Marcos says ASEAN fuel-sharing scheme still needs to be ironed out

CEBU – South-east Asian leaders on May 8 endorsed measures aimed at easing the fallout from the Middle East conflict, which continues to rattle global energy and trade flows.

But Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the ASEAN chair in 2026, said afterwards that details of many of the measures still needed to be ironed out.

At a press conference at the ASEAN Summit in Cebu, he said the grouping had produced a declaration calling for the ratification of the ASEAN Petroleum Security Agreement (APSA), which allows member states to share fuel during times of supply disruption.

The grouping also pushed for the operationalisation of the ASEAN Power Grid, a long-term plan to connect electricity networks in member countries to a regional grid.

But when pressed for timelines, Mr Marcos said many operational details still needed to be resolved. “All of these are new ideas, and some of them actually still have to be ratified by individual countries. Everyone has a different schedule,” he said. “But the understanding of everybody is that this is all ASAP (as soon as possible).”

He said ASEAN needed to decide how fuel reserves would be stored and shared, who would get priority during shortages and how regional power-sharing mechanisms would function in practice.

The 2026 summit unfolded under the shadow of the Iran war, which has raised fears of higher oil prices, inflation and supply disruptions across South-east Asia. The region imports roughly two-thirds of its crude oil, making it especially vulnerable to prolonged instability in the Gulf.

During the press conference, Mr Marcos said ASEAN leaders reaffirmed support for international law, sovereignty and the freedom of navigation, while calling for open and predictable markets and the uninterrupted flow of essential goods, including food and energy.

Dr Collin Koh, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said ASEAN leaders are under pressure to show that the group is responding to the Iran war. “Putting these measures out now serves the interest of ASEAN economies in trying to assuage public concerns as well as investor concerns,” Dr Koh told The Straits Times.

But he noted that implementation of the ASEAN Power Grid and APSA could be politically difficult as member states have varying fuel stockpiles and would prioritise domestic needs during shortages.

At the press conference, Mr Marcos suggested that deeper ASEAN-China economic cooperation depended on progress in talks on the long-delayed Code of Conduct on the South China Sea, which sets out ways for ASEAN and China to peacefully manage conflicts in the disputed waterway. 

“We cannot institutionalise any of those things until the Code of Conduct is finalised,” he said, referring to broader mechanisms for regional economic cooperation with China.

Mr Marcos said finalising the code remained one of the Philippines’ aspirations as ASEAN chair in 2026, though he acknowledged that member states hold differing positions on dealing with Beijing.

Dr Koh found Mr Marcos’ comments striking, as ASEAN has traditionally sought to separate economic cooperation with China from maritime disputes.

“To me, it sounds very out of place. Why would they want to allow their economic well-being... to be beholden to a process that is not confirmed to be propagated this year?” he said, referring to ASEAN member states that are not South China Sea claimants.

ASEAN leaders also adopted a declaration on maritime cooperation, including establishing an ASEAN Maritime Centre aimed at coordinating maritime security and safety efforts in the region.

Mr Marcos said the initiative was not intended to target any country but stressed the importance of preserving freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, through which a significant portion of global trade passes.

“If such a thing could happen in the South China Sea,” he said, referring to disruptions similar to those in the Strait of Hormuz, “the inevitable consequences would be alarming just to even think about”.

The summit also exposed ASEAN’s continuing frustrations over Myanmar, with Mr Marcos sharing that some leaders were “emotional” as they saw little progress in efforts to implement the group’s Five-Point Consensus peace plan.

“There certainly is some frustration within the member states,” he said, adding that ASEAN may need to rethink its approach while still upholding principles such as human rights and the rule of law.

The regional grouping has yet to reach a consensus on whether to recognise the Myanmar military-led government’s recent election.

On the eve of the summit on May 7, Mr Marcos also met the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia, which had clashed along their shared border in December 2025 before reaching a ceasefire.

While ASEAN traditionally avoids direct intervention in bilateral disputes among member states, the trilateral meeting reflected Manila’s efforts as chair to encourage dialogue and prevent tensions from escalating further.