ASEAN Summit scales down, focuses on oil, food, migrant workersMANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday, March 27, announced that the 2026 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit will be “bare bones” amid the fuel crisis caused by the tensions in the Middle East—with focus primarily being on oil, food, and migrant workers. Those will be the three subject matters that we will be taking up in the ASEAN Summit,” the president added. The ASEAN Summit in November, where leaders from major players like China, Japan, the United States and more, is still likely to push through, Marcos said. The P22 billion budget for the ASEAN Summit has also been slashed and redirected to those who are affected by the oil crisis, the president said when asked. The majority of the Philippines’ fuel is imported, making it vulnerable to external shocks such as the US-Israel War on Iran.

Source: Philippine Star March 27, 2026 08:10 UTC