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Foreign Ministers Call for ‘Immediate Cessation’ of Middle East Hostilities The fighting between Iran and
the United States is set to have “immediate and long-term effects” on Southeast Asia and its people, the ministers
said. By Sebastian Strangio July 23, 2026 Flags of the 11 ASEAN member states stand on stage at the 59th ASEAN Foreign
Ministers’ Meeting in Manila, Philippines, July 21, 2026. Credit: National Organising Committee of Philippines
Subscribe for ads-free reading Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have expressed
“serious concern” over the renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran and called for the resumption of
free movement through the Strait of Hormuz. In a joint statement released after the close of the 59th ASEAN Foreign
Ministers’ Meeting in Manila on Tuesday, ministers from the 11-nation bloc said that they were “deeply concerned
that these developments severely undermine the ongoing efforts of key mediators and diminish the prospects for a
peaceful resolution through dialogue and diplomacy.” “We called on all parties concerned to exercise utmost
self-restraint and avoid any acts that may further aggravate the situation,” the statement said, while calling for
“a complete and immediate cessation of hostilities across all fronts in the Middle East.” The ceasefire between Iran
and the U.S., which was initially agreed in April and then formalized in June, collapsed earlier this month after both
sides accused the other of reneging on their agreements. The U.S. has since resumed its air attacks on Iran, which have
been met by increased Iranian attacks on shipping and targets across the region, one of which killed three U.S. military
personnel in Jordan. As Al Jazeera reported, the conflict has in recent days “expanded beyond military targets, with
strikes increasingly hitting civilian infrastructure while both sides continue to harden their public positions.”
Southeast Asian nations were hit hard by the initial phase of the war, which began with the joint U.S.-Israeli attacks
on Iran on February 28 and prompted Iran to block shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. This led to an immediate spike
in the price of oil and gas from the Middle East, the source of around 60 percent of Asia’s crude oil imports. While
each nation’s degree of vulnerability to Middle Eastern oil imports differs considerably, ASEAN’s foreign ministers
welcomed the initial cessation of hostilities in April, calling for both Iran and the U.S. to “continue negotiations
that will lead to the permanent end of the conflict and lasting peace and stability in the region.” Echoing ASEAN’s
earlier statements about the conflict, the foreign ministers noted on Tuesday that the return to fighting, which came
after a short resumption of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, would “immediate and long-term effects” on the
region’s people. This also stood to have negative impacts “on regional trade, energy, and food security,
including energy markets and supply chains, agricultural production, and the stability of agricultural input supply
chains, particularly fertilizers.” Finally, the ministers stressed the importance of maintaining “maritime
safety and security, and upholding freedom of navigation in and overflight,” and called for the restoration of the
“safe, unimpeded, and continuous transit passage of vessels and aircraft in the Strait of Hormuz.” The
resumption of the U.S.-Iran war has overshadowed this week’s ASEAN-related meetings in Manila, which have brought
together. During his meeting with ASEAN and other regional leaders yesterday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned
them that Iran’s demand to control and collect tolls in the Strait of Hormuz would threaten the world’s
economy and set a precedent that could be repeated elsewhere in the world. “If we create a precedent in the Middle
East where a nation-state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll and if you
don’t pay them, blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent which will repeat itself in other
parts of the world, including in this region,” he said. It is unclear how receptive the audience was to
Rubio’s warning. While the bloc’s initial statement on the war on March 4 explicitly noted that it had resulted
from “attacks initiated by Israel and the United States,” this week’s statement made no such mention; nor did it
single out Iran for blame. While the statement reflected ASEAN’s characteristic diplomatic caution, the resumption
of the war, after the brazen U.S.-Israeli attacks that started the conflict in the first place, will likely continue to
undermine perceptions of U.S. reliability in Southeast Asia. In comments to Politico, four Washington-based Asian
diplomats, including three who represent ASEAN nations, said that their governments were “aghast at what they see
as Washington’s failure to anticipate the conflict’s regional economic knock-on effects.” “The Iran war just
confirmed many Southeast Asian leaders’ broader worries about U.S. global leadership,” one of the ASEAN diplomats
told the publication. In any event, an immediate end to the fighting seems unlikely. Rubio said that Iran “has
been reaching out to the United States, both directly and indirectly, to engage in talks about settling the
differences.” While “the U.S. would love to reach a diplomatic settlement,” the Trump administration
is “not going to sit by and let ships be blown up or Americans be attacked,” he added. Southeast Asian
governments, having just adjusted with some difficulty to the first phase of the conflict, now seem set a renewed –
and possibly prolonged – spell of economic turmoil. Already have an account? Log in. You have reached the limit of 2
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Subscribe Now View Subscription Options Already have an account? Log in. Foreign ministers from the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have expressed “serious concern” over the renewed hostilities between the United
States and Iran and called for the resumption of free movement through the Strait of Hormuz. In a joint statement
released after the close of the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Manila on Tuesday, ministers from the
11-nation bloc said that they were “deeply concerned that these developments severely undermine the ongoing
efforts of key mediators and diminish the prospects for a peaceful resolution through dialogue and diplomacy.” “We
called on all parties concerned to exercise utmost self-restraint and avoid any acts that may further aggravate the
situation,” the statement said, while calling for “a complete and immediate cessation of hostilities across all
fronts in the Middle East.” The ceasefire between Iran and the U.S., which was initially agreed in April and then
formalized in June, collapsed earlier this month after both sides accused the other of reneging on their agreements. The
U.S. has since resumed its air attacks on Iran, which have been met by increased Iranian attacks on shipping and targets
across the region, one of which killed three U.S. military personnel in Jordan. As Al Jazeera reported, the conflict has
in recent days “expanded beyond military targets, with strikes increasingly hitting civilian infrastructure while both
sides continue to harden their public positions.” Southeast Asian nations were hit hard by the initial phase of the
war, which began with the joint U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28 and prompted Iran to block shipping through
the Strait of Hormuz. This led to an immediate spike in the price of oil and gas from the Middle East, the source of
around 60 percent of Asia’s crude oil imports. While each nation’s degree of vulnerability to Middle Eastern oil
imports differs considerably, ASEAN’s foreign ministers welcomed the initial cessation of hostilities in April,
calling for both Iran and the U.S. to “continue negotiations that will lead to the permanent end of the conflict and
lasting peace and stability in the region.” Echoing ASEAN’s earlier statements about the conflict, the foreign
ministers noted on Tuesday that the return to fighting, which came after a short resumption of shipping in the Strait of
Hormuz, would “immediate and long-term effects” on the region’s people. This also stood to have negative
impacts “on regional trade, energy, and food security, including energy markets and supply chains, agricultural
production, and the stability of agricultural input supply chains, particularly fertilizers.” Finally, the ministers
stressed the importance of maintaining “maritime safety and security, and upholding freedom of navigation in and
overflight,” and called for the restoration of the “safe, unimpeded, and continuous transit passage of
vessels and aircraft in the Strait of Hormuz.” The resumption of the U.S.-Iran war has overshadowed this week’s
ASEAN-related meetings in Manila, which have brought together. During his meeting with ASEAN and other regional leaders
yesterday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned them that Iran’s demand to control and collect tolls in the
Strait of Hormuz would threaten the world’s economy and set a precedent that could be repeated elsewhere in the
world. “If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation-state can decide that they are going to control
an international waterway, charge a toll and if you don’t pay them, blow up your ships, we have created a very
dangerous precedent which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region,” he said. It
is unclear how receptive the audience was to Rubio’s warning. While the bloc’s initial statement on the war on
March 4 explicitly noted that it had resulted from “attacks initiated by Israel and the United States,” this
week’s statement made no such mention; nor did it single out Iran for blame. While the statement reflected
ASEAN’s characteristic diplomatic caution, the resumption of the war, after the brazen U.S.-Israeli attacks that
started the conflict in the first place, will likely continue to undermine perceptions of U.S. reliability in Southeast
Asia. In comments to Politico, four Washington-based Asian diplomats, including three who represent ASEAN nations, said
that their governments were “aghast at what they see as Washington’s failure to anticipate the conflict’s
regional economic knock-on effects.” “The Iran war just confirmed many Southeast Asian leaders’ broader
worries about U.S. global leadership,” one of the ASEAN diplomats told the publication. In any event, an immediate end
to the fighting seems unlikely. Rubio said that Iran “has been reaching out to the United States, both directly
and indirectly, to engage in talks about settling the differences.” While “the U.S. would love to reach a
diplomatic settlement,” the Trump administration is “not going to sit by and let ships be blown up or
Americans be attacked,” he added. Southeast Asian governments, having just adjusted with some difficulty to the
first phase of the conflict, now seem set a renewed – and possibly prolonged – spell of economic turmoil.
AuthorsStaff AuthorSebastian StrangioSebastian Strangio is Southeast Asia editor at The Diplomat. View
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