ASEAN Beat | Diplomacy | Southeast Asia

Philippines Holds Talks With Iran on Safe Passage Through Strait of Hormuz

Washington’s Asian allies have shown little interest in supporting the U.S. war effort, even at the level of rhetoric.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro, Philippine Energy Secretary Sharon Garin, and Yousef Esmaeilzadeh, Iran’s ambassador to the Philippines, meet in Manila, Philippines, Apr. 1, 2026.

The Philippines, a U.S. treaty ally, has asked Iran to designate it a “non-hostile” country and to ensure the safe passage of Philippine-flagged vessels and oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

The request was conveyed yesterday during a meeting in Manila between Foreign Affairs Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin, and Yousef Esmaeilzadeh, Iran’s ambassador to the Philippines, as per Inquirer.net.

In a post on X about yesterday’s meeting, Lazaro said that the Philippines and Iran “are committed to deepening our cooperation across all fronts, particularly energy cooperation.”

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro later clarified that Lazaro emphasized that the designation as a non-hostile state is “vital for the protection of our seafarers and our energy supply,” Inquirer.net reported.

According to Castro, Esmaeilzadeh said that Tehran “has been awaiting our outreach and reaffirmed their strong willingness to assist the Philippines with our specific requests.”

Manila, in turn, has agreed to route all detailed requests through official diplomatic channels. “The meeting was exceptionally warm and open. Given their stated readiness to cooperate, we are highly optimistic about a favorable outcome,” Castro said. Lazaro is expected to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi today in order to “secure these commitments at the highest level,” Castro added.

The meeting came a day after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. ordered officials to negotiate with Iran to secure safe passage for Philippine-bound oil tankers through the Strait. The Philippines is heavily dependent on crude oil imports from the Middle East, which make up around 95 percent of its total. As a result, between February 23 and March 23, the Philippines saw the highest increase in petrol prices of any nation in the world, according to the AFP news agency.

Last week, Marcos  declared a “national energy emergency” due to the impacts of the war in the Middle East, and the “resulting imminent danger posed upon the availability and stability of the country’s energy supply.” The country has already increased coal power production, approved the use of dirtier fuels, and received a shipment of oil from Russia, its first since before the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Marcos also said he was open to resuming talks with China on oil and gas exploration in disputed parts of the South China Sea. However, this suggestion has been highly controversial in the Philippines and would likely face considerable political and constitutional obstacles. In any event, it would offer no solution to the country’s short-term energy woes.

Commodities shipping through the Strait of Hormuz fell by 95 percent between March 1 and 26, according to the maritime tracking platform Kpler. The effective closure of the Strait has scrambled global energy markets and caused negative ripple effects across the world, and particularly in Asia, which is heavily dependent on imports of Gulf oil.

If a deal with Iran is reached, the Philippines would become just the latest U.S. treaty ally to negotiate a carve-out for Gulf oil shipments with Tehran. Last week, Thailand announced that Iran had granted its vessels safe passage, two weeks after a Thai bulk carrier was hit by Iranian projectiles while transiting the Strait. Iran has said that it also considers Japan and South Korea, Washington’s two other treaty allies in Asia, to be “non-hostile” countries, and would be ready to facilitate the safe passage of tankers bound for the two countries.

This reflects the widespread disdain for the impetuous and poorly planned nature of the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, and allies’ lack of interest in supporting the U.S. war effort, even at the level of rhetoric.

In addition to these nations, China, Russia, India, Iraq, and Pakistan have already been given permission for their vessels to transit the Strait. Last week, Malaysia also announced that it had come to a similar arrangement.

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The Philippines, a U.S. treaty ally, has asked Iran to designate it a “non-hostile” country and to ensure the safe passage of Philippine-flagged vessels and oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

The request was conveyed yesterday during a meeting in Manila between Foreign Affairs Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin, and Yousef Esmaeilzadeh, Iran’s ambassador to the Philippines, as per Inquirer.net.

In a post on X about yesterday’s meeting, Lazaro said that the Philippines and Iran “are committed to deepening our cooperation across all fronts, particularly energy cooperation.”

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro later clarified that Lazaro emphasized that the designation as a non-hostile state is “vital for the protection of our seafarers and our energy supply,” Inquirer.net reported.

According to Castro, Esmaeilzadeh said that Tehran “has been awaiting our outreach and reaffirmed their strong willingness to assist the Philippines with our specific requests.”

Manila, in turn, has agreed to route all detailed requests through official diplomatic channels. “The meeting was exceptionally warm and open. Given their stated readiness to cooperate, we are highly optimistic about a favorable outcome,” Castro said. Lazaro is expected to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi today in order to “secure these commitments at the highest level,” Castro added.

The meeting came a day after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. ordered officials to negotiate with Iran to secure safe passage for Philippine-bound oil tankers through the Strait. The Philippines is heavily dependent on crude oil imports from the Middle East, which make up around 95 percent of its total. As a result, between February 23 and March 23, the Philippines saw the highest increase in petrol prices of any nation in the world, according to the AFP news agency.

Last week, Marcos  declared a “national energy emergency” due to the impacts of the war in the Middle East, and the “resulting imminent danger posed upon the availability and stability of the country’s energy supply.” The country has already increased coal power production, approved the use of dirtier fuels, and received a shipment of oil from Russia, its first since before the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Marcos also said he was open to resuming talks with China on oil and gas exploration in disputed parts of the South China Sea. However, this suggestion has been highly controversial in the Philippines and would likely face considerable political and constitutional obstacles. In any event, it would offer no solution to the country’s short-term energy woes.

Commodities shipping through the Strait of Hormuz fell by 95 percent between March 1 and 26, according to the maritime tracking platform Kpler. The effective closure of the Strait has scrambled global energy markets and caused negative ripple effects across the world, and particularly in Asia, which is heavily dependent on imports of Gulf oil.

If a deal with Iran is reached, the Philippines would become just the latest U.S. treaty ally to negotiate a carve-out for Gulf oil shipments with Tehran. Last week, Thailand announced that Iran had granted its vessels safe passage, two weeks after a Thai bulk carrier was hit by Iranian projectiles while transiting the Strait. Iran has said that it also considers Japan and South Korea, Washington’s two other treaty allies in Asia, to be “non-hostile” countries, and would be ready to facilitate the safe passage of tankers bound for the two countries.

This reflects the widespread disdain for the impetuous and poorly planned nature of the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, and allies’ lack of interest in supporting the U.S. war effort, even at the level of rhetoric.

In addition to these nations, China, Russia, India, Iraq, and Pakistan have already been given permission for their vessels to transit the Strait. Last week, Malaysia also announced that it had come to a similar arrangement.

Sebastian Strangio is Southeast Asia editor at The Diplomat. 

Philippines energy security

Philippines oil imports

Philippines-Iran relations

U.S.-Israel war on Iran

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