ASEAN diplomats voice ‘serious concern’ over Iran war and energy crisis

Southeast Asian countries are highly affected by oil supply shortages caused by the Iran-war" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="38748" data-entity-type="event">Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz closure.Southeast Asian nations are “deeply concerned” about the impact of blockades of key maritime trade routes in the Middle East, their top diplomats have said.Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and their key ⁠partners met in the Philippines on Tuesday against a backdrop of instability due to the global impact on trade and energy supplies caused by the US-Israel war on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as territorial disputes with Beijing in the China-sea" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="8346" data-entity-type="location">South China Sea.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Trump to visit Xi Jinping in China on May 14 and 15 after Iran-war" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="38748" data-entity-type="event">Iran war delaylist 2 of 4Southeast Asia’s leaders confront fallout from Iran-war" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="38748" data-entity-type="event">Iran war at ASEAN summitlist 3 of 4Global energy crisis highlights meagre oil buffers in developing worldlist 4 of 4World reacts to US-Iran deal to extend ceasefire, reopen Strait of Hormuzend of listSoutheast Asian countries have a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of $3.8 trillion but are highly exposed to supply limitations caused by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, as they are heavily dependent on Gulf countries for their oil imports.At the ongoing ASEAN summit in Manila, heads of state and top diplomats from the region are seeking to agree on an oil-sharing mechanism to mitigate the impact of the war on Iran.Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis announced a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia on Monday, opening a potential new front in the war and risking aggravating the threat to global energy supplies and trade beyond the Gulf.“We are deeply concerned that these ‌developments severely undermine the ongoing efforts of key mediators and diminish the prospects for a peaceful resolution through dialogue and diplomacy,” ASEAN ministers said in a statement.Top diplomats from the United States, Russia and China are also attending the ASEAN summit, another reminder of how the war on Iran is reshaping international diplomacy and the global energy supply.