MANILA, July 20 — Foreign ministers from the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are meeting here to draft a joint call for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the maritime chokepoint between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. The talks come amid heightened regional tension. Iran has previously threatened to block the Strait in response to international sanctions.
The ministers are expected to issue a statement affirming the principles of freedom of navigation and unimpeded commerce, calling for the Strait to remain open to international shipping.
The Meeting and Its Host
Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo is hosting the gathering. The ASEAN Secretary-General, Kao Kim Hourn — who assumed office on 1 January 2023 — is also present. The bloc was founded on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.
It has since expanded, adding Brunei in 1984, Vietnam in 1995, Laos and Myanmar in 1997, and Cambodia in 1999. The combined GDP of the 10 member states was over $3.6 trillion in 2022.
The Strait’s Strategic Weight
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, approximately 20% of the world’s petroleum — about 20 million barrels per day — passes through the Strait of Hormuz. At its narrowest point, the channel is 33 kilometers wide. The outcome of the Manila talks could have significant implications for global energy markets and regional geopolitics.
Any disruption to shipping through the Strait would immediately affect crude oil flows that underpin the global energy trade. Southeast Asian countries are heavily dependent on Middle Eastern crude.
In 2022, ASEAN imported about 4.5 million barrels per day of crude oil, with over 70% of that volume coming from the Persian Gulf. The single largest importer and transit hub is Singapore: a major refining center, it imports nearly all of its crude from the Middle East. It is the dependence on that supply line that has driven ASEAN to take a public stance.
The joint statement, once released, will represent the bloc’s most coordinated diplomatic push on a security matter that is not directly within its immediate neighborhood.
Looking Ahead
Analysts will be watching whether the ASEAN call receives support from wider international fora, including the United Nations. For now, the foreign ministers remain in Manila, working through the language of a statement that balances the bloc’s collective interest in open sea lanes with the political complexities of the Iran sanctions dispute.
