Energy crisis front and center as ASEAN leaders prepare for summit
CEBU, Philippines – Conflicts far beyond Southeast Asia are expected to dominate discussions of leaders of the regional ASEAN bloc meeting in the Philippines, with the Middle East crisis posing significant challenges for its fuel import-dependent economies.
The meetings on the island of Cebu on Thursday and Friday will include leaders and foreign and economic ministers of the 11-member grouping, with energy and food supply security top priorities for the region of nearly 700 million people, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said.
The energy crisis, diplomats and analysts say, will test the Philippines' chairmanship, forcing it to coordinate a regional response while preventing ASEAN’s own conflicts, including Myanmar's civil war and last year's deadly and still unresolved border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia, from slipping down the agenda.
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