Cebu — Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) concluded their summit on Friday with a renewed call to accelerate ratification of a regional oil-sharing framework, as member states grapple with the growing economic fallout from the Middle East conflict and disruptions in global energy supplies.
The summit, hosted in Cebu, focused heavily on the unprecedented energy crisis triggered by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital maritime route that previously handled nearly one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas shipments and around 130 vessels daily.
ASEAN leaders acknowledged the urgent need for a coordinated regional response to protect energy security in Southeast Asia, where economies remain heavily dependent on imported fuel.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who currently chairs ASEAN, expressed optimism that the proposed voluntary and commercially based fuel-sharing framework could be ratified soon, although he admitted several operational questions still needed to be resolved.
“We’re trying to examine everything we can do,” Marcos told reporters, adding that ASEAN members still needed to determine how fuel-sharing arrangements would work in practice.
“How is the sharing? Who gets what? How do you pay for it? Is it an exchange? We haven’t done it before,” he said, highlighting the complexities surrounding implementation.
The ASEAN leaders are also expected to issue a joint statement calling for a negotiated settlement between the United States and Iran, while urging the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to restore stability to global energy markets.
With a combined population of nearly 700 million people and an economic output of approximately $3.8 trillion, ASEAN faces significant economic risks from prolonged disruptions in oil and gas supplies.
The Philippines, which was among the first nations to declare an energy emergency following the crisis, has strongly advocated for the faster implementation of the regional oil-sharing mechanism.
However, ASEAN’s efforts continue to face coordination challenges due to differing economic conditions among its 11 member states and the bloc’s limited enforcement mechanisms for regional agreements.
Economic ministers meeting on Thursday discussed several possible measures to safeguard energy and food security, including diversifying supply sources and shipping routes. However, the proposals lacked detailed implementation plans and no immediate collective action was announced.
Addressing fellow leaders, Marcos warned that the conflict involving Iran had created a “domino effect” across global supply chains, exposing Southeast Asia’s vulnerability to external energy shocks.
“A few weeks worth of disruptions will take years to be corrected,” he said.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto also cautioned that energy supply pressures on ASEAN countries were unlikely to ease soon, stressing the need for a long-term resilience strategy.
“Our resilience must be built proactively with a clear forward-looking approach,” he said.
Separately, Marcos announced that the Philippines had proposed establishing and hosting an ASEAN maritime centre to coordinate regional issues related to the South China Sea, one of the world’s most strategically contested waterways.
The South China Sea remains a source of tension between China and several ASEAN member states, including the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia, due to overlapping territorial and maritime claims.
By Reuters
