Leaders at the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu agreed to advance a shared power grid and a regional maritime center, though details remain pending, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on May 8.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. told reporters that ASEAN nations drew lessons from the Middle East crisis, including the need for a shared fuel reserve to handle supply disruptions such as the Strait of Hormuz closure.
Marcos said the bloc would speed up the ASEAN Power Grid to link all 11 member states and provide affordable electricity to nearly 700 million people. He added that the Philippines has secured no new fuel commitments beyond its current 50-day inventory.
The leaders also supported creation of an ASEAN Maritime Center, which the Philippines volunteered to host, to improve cooperation and help finalize a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea by year-end. On Myanmar, Marcos noted ongoing frustration with the stalled Five-Point Consensus and the need for new approaches to advance normalization.
