ASEAN unity faces test as energy crisis, regional conflicts loom over summit

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Southeast Asian foreign ministers begin meetings in Manila on Saturday as the regional bloc seeks a coordinated response to surging energy costs, security tensions, and an approaching El Niño, challenges Philippine President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has said demand collective action.

MANILA — Southeast Asian foreign ministers begin meetings in Manila on Saturday as the regional bloc seeks a coordinated response to surging energy costs, security tensions, and an approaching El Niño, challenges Philippine President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has said demand collective action.

"Especially at a time when we face multiple crises, from rising oil prices to security concerns and the approaching El Niño, ASEAN needs to act as one," Marcos said ahead of the meetings, which the Philippines will chair. "It is very important that we are united and find plans and solutions to address these problems."

The meetings open a weekend of diplomacy culminating in the November 15 to 17 ASEAN summit, where ASEAN leaders will hold talks with counterparts from major powers including the United States, China and Japan, and discuss wide-ranging issues from the economic fallout from the Middle East conflict, Myanmar, the South China Sea to transboundary pollution.

The gathering comes as the Philippines and other import-dependent Southeast Asian economies grapple with higher fuel costs, which have squeezed households and businesses and added to inflation pressures. The crisis has also exposed the limits of regional energy security, with proposals for a shared oil stockpile still under study.

A summit on the Asia Zero Emission Community, a Japan-led framework that aims to achieve energy security, economic growth and decarbonisation at the same time, will also be held next week.

US President Donald Trump, who will be in Manila for the summit, said this week he was unlikely to order new military strikes on Iran after appeals from countries including Qatar. The comments offered some reassurance to energy markets, though the prospect of renewed military action and disruption to oil supplies remains a concern for fuel-importing countries.

For ordinary Filipinos, the impact of the conflict has been more immediate.

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