Top and ranking diplomats from all Southeast Asian countries held a special meeting on Friday, March 13, to tackle the ongoing conflict in the Middle East as the Philippines, the chair for this year's regional bloc, hopes to be "the last crisis of this magnitude."

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said she convened a special virtual meeting with foreign ministers of member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) over developments in the Middle East and their implications on Southeast Asia.

"We expressed serious concern over the situation in the Middle East and its impacts in the region, and emphasized the importance of the immediate cessation of hostilities, called on all parties to exercise utmost self restraint and resolve differences through diplomacy and dialog and respect for international law, including the Charter of the United Nations," Lazaro said in a statement she read during a press briefing with reporters.

ASEAN has always maintained its core value of neutrality. And to pacify countries involved in the conflict, Lazaro said, ASEAN "can only make statements."

"ASEAN, as an entity, has also been having discussions with GCC countries, also on the bilateral basis. And in the United Nations, there was a resolution that was just passed concerning the situation in the Middle East... So I guess it's one of those things that are being done," she added, referring to ASEAN's efforts to provide a solution to the conflict.

Israel and the US' Feb. 28 joint attack on Iran has already spilled over the neighboring countries of mainly oil-rich Gulf states and affected the supply of oil across the world.

Lazaro said the foreign ministers agreed to continue monitoring the situation in the Middle East and to coordinate each other's efforts to address its implications for ASEAN on energy supply chains.

"Well, the immediate measure now is, as we have discussed, now in the hands of the ASEAN Center for Energy and the ASEAN. If I am not mistaken, the Ministers of Energy had a meeting in 2025 and they have certain mechanisms that they have formulated so that is something that can be activated as soon as possible," she said.

"But again, this is within the realm of Energy Ministers, but the Foreign Ministers are very much aware of this, and which, we will be following up with the Energy Ministers," she added.

Lazaro said they also discussed adverse impacts of the conflict of the Middle East and global economic activity, particularly on energy markets and maritime transport routes.

They underscored the importance of maintaining stable, open, and reliable global and regional energy supply chains and maritime trade routes.

"We stress the importance of utilizing available mechanisms to mitigate the impacts of the crisis, including the ASEAN framework agreement on petroleum security, ASEAN power grid and the Trans-ASEAN Gas Pipeline, in coordination with relevant sectoral bodies," she said.

Lazaro said ASEAN's Economic Ministers also met in Manila to promote intra-ASEAN trade amid global developments.

"We hope that this will be the last of the crisis that will be of this magnitude, we hope and we pray that will be, this will be the last," Lazaro told reporters.