Indonesia has urged Southeast Asian nations to remain united amid mounting geopolitical shocks, cautioning against being drawn into major power rivalries and calling for stronger protection of regional waters as concerns over food and energy security deepen across ASEAN.

Top officials from across Southeast Asia packed a hectic schedule of back-to-back meetings in Cebu, the Philippines, on Thursday, laying the groundwork for the leaders’ summit while zeroing in on a unified ASEAN response to the Middle East crisis, as fears of a deepening energy crunch hang over the 11-nation bloc.

While supply chain woes sparked by the US-Israeli attack on Iran may dominate talks, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, now 11 strong with the addition of Timor-Leste, has a still-raging civil war in its own backyard.

Japan fired surface-to-ship missiles and sank an old warship in waters between the Philippines and Taiwan as part of major military exercises that include US forces, angering China.

Conflicts far beyond Southeast Asia are expected to dominate discussions of leaders of the regional ASEAN bloc meeting in the Philippines, with the Middle East crisis posing significant challenges for its fuel import-dependent economies.

The two countries' shared grievances over Chinese territorial claims have seen them draw increasingly close in recent years, including the signing of a reciprocal access agreement allowing for the deployment of troops on each other's territory.

A man accused of murdering 15 people in an antisemitic mass shooting at Australia's Bondi Beach is facing a raft of fresh charges, court records released Wednesday showed.

Jakarta cites UNCLOS as Iranian-linked vessels pass through its waters amid United States blockade and rising regional tensions.

Malaysia's antigraft agency vowed on Wednesday to recover more high-value artwork linked to the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal after putting four recently retrieved works on display at its headquarters.

Topping the agenda for the ASEAN Summit in Cebu, the Philippines, are joint regional responses to the United States-Israeli war on Iran and its impacts, focusing particularly on energy security and food supply resilience for member states.

The Thai cabinet's cancellation of the 2001 agreement, which seeks to develop a framework to jointly explore hydrocarbons in parts of the Gulf of Thailand where the claims of Thailand and Cambodia overlap, had long been expected and follows two rounds of armed conflict between the two countries last year. 

Indonesia and Japan on Monday hailed a “historic milestone” in their security relations with the signing of a new defense cooperation agreement (DCA), reaffirming their commitment to maintaining stability in the Indo-Pacific amid heightened anxieties over an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape. 

Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said he would ink an agreement with his Japanese counterpart Shinjiro Koizumi, although details of the pact were not shared publicly and there was no official confirmation that they had signed it.

After signing a landmark defence deal last month, the two nations agreed to strengthen energy, food and critical minerals supply chains. 

"Gas plays a role in all our discussions because it fundamentally underpins the shared energy security between our countries," Australian top diplomat Penny Wong said before the talks.

Royal Commission due to deliver final report on Dec. 14, exactly one year after the Bondi Beach attack.

The Philippines' northernmost province, with about 20,000 residents, sits around 100 miles south of Taiwan, along the Luzon Strait, a strategic corridor on the frontline of the great power competition between the US and China for dominance in the Asia-Pacific region. 

Across Bangkok, aromas of garlic, chili and grilled meat drift from roadside stalls and carts, but tighter controls on vendors threaten livelihoods and the street food culture that defines the Thai capital.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged on Saturday to deepen ties with Vietnam, highlighting energy and critical minerals in talks with Prime Minister Le Minh Hung, and later urged Southeast Asian nations to bolster regional supply chains.

The trip is Takaichi's first to Vietnam since becoming prime minister in October.

Experts say curbs on criticism risk undermining democratic legitimacy as political consolidation limits opposition.

Kallas said ASEAN and the EU should strive for a partnership with strategic vision and concrete actions.

The EU approved a fresh round of sanctions on Russia this month, including tightened restrictions on oil trade, as it looks to undermine Moscow's ability to fund its war in Ukraine.

Thailand's government has said it is reviving a "Land Bridge" project across its narrow southern peninsula after recent disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz underscored the vulnerability of global shipping chokepoints, including the nearby Malacca Strait.

Japan and the European Union express concern over South China Sea tensions at UN Security Council maritime security forum, attracting criticism from China.

China's Wang Yi has been on a three-country visit to Southeast Asia, travelling to Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar this week, seeking to strengthen ties and present Beijing as a more stable alternative to Washington.

Wong said in a statement that meetings with her counterparts in the three countries would "help ensure we are coordinating effectively" amid upheaval on global energy markets.

The United Nations' weather and climate agency said El Nino conditions could well develop as early as May to July.

Evacuation orders are in place for a third of Otsuchi's population, with the town lost nearly a tenth of its population in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

A clear shift has been observed in the Equatorial Pacific, with sea-surface temperatures rising rapidly, suggesting a high likelihood of El Niño conditions developing between May and July this year.