ASEAN demands Middle East ceasefire, South China Sea pact
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- ASEAN foreign ministers opened three days of Manila talks on Tuesday, issuing a joint statement calling for an immediate Middle East ceasefire and full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz while expressing "serious concern" over renewed US-Iran hostilities.
- The Philippines declared a national energy emergency in March as Southeast Asia — a region of more than 680 million people — was hit hard by global supply and price shocks stemming from the Middle East conflict.
- Marco Rubio arrived in Manila on Tuesday for Wednesday's annual meeting with ASEAN counterparts and will join the ASEAN Regional Forum alongside Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
- China's coast guard allegedly struck a Filipino sailor on the head with a wooden baton at Second Thomas Shoal on Monday, prompting President Marcos to summon Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan for a meeting Tuesday afternoon.
- ASEAN ministers are set to meet Wang Yi on Wednesday to discuss a proposed South China Sea code of conduct under negotiation for about two decades, with both sides aiming to conclude talks within the year.
- A potential Rubio-Wang meeting would mark the highest-level US-China contact since Trump's May Beijing trip with Xi Jinping, which addressed the US-Israel war on Iran, trade and Taiwan.
Why it matters: Southeast Asia's 680 million people depend heavily on Middle East oil and gas, and the Philippines already declared a national energy emergency in March. ASEAN's joint statement backs reopening the Strait of Hormuz, while Monday's baton clash at Second Thomas Shoal sharpens urgency around the 20-year South China Sea code-of-conduct talks.
