ASEAN economic ministers warn Middle East war threatens regional energy security and growth.
ASEAN economic ministers warn Middle East war threatens regional energy security and growth. Strait of Hormuz carries ~25% of global seaborne oil and LNG; over 80% destined for Asia.
Freight, insurance and logistics costs rising sharply. Summary: The ASEAN Economic Community Council issued a joint statement on Friday warning that the Middle East war is posing growing threats to global energy security and could significantly slow regional economic growth Ministers expressed deep concern over disruptions to key maritime routes, specifically the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately one quarter of global seaborne oil and LNG exports pass More than 80% of the oil and LNG transiting the Strait of Hormuz is destined for Asia, making the region uniquely and acutely exposed to any sustained disruption to that corridor The statement flagged persistent volatility in oil and LNG prices, sharply rising freight costs, higher insurance premiums and increased logistics costs as direct consequences of the disruption The formal collective statement from ASEAN’s economic ministers represents an escalation in the diplomatic acknowledgement of the war’s economic consequences, moving beyond individual national responses to a coordinated regional position The warning adds to a growing body of evidence that the Middle East war is functioning as a systemic economic shock for Asia, with effects visible across inflation data, manufacturing surveys and consumer confidence readings across the region The economic ministers of Southeast Asia’s ten-nation bloc have broken into formal collective statement, warning that the Middle East war is inflicting severe damage on the region’s energy security and threatening to significantly slow growth across an area that is among the world’s most exposed to disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. The ASEAN Economic Community Council’s joint communique, issued on Friday, puts diplomatic weight behind what the region’s economic data has been signalling…