Rubio warns ASEAN that Iran controlling Hormuz would set wider precedent

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Southeast Asian foreign ministers on Wednesday that allowing Iran to control the Strait of Hormuz would create a dangerous precedent with effects beyond the Middle East.

Speaking to envoys at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations gathering in Manila, Rubio said a state should not be able to control an international waterway, charge a toll or threaten ships that do not pay. He said such a precedent could be repeated elsewhere, including in Southeast Asia.

Rubio said Iran was demanding a right to control traffic through the Strait of Hormuz that, in his view, it did not have under any existing legal mechanism. He said freedom of navigation was at stake and that the situation could not be allowed to happen.

His comments came as US Central Command said it had begun striking military targets in Iran for an 11th consecutive night. The command said the strikes were intended to reduce Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the waterway.

The remarks were made as Southeast Asia faces overlapping claims by China and ASEAN member states in the South China Sea, another important trade route. Rubio arrived in the Philippines on Tuesday morning at the same time as the United States condemned a recent clash between Chinese and Philippine sailors in the disputed waterway.

Rubio was due to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit. He was also set to hold talks with fellow Quad members India, Australia and Japan, as well as others.

Rubio said the United States remained open to constructive talks with Iran if commitments were honoured. He said Tehran was not taking negotiations seriously, and said Washington would act to protect its interests and those of its allies if Iran was not serious about talks.