US EditionPhilippines to take ASEAN chair with focus on South China Sea
The Philippines will prioritize managing South China Sea disputes and Myanmar's political crisis as ASEAN chair in 2026, overseeing key regional security and diplomatic efforts.
- On Oct 28, 2025, Malaysia handed over the ASEAN chairmanship to the Philippines at the Kuala Lumpur summit, as Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim passed the gavel to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
- Taking the gavel, the Philippines inherits a packed agenda dominated by maritime tensions and Myanmar, with South China Sea disputes and ASEAN’s role on junta participation set to lead in 2026.
- One key detail is that the Philippines is among four ASEAN member states claiming parts of the South China Sea, where China disputes the 2016 ruling, fueling regular maritime confrontations with Manila.
- Manila will push to prevent escalation and promote cooperation with Beijing on ocean meteorology and access to fishing grounds, while ASEAN oversees talks for a permanent envoy for Myanmar and will not send observers to the Dec 28 elections.
- With years of stalled talks, ASEAN and China aim to finalise a code of conduct for the South China Sea by next year, though analysts warn any pact may lack enforcement as Anwar said `On the first day of 2026, ASEAN will begin a new chapter`.
16 Articles
16 Articles
Philippines takes over Asean chairmanship in 2026: South China Sea tensions to dominate
KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia handed over the chairmanship of Southeast Asia’s regional bloc to the Philippines on Tuesday, with territorial disputes in the South China Sea set to dominate its agenda when Manila takes charge in 2026.Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who will remain chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) until the end of the year, symbolically passed the gavel to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the close of a summ…
View from Manila: What challenges await the Philippines as ASEAN chair?
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – As Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim formally turned over the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the end of the 47th ASEAN Summit on Tuesday, October 28, he passed on a bloc dealing with both external “crosswinds” and internal issues that never seem to cease. The ceremonial handover capped off a milestone year of upheavals within and beyond the …
Marcos to invite Xi to PH once South China Sea talks show major progress
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will move heaven and earth to invite Chinese President Xi Jinping to the Philippines to show his sincerity to finally resolving the disputes in the South China Sea. Marcos made the commitment during a roundtable with Filipino journalists at the conclusion of the 47th Asean Summit here on Tuesday, which concluded with a ceremony of the Philippines taking over the chairmanship of the 11-me…
Channel News Asia
Philippines to take ASEAN chair with focus on South China Sea
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia handed over the chairmanship of Southeast Asia's regional bloc to the Philippines on Tuesday (Oct 28), with territorial disputes in the South China Sea set to
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