Manila to host ASEAN, US, China foreign ministers for high-level meetings  

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Foreign ministers from the bloc and its partners — the US, China, Canada, Australia, Russia, New Zealand, and India — will gather in Manila for high-level meetings

MANILA, Philippines — Foreign Ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as its dialogue partners, will be meeting in Manila for a string of high-level meetings and events from July 20 to 24. 

The Philippines is ASEAN chair for 2026.

ASEAN spokesperson Deputy Assistant Secretary Dominic Xavier Imperial of the Department of Foreign Affairs said the week will kick off with the ASEAN foreign ministers meeting with the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, and an informal meeting to discuss the Five-Point consensus, or the bloc’s peace plan for Myanmar. 

On July 21, Manila will host the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting (AMM). ASEAN + 1 or meetings with dialogue partners and larger meetings will follow in succeeding days. 

The week-long high-level events will conclude with events to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) on July 24. 

Aside from ASEAN foreign chiefs, the following foreign ministers have confirmed their attendance, said Imperial: 

• Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong 
• New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters
• Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
• United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio 
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
• Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi

ASEAN foreign ministers will be meeting with their counterparts from India, the United States, Canada, South Korea, Japan, United Kingdom, European Union, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, and China on July 22. On the same day, ASEAN foreign chiefs are expected to hold a trilateral meeting with Turkiye as well.

On July 23, ASEAN foreign ministers will be meeting with their counterparts from China, Japan, and South Korea for the 27th ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. On the same day, Manila is hosting both the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

The EAS is the region’s premiere strategic dialogue. In November, when Manila hosts the 49th ASEAN Summit, the EAS leaders-level meeting will be among the other related summits.

But even as big names in geopolitics outside of the region are flying into Manila, it will be security issues within the region that are expected to be a major point of discussion — ASEAN foreign ministers will be holding an informal meeting to discuss progress, or lack thereof, in the Five-Point Consensus, or the bloc’s roadmap to peace in junta-ruled Myanmar.

ASEAN leaders recently converged in Thailand to meet informally with Myanmar Foreign Minister U Tin Maung Swe.

Since 2021, junta leaders of Myanmar have been barred from engaging in high-level ASEAN including minister and leader-level meetings following the military takeover. During the July 2026 meetings, as has been the case in previous years, Myanmar’s permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs represented Naypyidaw in the bloc. Since ASEAN leaders decided to bar the junta’s top leadership, they can also overturn that decision.

ASEAN leaders are next set to meet in November 2026 in Manila. – Rappler.com