Terrorism and oil crisis bring together Asean members
Manila (AsiaNews) - The oil crisis is bringing still more together Asean countries. The members of the Association of South East Nations (Asean) agreed yesterday to help each other in case of oil shortages, and to take concrete steps to build a joint oil stockpile to stabilize the region's fuel supply in the face of increased terror threats.
Vicente Perez, the Philippine Energy Secretary said that now is the time to review Asean's petroleum agreement, signed in 1986, in order to allow that, "a distressed country can be assisted by neighbors during periods of petroleum shortages and emergencies".
Perez noted that interruptions of energy because of attacks could "wreak havoc on our economies."
"We agreed...that we will update this agreement and call a special meeting of senior officials to discuss this," he told a press conference. Unstable energy supplies and sudden price increases could cut economic growth in many Asian countries and "threaten nations as a whole as consumers become restless", he said.
The safety of the oil supply is a problem that concerns all the countries of the region. For this reason, the countries gathered in Manila, with Japan, South Korea and China as well.
Japan and South Korea have already have existing stockpiles and have offered to help nearby Asian countries with technical support and financial backing.
Because of the costs, South-East Asian ministers considered allowing 'commercial stockpiles' by Middle Eastern companies interested in establishing a foothold in the Asean region.
The Philippines, for instance, have already offered the former United States naval base at Subic Bay as a storage facility for Libyan oil to be distributed in Asia.
Libyan oil is particularly attractive in the area because it is a crude oil with a low sulphur base, and is ideal for gasoline.
Under a six-year action plan approved during the meeting, Asean members will tap indigenous energy sources, particularly natural gas, and increase the share of renewable energy up to 10 percent. The ministers also approved five projects that will establish power grid interconnection and gas pipeline networks. According to the International Energy Agency, Asia will account for the world's largest energy consumption by 2030. (MdO)
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