By MICHELLE L. PRICE and JIM GOMEZ Associated Press
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Asian leaders Wednesday 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.
Rubio spoke at the start of an annual meeting in the Philippine capital, Manila, with counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations who have expressed alarm over the resurgent war in the Middle East that has battered their region. Despite Washington’s preoccupation with the war, Rubio said “we’re with ASEAN 100%.”
“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.
Washington’s top diplomat also renewed allegations that Iran has reneged on commitments under a failed peace deal. Rubio said Iran “has been reaching out to the United States, both directly and indirectly, to engage in talks about settling the differences,” but gave no indication that the U.S. was considering returning to peace talks with Iran.
Top diplomats from the U.S., China, Russia and several other countries are in Manila this week to take part in at the ASEAN ministerial gathering. Newly minted British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband was arriving Wednesday, his office said.
Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, told reporters that Moscow would like to see a quick settlement between the U.S. and Iran.
“There are those eager to incite each party to keep the conflict going, but we aren’t one of those,” he said.
“We would like to see it stop — it impacts the global economy and Russia is part of the global economy,” Lavrov said, adding that Moscow is “interested in stable global energy prices to pursue long-term economic policies.”
Southeast Asia hit hard by energy shock from Iran war
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong underscored her country’s concern over the renewed war in the Middle East, warning that “the situation could deteriorate further without much warning.”
“We want to see an end to this war. We want to see a ceasefire. We want to see negotiations and we want the strait to be opened,” Wong told reporters.
“People are being affected by what is happening and has happened to global energy markets and the effect on people has been direct and personal,” she said.
Overreliance on fossil fuel imports from the Middle East has made Southeast Asia particularly vulnerable to the energy shock triggered by the Iran war, according to the International Energy Agency, which called the crisis a “stark wake-up call” for the region’s energy security.
Asian markets imported about 80% of the crude oil and almost 90% of the liquefied natural gas, or LNG, transiting through the Strait of Hormuz in 2025, the IEA said.
Rubio and allies reaffirm commitment to counter growing Chinese influence
Rubio also met with counterparts in the four-nation Quad partnership, which is made up of the U.S., Australia, India and Japan. They discussed maritime and transnational security, among other issues, and issued a joint statement after the talks that reaffirmed their commitment to maritime security initiatives aiming to counter China’s growing influence in the region.
During the meeting, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi voiced strong opposition to any attempts to change the status quo by force in the region, including in the disputed South China Sea and East China Sea, where China’s increasingly aggressive actions have sparked concern.
Tokyo has a long-running dispute over Japan-controlled islands, which Beijing also claims, in the East China Sea.
Wong echoed his concern, saying “we have real concerns about behavior that is destabilizing and risky.”
The Trump administration has repeatedly criticized China’s assertive actions in the South China Sea to the disadvantage of smaller claimant countries like the Philippines, Washington’s oldest treaty ally in Asia.
The territorial disputes, which also involve Taiwan and ASEAN members Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, are high on the agenda of the talks.
ASEAN foreign ministers discussed the disputes on Tuesday, welcoming progress in yearslong negotiations between China and their regional bloc on a proposed non-aggression pact that aims to prevent a major conflict in the disputed waters that could draw in the United States.
A new altercation on Monday between Chinese and Filipino forces in a disputed shoal renewed concerns and prompted Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to summon the Chinese ambassador in Manila.
“We reaffirmed the need to enhance mutual trust and confidence, exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability and avoid actions that may further complicate the situation,” the regional bloc’s ministers said in a draft joint statement.
Rubio and Lavrov to discuss Ukraine
Rubio said he will meet Russia’s foreign minister Lavrov on Thursday and discuss the war in Ukraine. He suggested he would also use the meeting to find other areas of potential cooperation between the U.S. and Russia.
He said the U.S. remains open to playing a role in ending the conflict “if that opportunity presents itself.”
Rubio said those efforts have “kind of fallen off a little bit over the last few months” but he will use the meeting with Lavrov to see if there’s an opportunity to renew talks.
Lavrov, meanwhile, said he will ask Rubio about U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that a settlement on the Ukraine war is getting close.
Rubio also met with his Indian counterpart, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, a U.S. official said. They discussed both regional issues and the Iran war, along with a yet-to-be completed trade agreement to lower Trump’s tariffs on Indian goods.
Rubio met separately with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in a tightly secured convention complex by Manila Bay.
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Associated Press journalists Haruka Nuga and Anton Delgado in Bangkok and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.