PHNOM PENH, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Unilateral tariff measures imposed by the United States and the Middle East conflict have been challenging the growth of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Cambodian officials told business executives from ASEAN countries on Wednesday.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said the world is facing mounting global challenges, including economic uncertainty, climate change, supply chain disruptions, and rising political tensions, particularly conflict in the Middle East, that threaten regional and global stability.
"For ASEAN, this development highlights the need to strengthen regional resilience through diversifying energy sources, promoting deeper economic integration and enhancing the crisis coordination mechanism," he said at the opening ceremony of the Cambodia-ASEAN Business Summit 2026 in Phnom Penh.
Kith Meng, president of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, said that recent waves of unilateral tariff measures and retaliatory responses have intensified economic fragmentation, accelerated polarization, and signaled a gradual shift away from a predictable multilateral trading system toward a more transactional and interest-driven global order.
"This instability is further compounded by the escalation of conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran, which has triggered a global economic shift directly challenging ASEAN's growth in 2026," he said.
"With Brent crude prices surging and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a transit point for 20 percent of the world's oil, our regional businesses face immediate inflationary pressures," he added.
Kith Meng said that in this environment, ASEAN's strength lies not in choosing sides, but in upholding openness, neutrality, and centrality.
"Our collective task is to preserve ASEAN as a stabilizing force, one that anchors dialogue, keeps markets connected, and ensures that economic cooperation remains governed by transparency and mutual respect," he said.
Kith Meng highlighted that through the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), ASEAN has moved beyond commitments on paper toward real actions.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Timor-Leste.
Thong Mengdavid, deputy director at the China-ASEAN Studies Center of the Cambodia University of Technology and Science, said the most immediate impact from the Middle East conflict would be energy price volatility, particularly if instability affects critical shipping chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz or disrupts traffic through the Red Sea.
"As most ASEAN economies are net energy importers, higher oil and gas prices will drive inflation, raise transportation and production costs, and weaken consumer purchasing power across the region," he told Xinhua.
For Cambodia, the impact will be indirect but notable, with rising fuel costs increasing production and logistics expenses in key sectors like garments and agriculture, while imported inflation and financial volatility could pressure households and investor confidence, Mengdavid said.
"To navigate these challenges, ASEAN should boost regional energy cooperation, diversify energy sources, and strengthen intra-ASEAN trade, while Cambodia focuses on fiscal prudence, support for affected industries, and export market diversification to sustain growth," he said. ■