YANGON – Myanmar has instructed the chargé d'affaires of the Embassy of Timor-Leste in Myanmar, Elisio do Rosário de Sousa, to leave the country by tomorrow, February 20, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar on Sunday.
The ministry summoned the diplomat last Friday, ordering his departure from Myanmar territory no later than February 20 under Article 9 of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The ministry stated that recent actions by Timor-Leste regarding Myanmar are a "blatant violation" of the ASEAN Charter and the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, specifically regarding sovereignty and non-interference.
Despite the expulsion, the ministry reiterated that Myanmar remains committed to maintaining friendly relations with all countries based on mutual respect and the ASEAN Charter.
Timor-Leste is the newest of the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Timor-Leste is the official Portuguese name of East Timor, which restored its independent statehood in May 2002, after centuries of foreign rule.
- Xinhua, MPD
