From fuel caps in Bangladesh to four-day work weeks in South Korea, the Iran war has plunged Asia, the world's largest crude oil importing region, into an energy emergency with no clear end date.
President Donald Trump has sought to reassure global markets that economic damage from the US-Israeli war on Iran can be contained, arguing the Strait of Hormuz could reopen soon. But Asian governments are not waiting to find out, rushing to implement emergency measures as their fuel stocks dwindle.
The Scale of the Crisis
The Strait of Hormuz, effectively shut for nearly two weeks, normally carries about 20 percent of global oil and a third of the world's liquefied natural gas. For energy-hungry Asian economies that import the majority of their fuel, the disruption has been immediate and severe.
South Korea, which gets about 70 percent of its oil from the Middle East, has introduced voluntary four-day work weeks in some industries to conserve power. Thailand has imposed fuel purchase limits at petrol stations. Bangladesh has started rolling electricity blackouts. Philippines officials have begun emergency talks with alternative suppliers in the US and Canada.
The Geopolitical Ripple
China, the world's largest oil importer, has publicly called for a ceasefire and dispatched diplomats to regional capitals. Beijing has also begun drawing on its substantial strategic reserves, but analysts say those stocks, while large, are not unlimited.
Japan and South Korea, both treaty allies of the United States, are in an uncomfortable position, dependent on US security guarantees while suffering severe economic harm from a war their ally started.
Why Ottawa Is Watching Closely
Canada's own energy economy is directly affected. Alberta's oil sands producers are seeing windfall prices, but Canadian manufacturers and exporters who depend on affordable energy are facing cost pressures just as US trade tensions, including ongoing tariff uncertainty, already weigh on the economy.
More immediately, Canadian LNG projects on the West Coast, long seen as strategically important for diversifying Asia's energy supply away from the Middle East, have found themselves in intense conversations with South Korean and Japanese buyers seeking new supply agreements urgently. Ottawa's diplomatic corps has also been active, with the Canadian embassy in Tokyo facilitating energy security discussions.
Source: The Guardian
