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Regional Dependency on Middle Eastern Energy
Percentage of crude oil and natural gas imports sourced from the Middle East.
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ASEAN leaders seek strategy to ease economic impacts of Iran war
Mikhail Flores/ReutersMay 8, 2026Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers his remarks during the opening ceremony of the 48th ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings, in Cebu, Philippines, May 8, 2026. Aaron Favila/Pool via ReutersCEBU, Philippines - Leaders of Southeast Asian countries holding a summit on Friday are expected to thrash out a coordinated response to the impacts of the Middle East crisis, as they aim to ease pressure from an energy shock that has rattled their oil import-reliant economies.Meeting on the Philippine island of Cebu, leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are expected to press for a harmonised strategy to ensure energy and food security in a region particularly exposed to a nearly 70-day blockade of the critical Strait of Hormuz.In opening remarks as chair of ASEAN, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said ASEAN was standing together to demonstrate its capacity to respond with unity and resolve, but must remain agile."We must ensure regional energy security and resilience," he said."At a time of heightened volatility, ASEAN must strengthen coordination and reinforce preparedness, pursue practical collective measures to safeguard a stable energy supply and improve interconnectivity."COORDINATION CHALLENGEASEAN economic ministers met in Cebu on Thursday and "identified practical, concrete response measures" to ensure energy and food security, according to a chair statement, but the proposals lacked specific details.They included diversifying suppliers and routes and developing a crisis communication protocol, but it was unclear what, if any, action might be taken.The region, with a population of nearly 700 million people and economies worth a combined $3.8 trillion, faces significant risks from the fallout of the Iran war, and the Philippines - among the first countries in the world to declare an energy emergency - has pushed for approval of a voluntary, commercial-based ASEAN oil-sharing framework agreement.But coordination remains a big challenge for ASEAN. Despite rapid growth of its individual economies, integration has been slow, with vast differences between its 11 members and no central authority to ensure compliance with ASEAN agreements and initiatives.The ASEAN leaders will hold a retreat on Friday and are expected to call for a negotiated settlement between the United States and Iran as well as a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for about 130 vessels a day and a fifth of the world's o...
ASEAN leaders adopt measures to ease economic pain caused by Iran war ...
The bloc currently imports more than half of its crude oil from the Middle East.Southeast Asian leaders have agreed on measures aimed at reducing the impact of the Iran war on their economies, but conceded that the initiatives will take considerable time to come into effect.On Friday, leaders gathered in the Philippines for a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz dominating the agenda.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3US trade with Southeast Asia and Taiwan surging despite Trump tariffslist 2 of 3Southeast Asia shuts offices, limits travel as oil crisis deepenslist 3 of 3Southeast Asia’s leaders confront fallout from Iran war at ASEAN summitend of listMembers agreed to a regional fuel-sharing framework in a bid to ease the economic strain caused by the more than two-month closure of the strategic waterway, which has triggered a global energy crisis. However, it remains unclear how the programme would function, with key details still needing to be finalised, including which countries would be prioritised during a crisis.ASEAN chair and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr welcomed the outcome, but conceded that the practical arrangements still needed to be clarified.“How is the sharing? Who gets what? How do you pay for it? Do you pay for it? Is it an exchange? … We haven’t done it before,” he said.The initiative was one of a handful of measures adopted at the summit.Leaders also agreed to develop a regional power grid and fuel stockpile, while reducing their dependence on energy imports from the Middle East. ASEAN currently imports more than half of its crude oil and 17 percent of its natural gas from the region, according to the bloc’s Centre for Energy. In late March, the Philippines became the first country in the world to declare a national emergency over dwindling energy stockpiles.Marcos warned that the economic consequences of the war in Iran would persist for the foreseeable future.“A few weeks worth of disruptions will take years to be corrected,” he said.Reporting from the summit in the central Philippine province of Cebu, Al Jazeera’s Jamela Alindogan said the overarching theme was one of unity, with ASEAN countries pledging to continue coordinating their response while safeguarding their national interests.Alindogan added that the bloc was still recovering from tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump last year and was considering how to hedge its relationships...
Southeast Asian Leaders Seek Strategy to Ease Impacts of Iran War
ASEAN economic ministers met in Cebu on Thursday and "identified practical, concrete response measures" to ensure energy and food security, according to a chair statement, but the proposals lacked ...
ASEAN leaders under pressure to address economic fallout of Iran ...
MANILA/JAKARTA -- The escalating impact of the Iran war on Southeast Asia is expected to dominate this week's ASEAN Summit in the Philippines, as leaders seek to mitigate the effects of the ...
