Jakarta. Indonesia wants Papua New Guinea to become an ASEAN member, but the bloc’s secretary-general, Kao Kim Hourn, said Wednesday that there would be some obstacles in the way.

President Prabowo Subianto recently jetted to Malaysia to attend the group’s leaders’ summit. Prabowo told his Southeast Asian counterparts that ASEAN should recruit Papua New Guinea as well as Timor-Leste, saying that an enlargement could solidify the group’s role on the global stage. Kao admitted that Prabowo had raised Papua New Guinea’s membership during the recent Kuala Lumpur talks. However, the so-called ASEAN Charter -- the group’s founding treaty -- might pose a major challenge to Port Moresby's accession.

“Based on the ASEAN Charter, there are only 11 ASEAN members. If we were to include Papua New Guinea, there are two issues that need to be addressed. One is to have the consensus of, now, 11 countries. The second is to amend the charter,” Kao told a post-summit briefing in Jakarta. 

“Again, it is the prerogative for all ASEAN member states to raise this issue,” Kao said.

Kao also said that Papua New Guinea's admission would be something that the group's officials would need to discuss further.

The ASEAN Charter lays out the criteria for new members, with the first one requiring any aspirant to be located in Southeast Asia. PNG already fails to meet this geographic requirement as it lies in the Oceanian region. The charter does not explicitly state that ASEAN shall only have 11 members. However, Southeast Asia really comprises 11 countries: Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. All are already part of ASEAN with the exception of Timor-Leste, although the half-island nation is set to join the club as a full member this October.  

According to the charter, an ASEAN hopeful must gain the recognition of all member states.

A new joiner must also agree to be bound and abide by the charter, while also being able and willing to carry out the group’s obligations.

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