Governments across Asia are preparing for worst-case energy scenarios that could include a prolonged and severe disruption to supplies, even as the U.S. draws up a plan to end the war in Iran.
South Korea shifted into crisis mode on Wednesday, setting up an emergency economic task force to urgently prepare for adverse scenarios. The Philippines declared a national emergency, citing an "imminent danger of a critically low energy supply.”
Japan is reviewing its entire supply chain of petroleum-related products as the likelihood builds of shortages and knock-on effects across the economy, while India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned the war could cause unprecedented challenges for the nation.
In under a month since the Middle East conflict began, nations have shifted into emergency footing, highlighting the Strait of Hormuz’s importance to global energy flows. About a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil trade and a host of other commodities pass through the 167-kilometer-long waterway, much of it bound for Asia. Iran sits above the strait and has effectively closed it to all but approved vessels.
The growing alarm in Asia contrasts with cautious optimism in financial markets as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks talks with Iran to end the war. Equities rallied and oil fell on Wednesday. That did little to assuage concerns in Asia, where many countries source the bulk of their oil from the Middle East and reserves are beginning to run down.
"Right now, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is, in a sense, an Asian crisis,” Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said on Monday. "The vulnerability is known, but it has never been tested to the extreme that it is being tested today.”
Source:
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/03/26/asia-pacific/asia-energy-scenarios-iran-war/