ASEAN summit in Manila takes up energy disruptions linked to the Iran war

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a regional bloc, is holding its summit in Manila from November 15 to 17. Energy disruptions resulting from the US-Israel war on Iran are a key issue for the bloc at the meeting, according to Al Jazeera.

ASEAN has 11 member countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and East Timor. Together they have a combined population of nearly 694 million, or 8.4 percent of the world's people.

The Philippines declared a state of national energy emergency in March, a formal step that signals a serious shortage, after oil and gas supplies were disrupted by the war on Iran. The Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia are among the members most vulnerable to energy disruptions in the Gulf region, according to the same report.

The United States is also central to the week's diplomacy. US President Donald Trump is expected to hold a special summit with ASEAN members on November 17, and he is set to hold a one-on-one meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during the Manila gathering. ASEAN countries have faced tariff hikes of 10 to 12.5 percent since the start of Trump's second term, meaning added taxes on goods they export to the US.

Several other leaders and officials are taking part. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attending as a guest. Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to give a speech. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's visit to the Philippines is the first by a sitting Brazilian president, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is also attending.

Trump is due to travel to China after the Manila meetings for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, a grouping of economies around the Pacific, on November 18 and 19.