{"id":1941,"date":"2026-07-22T05:36:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T05:36:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=1941"},"modified":"2026-07-22T05:36:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T05:36:53","slug":"irans-demands-over-the-strait-of-hormuz-would-set-a-dangerous-precedent-rubio-tells-asean-leaders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=1941","title":{"rendered":"Iran\u2019s demands over the Strait of Hormuz would set a dangerous precedent, Rubio tells ASEAN leaders"},"content":{"rendered":"
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MANILA, Philippines (AP) \u2014 U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Wednesday that Iran\u2019s demand to control and collect tolls in the Strait of Hormuz would threaten the world\u2019s economy and the principle of freedom of navigation, even in Asia.<\/p>\n

Read more Carney says he and Trump will intensify trade negotiations after US imposes 50% tariffs<\/a><\/p>\n

Rubio spoke at the start of an annual meeting in the Philippine capital, Manila, with counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations who have expressed alarm over the resurgent war in the Middle East that has battered their region. Despite Washington\u2019s preoccupation with the war in the Middle East, Rubio reassured \u201cwe\u2019re with ASEAN 100%.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll and if you don\u2019t pay them, blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Rubio also met with the other ministers of the four-nation Quad partnership \u2014 made up of the U.S., Australia, India and Japan \u2014 where they discussed shared priorities around technology, humanitarian assistance, emergency response as well as maritime and transnational security.<\/p>\n

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They issued a joint statement reaffirming their commitment to their maritime security initiatives that seek to counter China\u2019s growing influence in the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are united in our conviction that peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific maritime domain underpin the security and prosperity of the region,\u201d the leaders said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Rubio added in a post on X that, \u201cThe Quad remains a priority, and we will meet again later this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Trump approves nuclear agreement that may allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium, two AP sources say<\/a><\/p>\n

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The Trump administration has repeatedly criticized China\u2019s increasingly aggressive actions in the South China Sea to the disadvantage of smaller claimant countries like the Philippines, Washington\u2019s oldest treaty ally in Asia.<\/p>\n

The territorial disputes, which also involve Taiwan and ASEAN members Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, are high on the agenda of three days of talks that started Tuesday in Manila.<\/p>\n

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Rubio later met with his Indian counterpart, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, where they discussed both regional issues and the Iran war, according to a U.S. State Department spokesperson, along with a yet-to-be completed trade agreement to lower U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs on Indian goods.<\/p>\n

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