Manila. Chances are slim to none for Bangladesh and Papua New Guinea (PNG) to be ASEAN members, according to the bloc’s top official, citing that these countries do not meet the geographical requirements.

Bangladesh and PNG aspire to join ASEAN, with Port Moresby even receiving Indonesian backing. However, ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn recently confirmed that Timor-Leste would be the last country the group would bring into its fold.

“We have come to an end to the enlargement,” Kao told the 10th ASEAN Media Forum in Manila.

“Based on the ASEAN Charter, there are only 11 countries that are considered to be located in Southeast Asia. This is it. PNG and Bangladesh are outside the geographical zone."

The ASEAN Charter gives the group its legal framework. The document sees ASEAN setting some criteria for new prospective members, one of which requires them to have a “location in the recognized geographical region of Southeast Asia". 

Geographically, PNG belongs to Oceania, while Bangladesh lies in South Asia. 

The only way for Dhaka and Port Moresby to be part of ASEAN is if the Southeast Asian club changes its charter, although such amendments are subject to approvals by all members. 

“Unless the member states amend the charter and redefine the geography. Without [those amendments], Southeast Asia [or ASEAN] would only constitute the 11 countries that we have,” Kao explained.

Timor-Leste finally secured its hard-fought seat in ASEAN last year, despite knocking on the group’s door since 2011. The process was so long that Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta came up with the joke that it would be “easier to get into heaven than the gates of ASEAN”.

Dhaka had tried to woo Malaysia for its backing when Kuala Lumpur was chairing the group last year. President Prabowo Subianto has openly declared Indonesia’s support for PNG’s membership.

“We would like to propose the participation of a close neighbor of ours, that is PNG. They have expressed their desire to join ASEAN," Prabowo said at the 2025 Kuala Lumpur ASEAN talks.

“In the current situation of geopolitical uncertainty, the stronger ASEAN is, the more we will be heard in the discourse of the great powers.”

PNG has enjoyed observer status since 1976, enabling the country to attend the meetings.

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