MACTAN, Cebu — Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders are moving toward a regional fuel reserve system and a Philippine-based maritime center as the bloc scrambles to manage the fallout from the Middle East conflict, rising oil prices, and growing geopolitical tensions in the South China Sea. 

Speaking after a full day of ASEAN Summit meetings on Friday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the leaders agreed that Southeast Asia must shift from reactive crisis management to coordinated long-term preparedness.

“Our discussions made clear that ASEAN should not just react to crises. We must anticipate, prepare, coordinate, and act together,” Marcos said in a press conference before the summit gala dinner.

The Middle East conflict dominated discussions among the 11 ASEAN leaders, with concerns centered on fuel supply disruptions, shipping instability, and the rising costs of food and essential goods.

Marcos said the ASEAN leaders agreed to accelerate the ratification of the ASEAN Petroleum Security Agreement (APSA), which would allow member states to support one another during fuel shortages.

The bloc is also studying the creation of a regional oil stockpile system covering crude oil and refined fuels, similar to ASEAN’s emergency rice reserve mechanism.

“What we talked about was a fuel reserve,” Marcos said. “So when something like this happens again, there is a reserve that we can all avail of.”

Supply equalizer

He said ASEAN countries are currently facing different fuel pressures, with some prioritizing diesel supply while others are struggling with shortages of jet fuel, gasoline, or gas.

“Some countries have a surplus, others have a shortage, so we’re trying to balance that out,” Marcos said.

He disclosed that the Philippines began contacting suppliers immediately after the war in the Middle East broke out on 28 February, including “non-traditional suppliers” in Africa and Latin America.

“We already were in very close coordination with our ASEAN partners,” he said.

Marcos also said the ASEAN leaders pushed for the operationalization of the ASEAN Power Grid, a long-running proposal to interconnect electricity networks across the region to support cross-border power sharing and renewable energy integration.

“All of these are new ideas, but the understanding of everybody is that it is all ASAP,” he said. “We needed it yesterday.”

Maritime center proposed

The summit also saw the Philippines make a  key proposal: the establishment of an ASEAN Maritime Center in the country.

Marcos said the ASEAN leaders unanimously backed the concept, which aims to coordinate maritime monitoring, navigation safety, anti-smuggling and anti-trafficking operations, and maritime policy cooperation across the region.

“I did not hear any arguments against it,” Marcos said.

He stressed that the proposed center is not intended to target China or confront any country amid the tensions in the South China Sea.

“What we are looking for is the continued freedom of navigation and peaceful navigation in the South China Sea,” he said.

The President warned that any major disruption in the South China Sea would have severe global consequences given the volume of trade that passes through the area.

“The vessel traffic in the South China Sea is immense,” Marcos said.

The declaration on maritime cooperation also reaffirmed ASEAN’s adherence to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), international law, and the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation.

Four ASEAN states — the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei — have overlapping maritime disputes with China in the South China Sea.

The Philippines has repeatedly faced confrontations with Chinese vessels in disputed areas, including Scarborough Shoal and parts of the Spratly Islands.

The Myanmar problem

On Myanmar, Marcos acknowledged growing frustration among ASEAN member states over the lack of progress in implementing the bloc’s Five-Point Consensus aimed at restoring peace and democratic transition in the conflict-hit country.

“It is a thorny problem for which we cannot say there are obvious solutions,” Marcos said.

Still, he said ASEAN leaders agreed that the bloc must intensify efforts to advance the peace process.

“Myanmar is not merely a trade partner. Myanmar is not merely a friend to ASEAN. Myanmar is part of the ASEAN family,” he said.

“It is a tragedy when a family member is left out of the family for whatever reason,” he added.

Marcos said the leaders discussed what he described as a possible “nano-shift” in ASEAN’s approach to Myanmar, while maintaining the bloc’s core principles on human rights, democracy, and humanitarian concerns.