Asian countries scramble to cope with looming energy crisis

Several Asian countries have introduced measures to cope with a looming energy crisis as sharp price volatility linked to the conflict in the Middle East raised region-wide concerns about energy supplies and affordability.

Japan will start releasing oil from state reserves on Thursday, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Tuesday, as concerns over supply mount because of ongoing U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.

The measure, announced during a meeting of relevant Cabinet members to discuss ways to cushion the impact of the tensions in the Middle East on the Japanese economy, comes after Japan started releasing oil from private-sector stockpiles last Monday.

Takaichi also said that Japan will start releasing the joint reserve of oil-producing countries by the end of the month.

Lee Jae Myung, President of the Republic of Korea (ROK), said on Tuesday that the country will activate the government-wide emergency response system to mitigate the effects of Middle East tensions.

Lee told a cabinet meeting that the expansion and prolongation of the Middle East conflict were escalating instability in the supply and demand of crude oil and natural gas, saying the International Energy Agency was warning of the impact on the global economy while labeling the crisis the most significant threat to energy security in history.

He warned that it has made it difficult to predict when and where problems may arise as petrochemical products are indispensable to daily lives, saying the country will preemptively activate the government-wide emergency response system to address the grave crisis, which can affect people's livelihood and the overall economy.

Lee ordered officials to devise specific measures to alleviate the impact on people's livelihood as the second public notice for maximum oil prices was scheduled for Friday.

Earlier this month, the country introduced a so-called petroleum price ceiling system, in which the government sets a legal upper limit on the selling price of oil products, adopting it for the first time since oil price liberalization in 1997.

The cap on wholesale prices, at which oil refiners supply products to gas stations, was set on March 13 for the first time, and the price cap will be adjusted every two weeks.

The president asked people to cooperate in overcoming the crisis by joining the energy-saving movement, and ordering public institutions to implement the one-in-five vehicle rotation system.

The system is a policy that restricts the operation of vehicles to one day a week based on the last digit of their license plate numbers.

Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos declared a state of national energy emergency on Tuesday, signing an executive order that said the "resulting imminent danger" from the Middle East crisis would pose a threat to the country's energy supply.

A committee has also been established to monitor the orderly supply and distribution of essential goods, including fuel, food, and medicines, and to ensure the continuity of critical public services, transportation, and healthcare infrastructure, as stated in the executive order.

Asian countries scramble to cope with looming energy crisis

Iran has surprised its foes with the extent of its military power and resilience in the conflict with Israel and the U.S., Egyptian analysts in Cairo said.

With the conflict in its fourth week, Iran has shown that while it may lack the strong military muscle of the U.S. and Israel, it can strike effectively at Israeli cities and U.S. Gulf allies.

Iran's military capabilities are perhaps proving stronger than previously anticipated.

As soon as Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran on February 28, Tehran responded with barrages of missiles targeting Israel as well as U.S. military facilities in the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Jordan.

As the war began to stretch, Iran has expanded the list of its targets to include a total of 10 countries, and among them is a British base in Cyprus used by the United States.

Last week, a reported Iranian attack on another British military base on Diego Garcia Island in Mauritius signaled Tehran's possible capability to strike targets up to 4,000 kilometers away from its shores, bringing most of Europe within its radius of reach.

Walid Atlam, a researcher at the National Center for Studies, said Iran managed to use its military power to seize the global economic artery, the Strait of Hormuz, to exert pressure on the U.S. and Israel.

"The Iranian tactical strike on southern Israel, including the one near the Dimona nuclear facility or on Arad is the most effective qualitative attack during this war. It is also the deepest hit yet inside Israel. Another success for Iran is the closure of the Strait of Hormuz -- though only a partial one. In doing so, Iran managed to pressure a pillar of the global economy by disrupting energy markets and global supply chains. These effects will be felt even after a ceasefire," he said.

Iran does not match the U.S. and Israel in military might. For Tehran, surviving the war is the ultimate goal. Until then, it aims to inflict maximum damage -- not only militarily but also politically.

Mohamed al Shahawy, former chief of staff of military chemical warfare of the Egyptian Armed Forces, said Iran has surprised its foes with its military capabilities.

"Iran's resilience in fighting into the fourth week is the biggest surprise, so is its ability to target U.S. military bases with new generations of missiles. The U.S.-Israeli objective in this war, including overthrowing the regime in Iran, destroying Iran's ballistic missiles program and its nuclear facilities, and seizing Iran's enriched uranium, has failed," he said.

Atlam said the ongoing conflict seems to be undermining U.S. dominance and straining the close relations with its European allies.

"I think this war has created a kind of doubt about the United States and its foreign policy. The most significant sign is perhaps a clear European desire to reduce its dependence on the U.S., both militarily and economically. This was evident when many European countries refused to get directly involved in this war or join a coalition to secure navigation in the Strait of Hormuz," he said.

Iran's strike reveals military power, resilience against US: experts