Collaboration between countries in southeast Asia, a region highly dependent on imports of oil and gas, especially from the Middle East, has remained limited in the weeks since the US-Iran war began, as countries have mainly focused on individual energy security needs.
Asia is the biggest importer of Middle East oil, and the closure of the strait of Hormuz following US strikes on Iran has cut off these fuel supplies, forcing Asian governments to release strategic reserves, halt products exports, or scramble to diversify energy sources.
Despite its reliance on Middle East supplies, southeast Asia has had limited say in the events around the closure and subsequent blockade of the strait of Hormuz. Some countries like Malaysia and Indonesia have had to resort to negotiations with Iran to allow their ships through, while other countries like Singapore have stated they will not partake in such negotiations as they are not in line with international law.
But there has also been a notable lack of a co-ordinated response or any multilateral agreements among Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) members to address the energy security issues that have arisen in the past few weeks, until recently.
Asean ministers met on 13 April to discuss the evolving Middle East conflict. The meeting encouraged member states to explore co-ordinated regional responses where appropriate, strengthen supply chain connectivity, and ensure reliable and secure access to raw materials and energy supplies, including through the implementation of binding agreements, and through refraining from unnecessary trade restrictions.
The meeting also called for the mobilisation of existing mechanisms such as the Asean Framework Agreement on Petroleum Security (APSA), the Asean Power Grid, and the Trans-Asean Gas Pipeline.
The Philippines currently holds Asean chairmanship, and following the abovementioned meeting, Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos on 15 April called for the operationalisation of the APSA.
The enhanced APSA was endorsed last October at the Asean ministers' meeting in Malaysia, and it sets out the framework for co-ordinated emergency responses, emergency supply sharing and joint oil stockpiling, said Marcos. The APSA's co-ordinated emergency response mechanism allows member states to supply up to 10pc of a distressed country's normal requirements, on a voluntary and commercial basis.
"Asia's oil supply chains are deeply interconnected," Marcos said, adding that "a disruption that begins in the strait of Hormuz ripples through Singapore, the Strait of Malacca, and onward to Manila, Tokyo, Seoul, [and] Jakarta within days."
"Our vulnerabilities are shared, and therefore so must our responses be," he said.
Putting national needs first
But developments in recent weeks have indicated that countries have had to focus on their own energy security first, with southeast Asian nations also increasingly engaging in discussions with countries outside of the region to secure supplies.
Indonesia for example, has indicated it is shifting some crude oil imports from the Middle East to other countries including the US.
Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto also met with Russian president Vladimir Putin on 13 April to discuss possible energy co-operation, where Russia could potentially export oil to Indonesia.
The Philippines last month declared an energy emergency and its president had indicated that the country is also considering securing supplies from Russia. Shortly after this, Philippine refiner Petron confirmed it had secured 2.48mn bl of Russian crude.
In an incident that highlights the potential political sensitivities surrounding shared fuel supply, Malaysia's state-owned oil company Petronas earlier this week responded to reports that it had supplied diesel to the Philippines by denying this took place, and stating that its first priority is ensuring domestic supply.
The country's prime minister Anwar Ibrahim also stepped in to clarify that it was international firm Vitol that sold oil to the Philippines. Malaysia has not given its oil to the Philippines, but it does help to facilitate the movement of oil under foreign agreements, Anwar said on 13 April.
But one bright spark resulting from the fuel crisis is that there have been developments in the renewables space as countries seek to diversify their energy sources. Indonesia's president has ordered the construction of 100GW of solar power within two years, and the electrification of all motorcycles, cars, trucks and tractors. Meanwhile, the Philippines is fast-tracking 1.5GW of renewables projects to speed up the delivery of additional power supply across the country.
More renewable power would also mean progress towards achieving the aforementioned Asean power grid. The grid is a cross-border initiative aimed at helping the region source and share electricity, given that southeast Asian countries are very diverse in terms of power demand and supply, as well as renewable energy potential. Asean members last year announced their target to establish the grid by 2045, although cross-border power sharing arrangements could be established sooner if countries accelerate their renewables development.
