ASEAN urges Middle East ceasefire as South China Sea tensions shadow Manila talks

Manila,UPDATED: Jul 21, 2026 15:48 IST

Southeast Asia's top diplomats began three days of talks in Manila on Tuesday, with the worsening conflict in the Middle East and tensions in the South China Sea at the top of the agenda. The meeting opened against the backdrop of the resurging war involving Iran and a violent skirmish in disputed waters.

Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met behind closed doors before issuing a joint statement calling for an immediate halt to fighting in the Middle East and the full and safe reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. “We expressed serious concern over the rapidly evolving situation in the Middle East, particularly the renewed hostilities involving the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the ASEAN ministers said.

The ministers also said they reaffirmed the obligations of states to peacefully resolve their differences and respect national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Southeast Asia, a region of more than 680 million people, relies heavily on Middle East oil and gas and has been hit hard by the global supply and price shocks triggered by the Iran war. In March, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a national energy emergency to ensure the availability of fuel, food and other basic goods and to prevent hoarding and profiteering.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Manila on Tuesday morning for an annual meeting with his ASEAN counterparts on Wednesday, where the Middle East crisis is expected to be high on the agenda along with other security and economic issues. Rubio is also set to take part in the ASEAN Regional Forum, which will include the European Union, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Rubio, Wang and Lavrov have not publicly announced any plans to meet on the sidelines. If Rubio and Wang do speak, it would be the highest-level contact between the US and China since President Donald Trump travelled to Beijing in May for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping focused on the US-Israel war on Iran, trade and the status of Taiwan, among other issues.

The three are also due to attend the East Asia Summit on Thursday, where 18 Western and Asian countries, including the 11-member ASEAN, will discuss geopolitical, economic and security concerns. ASEAN ministers are scheduled to meet Wang Yi on Wednesday, with talks expected to cover the status of negotiations between China and the regional bloc on a proposed code of conduct aimed at preventing territorial disputes in the South China Sea from spiralling out of control. A new clash in the disputed waters has highlighted the urgency of the proposed non-aggression pact, which has been under negotiation for about two decades, with both sides aiming to conclude talks within the year.

The Philippine military accused China's coast guard of injuring a Filipino sailor during an altercation on Monday at the disputed Second Thomas Shoal. It said Chinese coast guard personnel on a motorboat repeatedly struck the sailor on the head with a wooden baton, injuring him and damaging his smaller vessel. Philippine officials condemned the Chinese coast guard, which blamed the Filipinos for starting the confrontation at sea. Marcos also called Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan for a meeting on Tuesday afternoon, though his spokesperson did not provide details. Overall, the talks in Manila have brought together ASEAN and major powers at a time of rising pressure from the Middle East conflict and fresh tensions in the South China Sea.

With PTI Inputs

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