Philippine President Marcos says ASEAN summit will be bare-bones, focus on Middle East war impacts
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Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr announced a national energy emergency as the US-Israel war with Iran threatens oil supplies.
PHOTO: EPA
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MANILA – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on March 27 that an ASEAN summit the country will host in May will be a streamlined affair, with a focus on how best to handle the economic shocks of the Middle East war.
The May 8 to 9 meeting of the 11-member ASEAN will centre on oil, food and migration issues, he told reporters after a graduation ceremony for the country’s national police.
He said he consulted with other ASEAN members about the idea of postponing the summit in the face of an energy crisis that has struck the region hard before deciding to press forward.
“It is a bare-bones ASEAN summit... We will be talking about three main subjects – about the supply of petroleum and petroleum products, about the supply... and the price of food, and migrant workers,” he said.
“What we really need at this time is for leaders to talk about... what do we do, how can we help each other and what is the ASEAN position regarding all of these shocks that are coming our way,” he added.
Mr Marcos declared on March 24 a state of “national energy emergency”, citing risks to the Philippines’ domestic fuel supply created by the war.
The import-dependent archipelago nation of 116 million has seen the price of fuel hit historic highs since the US-Israeli war with Iran forced the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The war has affected millions of guest workers from ASEAN states who are living in countries caught in the crossfire.
It was not immediately clear if other pressing priorities, including the civil war in Myanmar or a long-gestating code of conduct between the bloc and China over the South China Sea, would be completely off the table for discussion. AFP
