ASIA: ASEAN Fin Mins Talk Up Further Integration Amid Iran Conflict Fallout

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have published a joint statement following a virtual meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors earlier on 10 April. While a large number of topics were on the agenda, the economic fallout for the region from the war in Iran remains a key concern for all members, given their reliance on oil flows from the Gulf through the Straits of Hormuz. 

• ASEAN: "To mitigate the impact of global and regional developments, including the situation in the Middle East, we reaffirmed our commitment to deepening regional financial integration, strengthening regional financial cooperation and stand ready to take appropriate actions to safeguard macroeconomic and financial stability and
  reinforce ASEAN’s economic resilience."
• The ministers "expressed concerns on the continued tensions in the Middle East and its implications for rising geopolitical risks, global trade uncertainties, and disruptions to energy markets and supply chains that may increase volatility in inflation, financial markets, and capital flows."
• Indeed, the Australian Institute of International Affairs think tank notes the Iran conflict "should be read in Southeast Asia not as a distant war with indirect consequences, but as a recurring political-economic shock that reveals an old regional condition: ASEAN has long pursued industrial growth, urban modernisation, and export expansion within an energy order it does not fully control. "