Southeast Asian leaders were united on Friday in calling for a regional fuel-sharing framework to be ratified quickly, as their summit ended without a plan for a more immediate response to the impacts of the Middle East crisis.Leaders meeting on the Philippine island of Cebu stressed the urgency of a joint approach beyond the oil-sharing pact for the region that depends heavily on oil imports, making it particularly exposed to the unprecedented energy supply disruption caused by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, expressed optimism that the members' ratification of the voluntary, commercial-based framework would be completed as soon as possible, but said the mechanics needed to be worked out.
"We're trying to examine everything we can do," he told a press conference when asked about frustrations that the plan could not be implemented immediately.
"How is the sharing? Who gets what? How do you pay for it? Do you pay for it? Is it an exchange? ... We haven't done it before," he said.
"And what do we do about the others who are also in need? Who comes first? Those are the questions that still need to be decided."
