The US war with Iran has caused great alarm with their Asian allies in the pacific as they worry that this war will result in another quagmire in the Middle East that will sideline them for years to come. Military assets and personnel are already being siphoned out of the region, which will weaken security against Chinese efforts to expand into the South China Sea and beyond. Some analysts also claim that this war with Iran will also give Beijing more leverage into their now-delayed meeting happening in May, as it will give Beijing more leverage to firm up demands that the US reduce its support for Taiwan (which has already partially happened with the delay of arms sales).
I will note that this article says remarkably little on how the oil shortages will affect how the Asia-Pacific perceives the US, as it mostly focuses on military matters more than anything. So in my opinion this article in fact downplays visible tensions arising from US actions in Iran.
Now, beyond the contours of this article, I’d also like to add in some additional content regarding changes in diplomatic stances towards China or the US in the Asia-Pacific region as a result of the war with Iran. Some countries haven’t changed their stance because of long-horizon concerns, such as South Korea or Japan, but other allies notably in the Southeast Asian region have:
>Philippines: [In an exclusive interview on Bloomberg shortly before declaring a state of emergency over energy, Marcos said that a reset on the Philippines’ relation to China is “certainly going to happen.” “It’s happening now. There’s going to be a very, very serious restructuring,” Marcos said. Marcos expressed his agreement with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who has stated that international relations and legal frameworks need to be redrawn. ](https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2026/03/25/2516718/marcos-reset-china-ties-happening-energy-cooperation-under-review)
So this war is already having a tangible impact on US-SEA-China relations in Southeast Asia. While no major resets are occurring with increased relations with China (I don’t consider, for example, the joint oil project with China significant because it probably won’t happen), it shows similar behaviors of hedging against the US like the EU, Canada, and other countries/unions have done.
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The US war with Iran has caused great alarm with their Asian allies in the pacific as they worry that this war will result in another quagmire in the Middle East that will sideline them for years to come. Military assets and personnel are already being siphoned out of the region, which will weaken security against Chinese efforts to expand into the South China Sea and beyond. Some analysts also claim that this war with Iran will also give Beijing more leverage into their now-delayed meeting happening in May, as it will give Beijing more leverage to firm up demands that the US reduce its support for Taiwan (which has already partially happened with the delay of arms sales).
I will note that this article says remarkably little on how the oil shortages will affect how the Asia-Pacific perceives the US, as it mostly focuses on military matters more than anything. So in my opinion this article in fact downplays visible tensions arising from US actions in Iran.
Now, beyond the contours of this article, I’d also like to add in some additional content regarding changes in diplomatic stances towards China or the US in the Asia-Pacific region as a result of the war with Iran. Some countries haven’t changed their stance because of long-horizon concerns, such as South Korea or Japan, but other allies notably in the Southeast Asian region have:
>Singapore: [[Singaporean FM] also raised questions about the necessity and legality of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran that is now entering its fourth week, saying the “entire global economy has been taken hostage” by a conflict that could usher in a financial crisis.](https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/asia-faces-crisis-mideast-disruption-singapore-foreign-minister-warns-2026-03-23)
>Malaysia: [Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was more outspoken, condemning “unreservedly” the assassination of Ali Khamenei and arguing that the strikes have brought the Middle East to “the edge of grave and sustained instability.”](https://thediplomat.com/2026/03/how-southeast-asia-responded-to-the-outbreak-of-the-iran-war/)
>Philippines: [In an exclusive interview on Bloomberg shortly before declaring a state of emergency over energy, Marcos said that a reset on the Philippines’ relation to China is “certainly going to happen.” “It’s happening now. There’s going to be a very, very serious restructuring,” Marcos said. Marcos expressed his agreement with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who has stated that international relations and legal frameworks need to be redrawn. ](https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2026/03/25/2516718/marcos-reset-china-ties-happening-energy-cooperation-under-review)
So this war is already having a tangible impact on US-SEA-China relations in Southeast Asia. While no major resets are occurring with increased relations with China (I don’t consider, for example, the joint oil project with China significant because it probably won’t happen), it shows similar behaviors of hedging against the US like the EU, Canada, and other countries/unions have done.