Myanmar’s junta orders Timor-Leste’s top diplomat to leave after Dili opens a war crimes case, escalating ASEAN tensions.
YANGON: Myanmar’s military junta has ordered the top representative from Timor-Leste to leave the country within a week.
The expulsion order follows reports that Dili has opened a legal case against the junta for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
According to a junta statement, the charge d’affaires was summoned on Friday and informed of the decision. The statement expressed “great disappointment” over Timor-Leste’s reported appointment of a prosecutor to investigate the case.
The Chin Human Rights Organization said this month that a senior Timorese prosecutor is examining a criminal file it presented. The CHRO represents Myanmar’s Chin ethnic minority and entered the complaint under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
The organisation claims its case includes “irrefutable evidence” of atrocities, including gang rape, a massacre, the killing of religious officials, and a hospital air strike.
The escalating diplomatic tension pits two members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations against each other. Timor-Leste only joined ASEAN as its 11th member in October 2025.
The junta accused Dili of violating ASEAN charter articles that “underscore the importance of upholding respect for sovereignty and non-interference”. This marks the second expulsion of a Timorese diplomat, following a similar move in August 2023.
Myanmar’s military, which seized power in a 2021 coup, faces longstanding accusations of rights abuses. The nation is also defending itself against genocide allegations at the International Court of Justice.
