Southeast Asian leaders will reaffirm core values in veiled Mideast war rebuke

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Southeast Asian leaders plan to issue a contingency plan that upholds international law, sovereignty and freedom of navigation in what could be seen as a veiled rebuke to the United States, Israel and Iran over the Middle East war which has impacted their region, according to a draft declaration seen Thursday by The Associated Press.

The declaration is set to be issued by the leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations when they meet in an annual summit on Friday in the central Philippine island province of Cebu.

It also outlines a crisis plan to deal with the energy shortages and other global problems caused by the war.

This year’s host, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has said the summit with 10 other national leaders and a lower-level representative from Myanmar will focus on the region’s energy security, food supply and the protection of its people, including more than a million Southeast Asian workers and seafarers in the Middle East.

Marcos has ordered the gathering to be stripped of its traditional pomp in recognition of economic headwinds worldwide.

A volatile but economically fast-growing region of about 680 million people, Southeast Asia has its share of major flash points, including decades-long territorial disputes involving China, a five-year civil war in Myanmar and a recent border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia.

But its leaders have expressed serious concern over a war that has caused global economic fallout and endangered many citizens of their nations.

Several workers in the Middle East, including two from the Philippines, have been killed in the current fighting, and thousands of workers from Southeast Asia have either flown home or were evacuated by their governments from the troubled region.

The Asian Development Bank warned in March, about a month after the hostilities in the Middle East broke out, that prolonged disruptions from the war could choke growth and spur inflation in Asia and the Pacific region, which are heavily dependent on oil and gas from the Middle East.

“We emphasized the importance of upholding international law and ensuring that regional cooperation remains anchored in dialogue, trust and respect for sovereignty,” the draft statement says.

Southeast Asia will “maintain open, transparent and predictable markets as well as secure and open sea lanes, and ensure freedom of navigation, the safe, unimpeded and continuous transit passage of vessels and aircraft in straits used for international navigation,” it says.

That will “preserve the unimpeded flow of essential goods, including food, energy and key inputs, in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” it says.

The ASEAN leaders will affirm “shared resolve” to fortify regional resilience.

The contingency plan calls for actions including the ratification possibly this year of an agreement that will pave the way for coordinated emergency fuel sharing, planning a regional power grid, diversifying the region’s sources of crude oil, promoting the use of electric vehicles and studying the use of new technologies, including civilian nuclear energy.

They are also seeking “a possible ASEAN crisis communication and coordination protocol to ensure a coherent, timely and coordinated regional response to crises.”

Aside from the Philippines, ASEAN consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam. East Timor was accepted as a full member in October last year.

From left, East Timor's Foreign Minister Bendito dos Santos Freitas, Vietnam's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dang Hoang Giang, Philippine's Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro, Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Brunei's Second Foreign Minister Erywan Pehin Yusof, and Cambodia's Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn hold hands during a group photo session at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the Mactan Expo in Cebu province, central Philippines on Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, Pool)

ASEAN Secretary General Kao Kim Hourn attends the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' Meeting ahead of the 48th ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings in Cebu, Philippines, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (Eloisa Lopez/Pool Photo via AP)

Thailand's Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow takes a note as he attends the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' Meeting ahead of the 48th ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings in Cebu, Philippines, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (Eloisa Lopez/Pool Photo via AP)

Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro, top left, delivers her opening statement during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' Meeting ahead of the 48th ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings in Cebu, Philippines, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (Eloisa Lopez/Pool Photo via AP)

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — As the music comes on in a Gaza refugee camp, a group of boys and girls start showing off their breakdancing moves, kicking and spinning with intense focus on their fast footwork. Two young girls grin at each other as they nailed a tricky part of the routine.

It’s a rare moment of respite and catharsis amid the harsh realities of life in the Gaza Strip. The children, some wearing sliders on their feet, dance next to mangled metal rods jutting out from a mound of rubble and shattered concrete. The school that trains them is in the Nuseirat refugee camp, a crowded, built-up camp in central Gaza dating back to the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

“I come to this center because I discovered that I have a talent for breakdancing, and I also come here to release the negative energy inside me and to enjoy,” said Habiba Abu Khater, one of the children from around five to 14 years old who train at the school. She said she's been attending for four years and is happy about her progress after starting from scratch.

Instructor Fayez Saraj said the school, established in the camp in 2004, helps children build their self confidence and improve their mental health through break dance, gymnastics, and contemporary dance.

The movements "help the child with psychological release, especially from the difficult situations we experienced during the years of war," he said. “We have a significant role in … moving them from an atmosphere of depression and frustration to one of joy.”

Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has killed more than 72,600 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, caused widespread destruction and displaced most of the territory’s residents.

The ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It does not give a breakdown of civilians and militants.

Israel launched the offensive after Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 hostage in their attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

While the heaviest fighting has mostly subsided since a fragile ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, deadly Israeli strikes have repeatedly disrupted the truce. Hamas and Israel have accused each other of violating the ceasefire. Palestinians in Gaza are still contending with myriad daily struggles.

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Associated Press writer Mariam Fam in Winter Park, Florida, contributed to this report.

Palestinian children practice breakdancing outside a dance studio in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinian children practice breakdancing in a dance studio in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinian children practice breakdancing in a dance studio in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)