ASEAN Demands a Hormuz Truce as Rubio Lands in Manila
Southeast Asian foreign ministers opened their annual meeting in Manila on Tuesday under the shadow of the US–Iran war, preparing a joint statement demanding an immediate halt to hostilities and the restoration of safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, arrived for his first visit to the region as America’s top diplomat, as Washington condemned a “dangerous” Chinese clash with the Philippine navy.
The bloc is heavily dependent on Gulf crude, giving the Hormuz crisis direct economic bite across the region. The draft communiqué calls for a “complete and immediate cessation of hostilities across all fronts” and the safe, unimpeded transit of vessels through the strait. The gathering doubles as a stage for great-power friction, with China’s Wang Yi and Russia’s Sergei Lavrov also in Manila, though the marquee sideline meetings fall later in the week. Mr Rubio used an op-ed to reaffirm American commitment to freedom of navigation amid the South China Sea standoff. Watch for any Rubio–Wang or Rubio–Lavrov contact before the summit closes.