Reuters reported that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers opened talks in Manila on Saturday as fuel costs pressure import-reliant economies, with U.S. President Donald Trump due at the regional summit.
Rising fuel bills are adding to household and business expenses across Southeast Asia and contributing to inflation, Reuters reported. Many economies in the region rely on imported energy. A regional plan for pooled oil reserves remains at the study stage, Reuters said.
After Qatar and other countries appealed to him, Trump said this week he was unlikely to order further attacks on Iran, Reuters reported. The wire service said his comments offered energy markets some reassurance. Fuel importers remain concerned that renewed fighting could disrupt oil supplies, according to the report.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged ASEAN governments to coordinate in response to oil prices, security concerns and El Nino, saying the bloc “needs to act as one.” At the summit, ASEAN leaders will meet counterparts from the United States, China and Japan. Reuters reported that discussions will also cover cross-border pollution, the South China Sea, Myanmar and economic effects of the Middle East conflict.
Philippine Foreign Ministry spokesperson Dominic Xavier Imperial said leaders are expected to assess progress under the bloc’s five-point consensus on Myanmar. He said the conclusions will be included in a negotiated document after the summit. Reuters described the consensus as ASEAN’s main framework for a crisis that followed the military’s 2021 seizure of power.
Imperial put negotiations on the South China Sea Code of Conduct at about 70% progress. He clarified that the figure covers the talks overall, not the portion of draft text that has been agreed.
The leaders’ summit is scheduled to begin Nov. 15 and continue through Nov. 17, following the ministers’ meetings in Manila.
