Southeast Asia Hold Security Talks     07/21 06:32

   

   MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- Southeast Asia's top diplomats opened three days 
of talks in the Philippine capital Tuesday with an agenda topped by their most 
daunting security problems and a backdrop of unfolding crises led by the 
resurging war in Iran and a violent skirmish in the disputed South China Sea.

   The foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met 
behind closed doors before issuing a joint statement calling for an immediate 
halt to fighting in the Middle East and the full and safe reopening of the 
Strait of Hormuz.

   "We expressed serious concern over the rapidly evolving situation in the 
Middle East, particularly the renewed hostilities involving the United States 
of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran," the ASEAN ministers said.

   The ministers also said they reaffirmed the obligations of states to 
peacefully resolve their differences and respect national sovereignty and 
territorial integrity.

   Southeast Asia, a bustling region of more than 680 million people, relies 
heavily on Middle East oil and gas and was severely hit by the global supply 
and price shocks sparked by the Iran war. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos 
Jr. declared a national energy emergency in March to ensure the availability of 
fuel, food and other basic goods and prevent hoarding and profiteering.

   U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Manila on Tuesday morning for 
an annual meeting with his ASEAN counterparts on Wednesday, where the Middle 
crisis will be high in the agenda along with other security and economic issues.

   Rubio plans to join regional security talks called the ASEAN Regional Forum, 
which also will include the European Union, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey 
Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

   Rubio, Wang and Lavrov have not publicly announced any plan to meet on the 
sidelines. If Rubio and Wang speak, it would be the highest-level contact 
between the U.S. and China since President Donald Trump flew to flew to Beijing 
in May for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping that focused on the 
U.S.-Israel war on Iran, trade and the status of Taiwan, among other issues.

   The three will attend a final forum Thursday called the East Asia Summit, 
where 18 Western and Asian countries, including the 11-nation ASEAN, will 
tackle geopolitical, economic and security concerns.

   ASEAN ministers were scheduled to meet Wang Yi on Wednesday with an agenda 
that includes a discussion on the status of negotiations between China and the 
regional bloc on a proposed pact called a "code of conduct," which aims to 
prevent territorial disputes in the South China Sea from spiraling out of 
control.

   A new clash in the disputed waters underscored the urgency of the proposed 
nonaggression pact, which has been negotiated by the two sides for about two 
decades. They aim to conclude talks within the year.

   The Philippine military accused China's coast guard of injuring a Filipino 
sailor during an altercation Monday in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal.

   Chinese coast guard personnel aboard a motorboat repeatedly struck the 
sailor on the head with a wooden baton, injuring him and damaging his smaller 
vessel, the Philippine military said.

   Philippine officials condemned the Chinese coast guard, which blamed the 
Filipinos for starting the high seas confrontation. Marcos called the Chinese 
Ambassador Jing Quan for a meeting Tuesday afternoon, his spokesperson said 
without providing details.