ASEAN braces for economic fallout from Mid-East crisis, warns of “prolonged period of instability”

ASEAN warns the Middle East conflict could disrupt trade, raise energy costs and slow regional growth, as ministers pledge open markets and stronger energy security cooperation Read more at straitstimes.com.

MANILA – ASEAN economic ministers on March 13 warned that prolonged geopolitical instability from the escalating conflict in the Middle East could threaten economic security across South-east Asia, disrupt supply chains and hinder the region’s growth.

“A prolonged period of geopolitical instability could pose sustained challenges to the global economic outlook, which has already been battered by multiple headwinds in recent years,” read the joint statement issued after the ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Retreat held in Manila.

“It will also impact economic security and stability, the livelihoods of millions of people in the region, and hinder economic progress in ASEAN,” added the economic ministers, who were hosted by the Philippines as chair of the regional grouping in 2026.

Their warning comes as tensions in the Middle East have risen sharply following the US-Israeli strike on Iran at the end of February that has triggered retaliatory attacks across the region and raised fears of a wider conflict.

The violence has already pushed global oil prices higher and threatened key shipping routes linking Asia with Europe and the Gulf.

The ASEAN economic ministers then pledged to work together more closely and to keep ASEAN markets open for trade and investment “by maintaining a transparent and predictable regional economic architecture”.