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Sam Beltran

The spectre of the global energy crisis loomed over the three-day Asean summit in the Philippines as regional leaders converge for a final day of talks in Cebu on Friday.
Analysts say that while some major flashpoints were addressed – with Thailand and Cambodia’s joint statement of solidarity being a bright spot – surging fuel costs as a result of the Iran war weighed heaviest on the minds of Southeast Asian leaders.
The fuel crisis was the “defining issue”, said Vu Lam, an Asean observer and policy researcher. Philippine leader and Association of Southeast Asian Nations chair Ferdinand Marcos Jnr had even restructured the summit agenda to prioritise energy security.
In his opening remarks on Friday, Marcos 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.”

On Thursday, economic ministers “identified practical, concrete response measures” to boost energy and food security and called for joint efforts to overcome supply chain disruptions from the closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Southeast Asia is one of the worst affected by the energy crisis due to its high imports of oil and gas coming from the Gulf. Countries in the region have been implementing drastic measures to offset price shocks such as reduced work weeks, remote work protocols, as well as subsidies and price freezes.
Filipino lawmakers had urged Marcos to cancel the summit after the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Manila instead stripped down the affair by moving meetings online and reducing in-person programmes, with Marcos saying in March it would be a “bare-bones” event to allay fears over excessive spending.
Regional affairs
The Philippines as Asean chair faces the task of addressing long-standing regional issues, such as Myanmar’s civil war, the Thai-Cambodian border row and territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Manila had arranged a rare set of talks between Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thai counterpart Anutin Charnvirakul after months without engagement. Thai and Cambodian troops remain stationed at the border following skirmishes in July and December last year.
Both leaders announced on Thursday they had agreed to pursue trust-building measures and establish a lasting truce. “Now is the time for us to look forwards and walk this path together towards peace,” Anutin said.
Also on Thursday, Asean secretary general Kao Kim Hourn told Reuters the bloc’s foreign ministers had agreed to a virtual meeting with their Myanmar counterpart to normalise ties with the regime. Manila has also urged the conflict-torn country to allow Asean’s special envoy to meet detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The goal of finalising a code of conduct (COC) for the South China Sea, however, had to take a back seat. Asean spokesman Dominic Xavier Imperial confirmed that discussions would take place at the summit, but said outcomes were unlikely to be expected.
With the energy crisis in the forefront, Manila had little incentive to rush a weak agreement just to hit the July deadline, Lam said. “Every leader is under domestic pressure from rising fuel costs, which leaves little room for other matters.”
Enrico Gloria, an assistant professor of political science at the University of the Philippines, said: “The problem with the COC is the lack of time combined with the deeper problem of compromising on the most difficult issues.”
No major milestone had been achieved that would suggest the document was close to being finalised, and issues such as the oil crisis and the Thailand-Cambodia conflict were “also competing for the attention of Asean members this year, adding further strain to the process”, he said.
“But even beyond these distractions, the central difficulty remains the rigidity of core positions, particularly between China and the Philippines.”


Under Manila, the bloc could at best hope for a “slow and incremental progress towards continued negotiations”, he said.
“This could still matter if it helps Asean and China maintain dialogue and build a shared understanding on how to manage disputes at sea. But ultimately, a finalised and meaningful COC under the current conditions remains unlikely.”
Need for unified front
The global energy crisis is the best time for Asean unity to show itself in practical ways, analysts say.
“Now [there is] a stronger incentive to show that Asean can deliver concrete forms of regional cooperation. This may include stronger coordination on supply chains, food security, and even arrangements where Asean countries help one another ensure that oil supply remains stable for everyone,” Gloria said.
“More specifically, the Philippines as chair will likely push for the finalisation of a regional fuel-sharing agreement, along with more practical measures that seek to guarantee stable regional supply chains and address food security.”
One tangible measure would be to ratify the Asean Petroleum Security Agreement, Lam said. The agreement would implement a regional power grid, keep trade open and reinforce existing free trade deals such as with China and South Korea.

“Beyond that, the region needs coordinated supply diversification rather than the current ad hoc scramble. Countries are already turning to the US, Brunei, Libya, and Russia to replace Gulf supplies, but without a shared strategy thus far,” he said.
Collins Chong, a foreign affairs analyst at Universiti Malaya, said the problem was that there was no “cohesive framework”. “The individual national approach has been different,” he said.
“We have also seen attempts by other nations, including Australia, to secure their own energy security with individual Asean members … we have yet to see these credible efforts to ensure that there’s this integrated approach to to prioritise Asean first,” he said.
“All of this reflects the still inconsistent approaches and how and how much potential that Asean still can offer in terms of serving as the reliable mitigation platform or an alternative towards this energy crisis in the region.”


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Energy crisis dominates Asean summit, forcing long-standing issues to back burner

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr delivers an opening speech at the Asean summit in Cebu on Friday. Photo: Reuters

Myanmar’s foreign affairs ministry permanent secretary U Hau Khan Sum (left) poses with Asean leaders on Friday. Photo: Reuters

Thailand Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul (left), Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet (centre) and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos leave their trilateral meeting on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

Filipino protesters hold a banner and signs at a footbridge to attract the attention of Asean leaders meeting in Cebu on Friday. Photo: EPA

Philippines pushes for South China Sea code by year end: ‘we owe it to the world’

A Chinese coastguard vessel (right) fires its water cannon at the Philippine BRP Datu Pagbuaya near Philippines-occupied Thitu island, locally called Pag-asa island, at the South China Sea last October. Photo: Philippine coastguard via AP

Philippines’ Foreign Minister Theresa Lazaro speaks at a press conference during the Asean foreign ministers’ meeting retreat in Cebu on January 29. Photo: AFP

US President Donald Trump gathers with several Asean leaders for a group photo before the Asean-US summit in Kuala Lumpur in October. Photo: AFP

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Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing in Moscow in May last year. Photo: Xinhua

The Karen National Union Brigade 6, an armed rebel group in eastern Kayin state, conducts a drill in 2021 amid the ongoing civil war in Myanmar. Photo: AFP

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A worker walks past a liquefied natural gas tanker in the Malacca Strait on April 15. Photo: EPA

A container ship enters the Singapore Strait from the Strait of Malacca. Photo: Reuters

The Epaminondas container ship seized by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran, on Wednesday. Photo: WANA/Reuters

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A man refuels the tank of a motorcycle at a petrol station in Manila, the Philippines, on April 7. The Strait of Hormuz blockade has resulted in energy shortages in Asia. Photo: AFP

A tugboat guides the Russian oil tanker Anatoly Kolodkin as it arrives at a port in northwestern Cuba on March 31. Asean members have turned to Russia to secure oil supplies. Photo: AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) greets his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on April 13. Photo: EPA

People wait to refill their motorbikes at a petrol station in Hanoi in March. Vietnam has secured several energy-related agreements with Russia to address fuel shortages in the country. Photo: EPA

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Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto (right) shakes hands with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong after a press conference at the presidential palace in Jakarta in November 2024. Photo: AFP

A view inside the Asean Secretariat building during a foreign ministers’ meeting in 2022. Indonesia has hosted the secretariat since it was established in 1976. Photo: Asean/AFP 

Prabowo Subianto (centre), then Indonesia’s defence minister, appears with his Asean counterparts at a regional summit in November 2023, three months before his election as the country’s president. Photo: AFP

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Southeast Asia is one of the worst affected by the global fuel crisis due to its high imports of oil and gas coming from the Gulf


Southeast Asia is one of the worst affected by the global fuel crisis due to its high imports of oil and gas coming from the Gulf.


Energy crisis dominates Asean summit, forcing long-standing issues to back burner

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Southeast Asia is one of the worst affected by the global fuel crisis due to its high imports of oil and gas coming from the Gulf

Southeast Asia is one of the worst affected by the global fuel crisis due to its high imports of oil and gas coming from the Gulf