MANILA, Philippines: ASEAN called for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz on July 21 as renewed US-Iranian fighting threatened energy, trade and food security across Southeast Asia.
Foreign ministers from the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations said the fighting was undermining mediation efforts and reducing the prospects of a diplomatic settlement.
The ministers urged all parties to exercise restraint and immediately halt hostilities across the Middle East. They also called for safe, continuous and unobstructed passage for ships and aircraft through the strait.
The ASEAN statement said countries must protect freedom of navigation under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. It also urged parties to safeguard ships and seafarers.
ASEAN warned that continued tensions could disrupt energy markets, agricultural production and fertiliser supplies. The bloc said those effects could further weaken regional trade and food security.
Southeast Asia remains particularly exposed to disruptions in Middle Eastern energy supplies. Before the conflict, the Middle East provided about 60% of the region’s crude oil imports and one-third of its gas imports, according to the International Energy Agency.
The IEA said the earlier near-closure of the strait caused shortages of liquefied petroleum gas, petrochemical feedstocks and other chemical products. It also pushed governments to introduce subsidies, price controls and measures to reduce fuel demand.
Read: Hormuz Shipping Traffic Halves as US-Iran Strikes Grow
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a national energy emergency on March 24 after the conflict threatened the availability and stability of the country’s fuel supplies.
ASEAN did not provide an exact release time for Tuesday’s statement. Therefore, no local-time or PKT conversion was available.
