2026 ASEAN Summits
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The 2026 ASEAN Summits is a series of diplomatic conferences centering on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which are held in the Philippines in 2026. It comprised the 48th ASEAN Summit held on 6–8 May in Cebu and the 49th ASEAN Summit scheduled for 10–12 November in Metro Manila.
The Philippines hosted the summits as the ASEAN chair for 2026 after Myanmar, which was due for the chairmanship through ASEAN's alphabetical ordering, skipped due to the ongoing Myanmar civil war.
The ASEAN chairmanship of the Philippines, led by its President Bongbong Marcos, saw ASEAN hold its first meeting with Myanmar since 2021, after the country was excluded for failing to implement the five-point consensus laid out by the association to resolve the conflict in the country. On 17–18 June, the Russia-ASEAN special summit in Kazan, Russia was attended by Southeast Asian heads of state. The summit centered on the ASEAN Power Grid, including the possibility of cooperation in civilian nuclear energy.[1]
48th ASEAN Summit
[edit]| 2026 ASEAN Summits 48th ASEAN Summit | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Philippines |
| Date | 6–8 May 2026 |
| Cities | Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu |
| Venues | Mactan Expo |
| Participants | ASEAN members |
| Chair | President Bongbong Marcos |
| Follows | 2025 ASEAN Summits |
| Precedes | 2027 ASEAN Summits |
The 48th ASEAN Summit and related meetings was held in 6–8 May 2026 at the newly opened Mactan Expo in the Mactan Newtown district of Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu. At the sidelines of the summit, a special meeting for the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) was also held.[2]
During the summit, the bloc laid plans to prioritize the digital transformation of the member countries' small and medium enterprises through artificial intelligence, and pursuing a green energy strategy to achieve carbon neutrality.[3] The ASEAN announced the establishment of a maritime center in the Philippines after adopting a declaration on maritime cooperation. The initiative aims to strengthen multilateral coordination on maritime issues in the region, including the issues in South China Sea.[4]
| ASEAN members Host state and leader are shown in bold text. | ||
| Member | Represented by | Title |
|---|---|---|
 Brunei |
Hassanal Bolkiah | Sultan |
 Cambodia |
Hun Manet | Prime Minister |
 Indonesia |
Prabowo Subianto | President |
 Laos |
Sonexay Siphandone | Prime Minister |
 Malaysia |
Anwar Ibrahim | Prime Minister |
 Myanmar |
U Hau Kan Sum | Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
 Philippines |
Bongbong Marcos | President |
 Singapore |
Lawrence Wong | Prime Minister |
 Thailand |
Anutin Charnvirakul | Prime Minister |
 Timor Leste |
Xanana Gusmão | Prime Minister |
 Vietnam |
Lê Minh Hưng | Prime Minister |
| [5] | ||
On May 7, summit chair Bongbong Marcos held a private trilateral meeting in Cebu with Cambodian prime minister Hun Manet and Thai counterpart Anutin Charnvirakul over the Cambodian–Thai border disputes and the escalating tension that has plagued Phnom Penh and Bangkok. This comes after Thailand's cabinet had terminated a 25-year-old Memorandum of Agreement between them prime ministers Thaksin Shinawatra and Hun Sen also known as Memorandum 44 (MOU 44) that managed the ambiguity without resolving the said issue. The outcome of the trilateral meeting according to a Thai government spokesperson said that the meeting was "constructive, frank, and forward-looking" which was followed up by the commitments of both Phnom Penh and Bangkok to work on immediate confidence-building measures to rebuild trust and dialogue.[6]
On May 8, The leaders of ASEAN had agreed upon the adoption of the Cebu Protocol, a charter amendment focused on the formalization of Timor-Leste's membership in ASEAN which was signed and approved on October 28, 2025 in Malaysia. The Cebu Protocol was the first amendment to the ASEAN Charter since its signing in 2007.[7]
Following the first summit of the year, on May 14, the leaders of ASEAN had begun a slow but progressive approach to the rapprochement of Myanmar into the daily legal affairs of the alliance since the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état that deposed democratically-elected caretaker and subsequently imprisoned peace advocate Aung San Suu Kyi.[8] Naypyidaw had begun constructive and engineered elections in early-2026 to legitimize the "pseudo-civilian government" led by elected president Min Aung Hlaing.[9] Notable actions made by Naypyidaw to improve its international standings occurred on May 1 when former leader Aung San Suu Kyi was moved to house arrest.[8] Bangkok has been the strongest advocate for Myanmar's rapprochement, urging member-states to accept the electoral result of the nation however, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, and particularly Manila remain hesitant to accept the terms due to the ongoing civil war in most of the country.[10]
49th ASEAN Summit
[edit]| 2026 ASEAN Summits 49th ASEAN Summit | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Philippines |
| Date | 10–12 November 2026 |
| Cities | Metro Manila |
| Venues | Philippine International Convention Center |
| Participants | ASEAN members Guest invitees (see below) |
| Chair | President Bongbong Marcos |
| Follows | 2025 ASEAN Summits |
| Precedes | 2027 ASEAN Summits |
The 48th ASEAN Summit and related meetings is scheduled for 10–12 November at various venues across Metro Manila, primarily at the Philippine International Convention Center.
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The Digital Economy Framework Agreement between the members of the association is expected to be signed in Manila during the summit.[11] The code of conduct on South China Sea is also expected to be finalized at the summit.[12]
The 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting (AMM) for 2026 chaired by Foreign Affairs Secretary Tess Lazaro. She also chaired related summit meetings, including the East Asia Summit Foreign Minister's Meeting and the ASEAN Regional Forum Minister's Meeting. These meetings took place at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay on 18–24 July 2026.
Guest invitees
[edit]The following heads of states and governments were officially extended with invitations:
- Prime Minister Mark Carney,
Canada[13] - President Vladimir Putin,
Russia[14] - President Donald Trump,
United States[15]
References
[edit]- ↑ Rachman, Joseph (2026-07-20). "Russia Makes Inroads in Southeast Asia". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ↑ BERNAMA (2026-08-05). "BIMP-EAGA Leaders OK Vision 2035 Roadmap For Underserved Regions". BERNAMA. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ↑ Ajanapanya, Nongluck (2026-05-11). "Strategic Autonomy and Economic Might: The Key Takeaways from the 48th ASEAN Summit". The Nation. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ↑ Cabato, Luisa (2026-05-08). "Asean Maritime Center in PH not meant to provoke anyone – Marcos". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ↑ Geducos, Argyll Cyrus (2026-07-16). "Manila to host top US, China diplomats as ASEAN tackles regional flashpoints". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ↑ www.cambodgemag.com https://www.cambodgemag.com/en/post/asean-s-48th-cebu-summit-unity-tested-by-thai-cambodian-tensions. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ Esguerra, Darryl John (May 8, 2026). "ASEAN rewrites charter for first time in nearly 20 years". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved July 21, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - 1 2 "Myanmar's detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi moved from prison to house arrest". NBC News. 2026-04-30. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
- ↑ AFP and Reuters. "Myanmar's coup leader elected president by pro-military parliament". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ↑ "The Latest on Southeast Asia: 48th Annual ASEAN Summit Outcomes | The Latest on Southeast Asia | CSIS". www.csis.org. Retrieved 2026-07-21.
- ↑ "'Let our hearts shake hands': President Tharman on the future of Singapore-Malaysia relations". The Star. 2026-07-12. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ↑ BERNAMA (2026-07-22). "CoC On South China Sea Expected To Be Finalised At 49th ASEAN Summit In November: Mohamad". BERNAMA. Retrieved 2026-08-05.
- ↑ "Prime Minister Carney meets with President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos Jr". Prime Minister of Canada. 2026-07-02. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ↑ "Putin hosts leaders of Southeast Asian nations, seeking to boost their business ties". AP News. 2026-06-17. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ↑ Zapanta, Logan Kal-El M. (2026-07-16). "Pax Silica deal eyed before potential Trump visit". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
