‘Enlightened self-interest’ spurs Japan’s deepening energy security ties with ASEAN amid Iran war

Going beyond mere “chequebook diplomacy”, Japan has been deepening its ties with South-east Asia since the Iran war in what analysts describe as “enlightened self-interest”, aiming to help both itself and ASEAN weather the current global instability. One headline policy is the Partnership On Wide Energy and Resources Resilience (POWERR Asia). It pledged US$10 billion (S$12.8 billion) in financing support – equal to the cost of the 1.2 billion barrels of crude oil that ASEAN imports annually. Assoc Prof Kei Koga of NTU told ST that this could contribute to building a more effective energy framework for Asia that does not depend too heavily on any single source or supply route.

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