OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
12:44 PM – Monday, July 20, 2026
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is reportedly traveling to Manila, Philippines, for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Post- Ministerial Conference, the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the ASEAN Regional Forum Foreign Ministers’ Meeting this week.
The State Department announced that the trip would take place from July 19th to July 23rd in a news release on Friday.
“The Secretary’s visit advances a clear U.S. priority: a free and open Indo-Pacific that delivers safety, security, and prosperity for the region and for the American people,” wrote State Department spokesman Thomas Pigott in the statement. “Secretary Rubio will use this trip to demonstrate the tangible results of U.S.-ASEAN partnership and to deepen the United States’ comprehensive partnership with the Philippines.”
The department also noted in the release that Rubio will meet with senior government officials from Indo-Pacific countries, though it did not specify whom. U.S. Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, joined the secretary of state on the trip.
“Looking forward to joining @SecRubio this week in the Philippines for our second Ministerial Quad meeting of the year. The United States is committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific, our Quad partners are essential!” Gor wrote on X on Sunday.
ASEAN consists of 11 Southeast Asian member nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Timor-Leste.
Foreign ministers from ASEAN’s partners, including the U.S., China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Canada, Russia, the European Union and the United Kingdom (UK), are expected to discuss regional security, geopolitical developments and economic cooperation.
Iran is expected to dominate the upcoming agenda following a series of Iranian attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, which prompted the United States to resume heavy airstrikes this month.
Energy-dependent Asian nations are bearing the brunt of the waterway’s severe shipping disruptions, particularly those lacking domestic oil production that rely entirely on Persian Gulf exports. According to the International Energy Agency, roughly 80% of the hydrocarbons transiting the chokepoint are destined for Asian markets.
Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland before boarding a flight late Sunday, Rubio detailed the U.S. posture toward Iran following a ninth consecutive night of American airstrikes. Rubio stated that recent Iranian attacks on commercial vessels have effectively voided previous maritime understandings in the Strait of Hormuz, though he emphasized that Washington remains open to a credible diplomatic solution.
“I think CENTCOM [U.S. Central Command] has laid out exactly what the objectives are. The only reason why the U.S. has conducted strikes is against assets of Iran that are being used to attack global commercial ships,” Rubio said, noting that the Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway and asserting that other countries should join the U.S. in protecting the waterway.
“Iran, a week ago, was supposed to put out a statement saying that the Strait of Hormuz would be open, that they would no longer attack shipping. And instead of doing that, they attacked three ships,” he added.
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