Prabowo Urges ASEAN Countries to Safeguard Trade Routes in the Region

JAKARTA - President Prabowo Subianto has called on ASEAN countries to safeguard the sovereignty of their maritime territories and strategic trade routes in Southeast Asia to prevent disruptions to regional economic activities.

Prabowo stated that ASEAN nations not only need energy resilience but also the resilience to protect and secure distribution and trade routes that sustain Southeast Asia.

“We must realise that our region has strategic trade routes that cross our waters, and we must be careful to avoid disruptions in our own region,” said Prabowo during the plenary session of the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, Philippines, on Friday (8/5/2026), quoted from Antara.

Prabowo also assessed that the challenges facing the region cannot be handled by individual countries but must be addressed collectively by ASEAN.

“This is not a challenge that can be handled by one country alone. ASEAN must act together,” he said.

“In protecting our citizens, ASEAN must speak with one voice. We must call on all parties to uphold international law and promote accountability for every violation. This is a moment for ASEAN to demonstrate its influence. We must have a strong collective political voice,” said Prabowo.