ASEAN opens high-stakes summit with call for unity amid global turmoil

Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) opened their annual meeting in Manila on Tuesday with a call for greater unity and coordinated action as the region confronts mounting geopolitical tensions, maritime disputes and persistent conflicts.

Opening the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro urged member states to respond with “active, deliberate problem solving” in a world increasingly shaped by “upheaval, uncertainty and unpredictability.”

“There is a profound urgency to our work,” Lazaro said, calling on ASEAN members to pursue “creative solutions and viable pathways” through complex regional and global challenges.

ASEAN seeks stronger collective voice

Invoking the Philippines’ 2026 ASEAN chairmanship theme, Navigating Our Future, Together, Lazaro said the bloc must remain united in shaping its future rather than reacting to external pressures.

“In a fractured global landscape, no single nation can weather these storms alone. Our strength and resilience lie in our community,” she said, warning that failure to act together could weaken ASEAN’s cohesion.