Israel-Iran tensions wake-up call for Asia's dependence on Middle East oil

ASIA'S dependence on Middle East oil and gas — and its relatively slow shift to clean energy — make it vulnerable to disruptions in shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic weakness highlighted by the war between Israel and Iran.

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Iran sits on the strait, which handles about 20 per cent of shipments of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas, or LNG. Four countries China, India, Japan and South Korea account for 75 per cent of those imports.

Japan and South Korea face the highest risk, according to analysis by the research group Zero Carbon Analytics, followed by India and China. All have been slow to scale up use of renewable energy.

In 2023, renewables made up just 9 per cent of South Korea's power mix well below the 33 per cent average among other members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD. In the same year, Japan relied more heavily on fossil fuels than any other country in the Group of Seven, or G7.

A truce in the 12-day Israel-Iran war appeared to be holding, reducing the potential for trouble for now. But experts say the only way to counter lingering uncertainty is to scale back reliance on imported fossil fuels and accelerate Asia's shift to clean, domestic energy sources.

"These are very real risks that countries should be alive to and should be thinking about in terms of their energy and economic security," said Murray Worthy, a research analyst at Zero Carbon Analytics.

Japan and South Korea are vulnerable China and India are the biggest buyers of oil and LNG passing through the potential chokepoint at the Strait of Hormuz, but Japan and South Korea are more vulnerable.