Top diplomats gather for security forum in Southeast Asia

(Reuters)

MANILA, July 23 – Top diplomats from Asia, Europe and North America gathered on Thursday for the security-focused ASEAN Regional Forum in Manila, ​where ministers were expected to issue calls for a peaceful settlement after renewed and intensifying hostilities in the Middle ‌East.

The war in Iran and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz could dominate discussions at the plenary event, which will be attended by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and top officials from China, Australia, India, Japan, Britain and others.

The war has been a ​key talking point in the gathering hosted by the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a region with a combined gross domestic ​product of about $3.8 trillion that is heavily reliant on Middle East oil and particularly exposed to the fallout, which ⁠has stoked inflation around the world.

“The world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation,” China’s Vice Foreign Minister Hua Chunying said ​in opening remarks at a forum on Thursday between ASEAN, Japan, South Korea and China.

“The situation in the Middle East has spilled over into ​energy and food supply chains, and security and resilience have been disrupted … demand for maintaining peace and stability has become more urgent,” she said.

It has been 12 days since the Middle East ceasefire collapsed, and the U.S. military launched attacks for a 12th successive night on Thursday. Iranian-aligned Houthis also claimed hits on two Saudi oil ​tankers as part of a blockade that risks forming a second chokehold on global oil supplies at the Red Sea, alongside the Strait ​of Hormuz.

Rubio said on Wednesday that the United States wanted a diplomatic solution, but Tehran was not playing ball.

“The problem we’re having right now is that they’re ‌not ⁠serious about talks,” he told ASEAN ministers.