MANILA: The growing economic toll of the US-Israeli war on Iran will top the agenda when Southeast Asian leaders meet in the Philippines this week, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who will chair the summit, said on Wednesday.
After the US and Israeli attacks on Iran that began on Feb. 28 led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which funnels more than 80 percent of Asia’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas imports, Southeast Asian nations that are mostly heavily reliant on those energy shipments have been among the hardest hit.
“At this summit, I will lead discussions on how the region can bolster regional preparedness and ensure stable energy supply and accelerate energy diversification to reduce vulnerability to external shocks, including those stemming from the conflict in the Middle East,” Marcos said in a video message on Wednesday.
The Philippines is chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this year and will host the regional leaders’ gathering in Cebu on Friday.
The country of 110 million people, which depends almost entirely on the Middle East for its crude oil imports, is one of the most affected by the crisis sparked by the Hormuz closure. In late March, the government declared a national energy emergency after local diesel and petrol prices more than doubled.
Petrol stations across Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand have also faced supply shortages in recent months and had to halt operations, as ripple effects of the energy crisis are felt in various industries with the rising costs of raw materials, operations and logistics, while also weakening currencies and straining economic growth.
“What do we do? How can we help each other? What is the ASEAN position regarding all of these shocks that are coming our way?” Marcos previously said.
“It will be a very bare-bones summit, which will focus closely on three subject matters: oil, food and migrant workers.”
The Philippines’ Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary and ASEAN spokesperson Dominic Xavier Imperial said that the summit is expected to produce a leaders’ statement that “outlines ASEAN’s collective response to the crisis while building the foundations for stronger coordination in future emergencies.”
As a bloc, ASEAN has agreed to keep trade open and avoid restrictive measures and pushed for stronger regional cooperation to tackle both the economic and energy implications of the war.
“The protracted Middle East conflict has had an impact on the region, slowing down economic growth and lowering projections,” Tereso Panga, director general of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, told Arab News.
“The recent conflict showed how volatile the region is to oil price fluctuations and availability. Intensifying cooperation allows members to share energy stocks and stabilize supply, and conduct joint exploration for oil and gas within the region, thus reducing reliance on vulnerable supply lines through the Strait of Hormuz.”
