The Daily Journal — Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) opened a three-day summit in Manila on Tuesday, focusing on the region’s most pressing security challenges amid ongoing conflict in the Middle East and rising tensions in the South China Sea.
Following a closed-door meeting in the Philippine capital, the diplomats issued a joint statement expressing deep concern over the renewed hostilities involving the United States and Iran. The regional bloc called for an immediate end to the fighting and urged all parties to ensure the full and secure reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to protect maritime traffic.
ASEAN also urged all countries to respect national sovereignty and territorial integrity. The organization encouraged the parties involved to resolve their differences through peaceful means, citing the crisis’s global impact on international markets and the security of major trade routes.
