ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meet in Manila on Regional Crises
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- ASEAN foreign ministers gather in Manila to address energy security, food security, the Myanmar crisis, and South China Sea tensions, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expected to attend related meetings.
- Sharon Seah of the ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute said Southeast Asia has weathered Middle East-driven fuel shortages by diversifying energy partners, but warned the 'real fix' lies in accelerating decarbonization and operationalizing the ASEAN Power Grid.
- Strait of Hormuz disruptions from the US-Iran conflict have reduced fertilizer supplies and driven up costs across the region, with Seah cautioning food security impacts have yet to fully materialize.
- ASEAN foreign ministers held their first in-person engagement with Myanmar Foreign Minister Tin Maung Swe since the 2021 military takeover, facilitated by Thailand in Bangkok, though Min Aung Hlaing and his foreign minister remain barred from high-level ASEAN meetings.
- Khin Zaw Win of the Tampadipa Institute said ASEAN 'countries are not fools' and remain unconvinced by Myanmar's commitments to the bloc's Five-Point Consensus peace plan.
- Philippine Foreign Affairs spokesperson Dominic Xavier Imperial said ASEAN and China remain committed to negotiating a 'substantive and effective' South China Sea code of conduct, with confidence progress could be achieved this year.
Why it matters: ASEAN's first in-person engagement with Myanmar's foreign minister since the 2021 coup signals a tentative reopening of diplomatic channels, yet the bloc's insistence that Min Aung Hlaing remains barred from high-level meetings underscores how little has actually changed. With the Strait of Hormuz disruptions squeezing fertilizer costs and the 10th anniversary of the 2016 South China Sea ruling passing without compliance, the Manila forum is testing whether ASEAN's consensus-based approach can produce any tangible movement on three fronts simultaneously.
