Energy Security Cooperation under ASEAN+3

Abstract

In the new millennium, East Asia as a group has consolidated its status as a main driver of economic growth in the world. Steady economic growth has led to increasing demand for energy because of input expansion in the industrial sector and consumption growth in the household and transport sectors. The rising demand for energy inevitably fuels steep competition among the countries for securing stable energy resources represented by oil and natural gas. A relevant issue is that major East Asian countries have been heavily dependent on oil imported from the Middle East. High dependence on oil from the volatile Middle East means that political instability in the region has a direct impact on energy supply, and that any accident in certain sea-lanes such as the Malacca Strait will have significant effects on oil supply to East Asian countries. Moreover, improvement in energy efficiency is a critical issue for managing greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, and energy efficiency remains relatively low in most East Asian countries.