China and Asean eye closer energy cooperation as fighting flares up again in Middle East

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China have called for a lasting settlement to the war in the Middle East, while pledging further cooperation on energy security.A joint statement was released on Friday after a meeting in Manila between the foreign ministers of China and the Asean, against the backdrop of an ongoing energy crisis.According to the World Economic Forum Asia, 55 per cent of Southeast Asian crude oil imports originate from the Middle East, leaving up to 28 per cent of the region’s final energy consumption exposed to direct disruption.Kao Kim Hourn, the secretary general of Asean, warned last month that the crisis in the Middle East had “laid bare the vulnerability of global energy and food supply chains to geopolitical shocks” and called for deeper cooperation with China.Building on a previous statement from the 11-member bloc, Friday’s joint statement welcomed the ongoing US-Iran negotiations mediated by Pakistan and Qatar and called for a ceasefire and “a peaceful and lasting resolution” to the conflict.