Asia’s biggest manufacturing economies are racing to secure new sources of oil and gas, preserve stockpiles and co-ordinate to provide supplies in case of acute shortages, fearing a protracted conflict in the Middle East will choke energy supplies and hammer their economies.
Countries across Asia are highly dependent on oil and gas sent through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway where shipping has slowed to a near standstill in the wake of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.