Manila (TDI): The foreign ministers of the United States, China and Russia will gather in Manila this week for the annual ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, where regional security, the South China Sea, Myanmar and the fallout from the US-Iran conflict are expected to dominate discussions.
The meeting, hosted by the Philippines as ASEAN Chair for 2026, began on Monday and is part of a broader series of ASEAN-related ministerial engagements with dialogue partners.
Philippine Foreign Affairs spokesperson Dominic Xavier Imperial said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov would participate in the main ministerial session on Tuesday and post-ministerial conferences on Thursday, while Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Philippine Foreign Minister Theresa Lazaro.
Imperial said the meeting between the Chinese and Philippine foreign ministers would focus on bilateral relations as well as regional and global developments affecting ASEAN, including security and economic challenges.
Read More: Oman’s Trade Surplus with ASEAN Reaches $3.4bn
The talks will be the first meeting between the two foreign ministers since 2024, as tensions continue over the South China Sea, where Manila has increasingly challenged Beijing’s territorial claims. China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that Wang Yi will arrive in Manila on Wednesday.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who departed for Manila on Monday, said he was open to meeting both Wang Yi and Sergey Lavrov during the ASEAN gathering.
Rubio will participate in all major ASEAN meetings from Monday through Thursday as Washington seeks to strengthen ties with Southeast Asian partners and reinforce its vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Read More: ASEAN Envoy Meets Myanmar Stakeholders to Advance Peace Dialogue
According to the US State Department, Rubio’s visit aims to deepen the US comprehensive partnership with the Philippines and highlight the benefits of US-ASEAN cooperation.
The agenda is expected to include the crisis in Myanmar, rising South China Sea tensions, and the regional economic impact of the renewed US-Iran conflict, which has disrupted energy supplies and trade across Southeast Asia.
