Japan plans Asian energy agency proposal for Manila summit
The proposed framework would coordinate oil stockpiling and emergency reserve sharing, with a Jakarta-based research institute serving as its secretariat.
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to put forward an Asian counterpart to the International Energy Agency (IEA) at a Manila summit, according to informed sources. The initiative is intended to bolster regional energy supply chains through cooperation on oil reserves.
The sources said Takaichi will present the proposal to the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC), an 11-member group promoting carbon neutrality. Japan aims to address weaknesses in Asian energy supplies exposed by turmoil in the Middle East.
Japan will help establish the framework, and the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia in Jakarta will provide its secretariat. Cooperation with a new IEA base planned for Tokyo would support exchanges of stockpiling expertise and the development of emergency rules governing reserve releases and sharing.
IEA members must maintain oil stocks covering 90 days of consumption. They coordinated substantial releases starting in March in response to Middle East tensions, but none of the ASEAN countries participated.
Takaichi is also expected to suggest putting Japan’s unused oil storage tanks to work. Japan will consider cooperation with a Philippines-led initiative for shared Southeast Asian reserves, alongside a mechanism granting countries in the region priority oil purchases during emergencies.
Japan announced the Partnership on Wide Energy and Resources Resilience Asia, known as Powerr Asia, in April to improve regional supply-chain resilience. Japan depends on ASEAN suppliers for petroleum-based goods, including surgical gloves.
