ASEAN foreign minister meetings produced talks but no immediate collective action on the U.S.-Iran war's energy shock, newly intensifying South China Sea tensions or Myanmar's civil war, but the Philippine chairmanship will likely achieve procedural changes without immediate relief or conflict reduction. On July 24, foreign ministers from the 11 countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) concluded five days of meetings in Manila under the Philippines' 2026 chairmanship. Ministers from the United States, China, Russia, Australia and other external partners attended related gatherings and held bilateral sideline meetings. With respect to the Middle East, ASEAN called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the restoration of passage through the Strait of Hormuz. On the South China Sea, ASEAN and China reiterated their goal of completing a Code of Conduct in 2026 but announced no resolution of four core disputes -- i.e., geographic scope, legal enforceability, relationship to...
