow’s hope.