Asia & Pacific
Rubio's remarks came as the region is grappling with a series of overlapping claims by China and ASEAN member states in the South China Sea, another crucial maritime route for global trade.
Timor Leste's Foreign Minister Bendito dos Santos Freitas, Vietnam Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, Brunei Foreign Minister Abdul Mateen Bolkiah, Indonesia's Foreign Minister Sugiono, Laos Foreign Minister Thongsavanh Phomvihane, Malaysia's Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan, Myanmar Permanent Secretary Hau Khan Sum and ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn join hands during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Pasay, Metro Manila on July 22, 2026. (AFP/Brendan Smialowski)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Southeast Asian foreign ministers on Wednesday that Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz would set a dangerous precedent with repercussions beyond the Middle East.His comments came as US Central Command said it had begun striking military targets in Iran for the "11th consecutive night" in a bid to degrade the country's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the waterway.
