ASEAN member states and the United Kingdom have issued a joint ministerial statement on cooperation linked to the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, following a conference in Manila.
The statement was made on the occasion of the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference with the UK, held on 22 July 2026. It commemorates the fifth anniversary of the ASEAN-UK Dialogue Partnership, which was established in 2021.
In the statement, ASEAN and the UK emphasised the importance of maintaining peace, stability and prosperity, alongside respect for independence, sovereignty, equality and territorial integrity. They also referred to the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The parties reaffirmed support for multilateralism and an ASEAN-centred, open, inclusive, transparent, resilient and rules-based regional architecture. They also reaffirmed commitments to the Charter of the United Nations, the ASEAN Charter, and the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.
The statement recognised links between the security and prosperity of ASEAN and the UK, and said resilient and sustainable mutual growth was central to the partnership. It also referred to common challenges as increasingly interconnected and multidimensional.
ASEAN and the UK said the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific and the UK’s approach set out in the UK National Security Strategy 2025 shared relevant principles, including support for an open, inclusive, transparent and rules-based regional architecture that upholds international law.