China, ASEAN diplomats call for Mideast peace as US-Iran war escalates

The foreign ministers of China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) called for dialogue and the peaceful resolution of conflicts, urging a “complete and immediate” end to hostilities in the Middle East amid the ongoing US-Iran war.

A joint statement released on Friday by China and the 11-member ASEAN bloc said the two sides recognise that the “rapidly evolving situation in the Middle East and its spillover effects pose a grave threat to the lives and safety of civilians, as well as to regional and global peace, stability, and economic activities including regional trade, investment, energy, and food security.”

The joint statement was released after the foreign ministers of China and ASEAN held a summit on Wednesday in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, the bloc’s current chair.

They emphasised the “importance of dialogue, diplomacy, and the peaceful resolution of conflicts in accordance with international law,” said the statement released by Beijing.

It came as the US and Iran continued to engage in retaliatory military strikes for the 13th consecutive day, despite signing the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding last month to uphold a ceasefire reached on April 8 and hold talks for a permanent end to the war.