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ASEAN summit to go ahead in May, but shortened to ‘bare bones’ programme due to Middle East conflict

By Thomson Reuters Mar 26, 2026 | 10:37 PM

MANILA, March 27 (Reuters) – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said ​on Friday that ‌the ASEAN Leaders’ summit will go ahead in May, but will ‌be ​shortened to ⁠a “bare-bones” programme that ⁠focuses on addressing issues like fuel supplies, food prices and ​migrant workers.

Marcos said he has consulted ⁠with his ⁠counterparts in the ​regional bloc and asked ​them whether they preferred ‌to postpone the ASEAN summit due to the conflict ⁠in the Middle East.

“The consensus that we came to ⁠is ‌that it is ⁠precisely now ​that ‌we must coordinate ​our efforts,” ⁠Marcos told reporters.

(Reporting by Nestor Corrales, Mikhail Flores and Karen Lema; Editing by David ​Stanway)