Asia - South China Morning Post

Asian economies reliant on energy imports are bracing themselves not just for a spike in oil prices but for the possibility that the Iran war could trigger a prolonged period of energy market disruption.

While markets have already priced in the initial disruption to shipping and energy infrastructure linked to the conflict, economists warn that a war lasting several weeks could leave Asian importers facing persistently higher fuel costs, widening trade deficits and slower economic...

Japan will release strategic oil reserves as early as Monday, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said, a unilateral move by the import-dependent Asian economy to ease concerns over rising fuel prices due to the Middle East war.

Japan is the world’s fourth-largest economy and the fifth-biggest importer of crude oil, with about 95 per cent of its needs coming from the Middle East and around 70 per cent passing through the Strait of Hormuz before the conflict began.

Tokyo has been working with other...

Malaysia will tighten border enforcement to curb fuel smuggling and keep subsidised petrol prices unchanged as the widening US-Israeli war with Iran disrupts energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz and rattles global oil markets.

The move comes amid concern that rising fuel prices abroad could make smuggling subsidised fuel out of Malaysia more profitable.

“The most worrying aspect is that this conflict has an impact on the global economy, Asia and Malaysia,” Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said...

A Thai bulk carrier travelling in the crucial Strait of Hormuz was attacked on Wednesday, with 20 crew members rescued so far, the Thai navy said.

Photos shared by the Royal Thai Navy showed heavy black smoke billowing from the hull and superstructure of the Thai-registered Mayuree Naree, with life rafts floating in the water.

The vessel “was attacked while transiting the Strait of Hormuz” after departing Khalifa port in the United Arab Emirates, the navy said in a statement.

“The specific...

Takato Ishida, the 36-year-old governor of Fukui, has sparked a fresh wave of online attention after new Instagram posts from his prefectural assembly revived the fascination that followed Ishida’s election earlier this year.

Many of the reactions have focused less on policy than on Japan’s youngest sitting prefectural leader, with social media users repeatedly praising his appearance and describing him as unusually “handsome” for a politician.

The attention first surged shortly after Ishida...

A warning by a senior US official that the Trump administration would not repeat with India the “mistakes” it made in its past dealings with China signals that Washington would not allow New Delhi’s rise to come at the expense of its strategic interests.

Speaking at a conference on international politics and economics in Delhi on Friday, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said the US wanted to work with India to unlock its “limitless potential”.

But he added at the Raisina Dialogue:...

The United States has begun pulling missile-defence systems from South Korea to feed its war with Iran, prompting fresh questions in the Philippines about Washington’s military commitments to the Asia-Pacific.

The transfer of Patriot batteries from the Korean peninsula, accompanied by reports that parts of a THAAD anti-missile system were also on the move, did not directly affect the US military presence in the Philippines.

But the episode has forced a question that Manila would rather not have...

India has relaxed curbs on Chinese investments in certain sectors to attract more foreign capital, as Beijing and New Delhi continue to gradually repair their economic relationship after years of tense relations.

In a cabinet statement released on Tuesday, New Delhi introduced a fast-track approval mechanism for investments from land-bordering countries – including China. The move amends a previous restriction that had mandated government scrutiny for all such capital inflows.

Under the new...

How does a missile strike on a Qatari gas plant end up raising the price of rice in Bangladesh? The answer is fertiliser, an unglamorous commodity that nevertheless sustains much of what the world eats.

Qatar burns natural gas to produce ammonia. Ammonia is converted into urea. Urea goes into the ground and out of the ground comes grain.

Disrupt the first step, as Iran did when it struck QatarEnergy’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing facility on March 1, and the consequences travel along...

British Airways and Deutsche Lufthansa are adding flights to Asia amid increased long-haul demand as customers seek alternatives to Middle East carriers hamstrung by airspace closures at home.

BA will operate more flights from London to Singapore and Bangkok this week, using aircraft that currently are not needed in the Gulf region.

The airline has temporarily cut back its Middle East schedule, cancelling all Abu Dhabi flights until at least October and stopping flights to cities including...