By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
Amid uncertainty over further developments in the Middle East following the recent fallout of U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers convened a special meeting on Monday to exchange views on the matter.
The delegates of the 11-nation bloc reaffirmed their belief in using peaceful means to resolve their differences in accordance with international law, reminding all States of their duty to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure during armed conflicts.
They likewise stressed the importance of maintaining freedom of navigation and overflight, ensuring unhampered flow of civilian traffic through international seas and airspaces, in accordance with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS).
This is in response to the global impact of conflicts in the oil-rich region, which continues to cripple energy markets, disrupt supply chains, and interrupt air transport.
As such, the Ministers underscored the need for further collaboration between the organization’s member states, such as unifying responses to ensure uninterrupted intra-ASEAN trade and inflow of investments, as well as maintaining sufficient and timely access to essential goods and raw materials.
The statement said, “The Meeting also highlighted the importance of the ratification of the Second Protocol to Upgrade the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), which contains provisions on Trade in Humanitarian Crisis Situations.”
Diversification of energy resources and policies geared towards championing sustainability were likewise brought to the forefront of the discussion, with the long-term vision of ensuring regional resiliency and development in the face of adversity.
Arrangements to maintain a decent cost of living and financial capacity for people across ASEAN are also being thoroughly discussed, to account for the ripple effects of economic shocks brought about by international conflicts such as those in the Middle East.
The statement added, “The Meeting also underscored the importance of strengthening ASEAN cooperation to address the effects of crisis on food systems including through the possible expansion of the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR), and utilization of the ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS), and exploring where feasible, joint approaches to securing essential commodities, critical agricultural inputs.”
These crisis mechanisms aim to ensure that during these challenging times, all nations under the 11-member bloc can continue to support each other as they keep their bottomlines intact and their borders open for commerce, people-to-people exchanges, and growth and development.
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