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Secretary Rubio Addresses the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference in Manila, Jul. 22, 2026

July 22, 2026 · U.S. Department of State · 0:06:58

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference with the United States in Manila, Philippines, on July 22, 2026, thanking Cambodia, the country coordinator, and the ASEAN Secretary-General, and restating the commitment President Trump made at the previous year’s leaders meeting: “we’re with ASEAN 100 percent.” ASEAN, he said, is the primary mechanism by which the United States engages the region.

He took up the Middle East before the regional agenda. The United States, he said, “is always committed to diplomacy” and remains open to negotiated settlements with Iran, which has been reaching out directly and indirectly — but agreements reached so far, he said, were not kept. “If they’re serious, we’re serious. If they’re not, then we will do what is necessary.” At its core, he argued, the dispute is Iran’s demand for a right “they do not have under any existing legal mechanism” to control transit through the Strait of Hormuz, an international waterway; allowing a state to toll or block it would set “a very dangerous precedent” for freedom of navigation everywhere, including Southeast Asia, with 20 percent of the world’s energy supply held hostage, as he put the figure.

The announcements attached to the appearance: the United States is delivering $2.5 billion in U.S. Government strategic investments in Southeast Asia; the Development Finance Corporation has approved $1.5 billion in new strategic investments advancing aviation infrastructure, energy security, and secure supply chains; and nearly $130 million in assistance for demining is being committed, alongside support for LNG market development, U.S. grid technologies and the ASEAN power grid, and civil nuclear energy programs. “This is not charity,” he said. “It’s in our national interest.” The story of the 21st century, he argued, will be written in this region.

Why it matters

The Manila address is the Secretary’s Indo-Pacific set piece for the year: the ASEAN commitment stated as money and presence rather than sentiment, and the Hormuz freedom-of-navigation doctrine argued directly to the region whose trade depends on open sea lanes — the same doctrine he carried through the week’s Manila press availabilities, paged separately on this site.

Scoreboard watch

Scoreboard candidate: the dated investment figures the Secretary announced on July 22, 2026 — $2.5 billion in U.S. Government strategic investments in Southeast Asia, $1.5 billion in newly approved Development Finance Corporation strategic investments, and nearly $130 million in demining assistance. Flagged for the scoreboard editor; no entry is published from this page.

Sources: U.S. Department of State, “Secretary Rubio at the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference with the United States” (official upload, embedded above; Manila, Philippines). Remarks as delivered; transcript reviewed in the site’s private research store; full transcript at state.gov.