CEBU, Philippines – Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed to fast-track several measures that boost energy security and resilience and establish a regional maritime center but these have yet to be fleshed out, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Friday, May 8.

During a press conference before the close of the 48th ASEAN Summit in Lapu-Lapu City, Marcos said ASEAN leaders discussed several lessons learned from the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, such as the need to establish a shared fuel reserve for the regional bloc.

The Philippine President noted that all ASEAN countries have grappled with fuel supply concerns since the start of the Middle East crisis, and that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz highlighted the need for a reservoir that the bloc can tap during times of emergency.

“Because the situation right now is very different from each country. Some countries have a surplus of a certain kind of fuel, other people have a shortage, and we’re trying to balance that out,” Marcos said.

ASEAN leaders also pushed for the operationalization of the ASEAN Power Grid, which aims to connect the grids of all 11 member states to enable cross-border power trading. He said this could deliver affordable power to nearly 700 million people living in ASEAN countries.

As a country that heavily relies on the Middle East for its oil, the Philippines has had to procure its supply from various sources outside ASEAN such as Russia and Latin America.

Marcos said that the Philippines did not receive any fresh commitments that can improve the country’s approximately 50-day fuel inventory since this was not discussed during the summit. He said these are bilateral discussions among the countries that started since the Middle East conflict broke out on February 28.

Another crucial lesson that the Middle East crisis taught ASEAN is the need to establish an ASEAN Maritime Center to strengthen maritime cooperation. Marcos said this stemmed from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which triggered oil supply shocks globally.

“As has been demonstrated by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz – the Strait of Hormuz is 20% of the entire oil supply of the world. And we are all very aware of the effects of that. But if such a thing would happen in the South China Sea, the inevitable consequences would be alarming, just to even think about,” he explained.

Marcos described the maritime center as a repository of maritime policies within ASEAN and other key stakeholders, and that the Philippines volunteered to host the center.

But he noted that the leaders have yet to establish the framework that details the goals and structure of the ASEAN Maritime Center, which is meant to help maintain peace in the South China Sea, a key international shipping route.

The ASEAN chair also reiterated goals to finalize the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea by the end of the year. According to Marcos, the foundation of economic cooperation between China and ASEAN centers on the finalization of the COC.

ASEAN has aspired for a COC in the South China Sea since 2002, but this has yet to be fully realized.

Marcos did not wish to disclose whether he was more optimistic or pessimistic that the COC could be finalized within the year, but noted that the perspectives of all ASEAN member states must be integrated in the document.

ASEAN generally operates on the principle of consensus, where all member states have to agree on a certain decision.

Myanmar’s reintegration

Aside from regional cooperation and maritime security, Marcos also described the situation in Myanmar as a key topic during leaders’ talks.

Since 2021, ASEAN has restricted high-level representation from Myanmar following a military coup. Instead, Myanmar is represented by a non-political representative, often the permanent secretary of the foreign affairs ministry.

The regional bloc has also yet to recognize the government of former junta leader Min Aung Hlaing after taking office last month.

Marcos said that leaders voiced their frustration over the lack of progress on the implementation of a Five-Point Consensus peace plan, highlighting a need to think of other ways to improve the process of normalization in Myanmar following a post-coup crisis.

“I think it is more a recognition that we have to find other ways or something to move the thing forward. And we were talking about it in negotiations, sometimes when you change, you move the parameters one millimeter, it makes all the difference,” Marcos explained.

“So we’re still trying to, we’re asking all the member states, all the leaders and their ministries, what that millimeter shift could possibly be.” – Rappler.com