U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Asian leaders Wednesday (July 22, 2026) that Iran’s demand to control and collect tolls in the Strait of Hormuz would threaten the world’s economy and the principle of freedom of navigation.
Mr. Rubio spoke at the start of an annual meeting in the Philippine capital, Manila, with counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations who have expressed alarm over the resurgent war in West Asia that has battered their region.
Despite Washington’s preoccupation with the war in West Asia, Mr. Rubio reassured “we’re with ASEAN 100 per cent.”
“If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation-state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll and, if you don’t pay them, blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region,” he said.
