Vietnam’s power shift  
     

Vietnam’s rapid industrialization will necessitate a shift in the way the country generates power, while balancing economic and environmental needs. (Industrial Fuels and Power)

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Indonesia among countries tightening grip on natural resources   
     

Countries from Indonesia and India to Russia are tightening their grip on natural resources as they limit exports to build up domestic industry in a trend that will spawn many challenges to World Trade Organization rules. (The Jakarta Globe)

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Can Asia Power a “Gold Age” of gas?  
    

Earlier this month, International Energy Agency (IEA) chief economist Fatih Birol told a 350-strong audience here in Singapore that Asia could help drive a new “golden age” of natural gas in the coming years. Feverish demand from China and India, coupled with the emergence of Australia as an emerging liquefied natural gas (LNG) giant, could send gas use skyrocketing by more than 50% to account for a quarter of the world’s energy demand by 2035. (CogitASIA)

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Euroasian geopolitics face Astana earthquake   
   
Asian regional power seeks to counter US-NATO military strategy and gain control of energy flows into Europe and beyond. The stakes couldn't be higher. Washington is at a loss, facing regional integration led by Russia and China. (Al Jazeera)

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China steps up drilling, intimidation   
   

China recently launched an oil and natural gas drilling platform that may be as significant as military modernization in buttressing Beijing's claims to control most of the islands, water and seabed in the maritime heart of Southeast Asia. (The Japan Times)

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The New Silk Road: China’s Energy Strategy in the Greater Middle East – The Four Seas Strategy   

While the West views Syria, Iran, and similar countries as strategic liabilities and pariah states, China views them as strategic assets. Since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, Beijing has feared that Washington’s Greater Middle East strategy entails encircling China and creating a norm of toppling undemocratic regimes, which implicitly challenges the Chinese Communist Party’s legitimacy at home. In response, Beijing has increased economic and diplomatic ties with countries in the region that have problematic relations with the United States and the West—such as Syria, Turkey, and Iran—in addition to expanding its overall footprint in the region. (The Cutting Age)

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Asia’s shaky water and energy balancing act  

Much of central China along the Yangtze River is in the grip of its worst energy crisis in years. The electricity cuts for industry and households have been exacerbated by a five-month drought that has dried up rivers, reducing hydroelectric generating capacity and leaving many people and large swaths of farmland short of water. It is a symptom of a key challenge for China in the 21st century. The world's most populous nation and second-biggest economy must make difficult choices between two vital resources, energy and fresh water. (The Japan Times)

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China risks clash with rivals over energy grab   
   

China is already one of the world's largest offshore energy producers. It wants to become bigger still by finding more oil and natural gas in home waters or in zones close to home, to avoid becoming excessively dependent on foreign imports. However, its evolving energy security strategy could further complicate its relations with South-East Asia, and with countries like Australia, the US, Japan and South Korea that regard the South China Sea as an international highway for trade and free movement of military planes and ships. (The Canberra Times)

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Why Central Asia matters to India   
   

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent visit to Kazakhstan is a reminder of how high stakes are in central Asia for Indian foreign policy priorities. While the Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev needed legitimacy for his re-election victory that has been criticised in the western capitals, for New Delhi there are real issues in that part of the world that concern its national security and economic growth. Not surprisingly, the two main areas that were given serious consideration were the civilian nuclear cooperation pact and the situation in Afghanistan. (The Reddif News)

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Fukushima, Chernobyl, and UN-Sponsored Nuclear Safety Reforms   
  

With the recent increase of its accident rating to level 7—the highest on the International Nuclear Radiological Event Scale (INES)—the Fukushima nuclear accident has taken on another attribute of Chernobyl, the world’s worst nuclear disaster and the only other one in history to receive a level 7 “major disaster” rating.               (The Diplomatic Courier)

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Life after Fukushima: the future of nuclear power in East Asia  

In early 2011, nuclear power was coming back. China and South Korea were undertaking significant expansion, while Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia were en route to embracing nuclear power for the first time. China was determined to develop Generation IV thorium and fast reactors. The modern reactors were safer, simpler, smaller, cheaper, and more modular than ever before, with Generation IV technology holding the potential for consuming nuclear waste. Then the Fukushima accident reignited our nuclear fears. What will this mean for the future of energy in East Asia? (East Asia Forum)

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China’s Plans for a Sustainable Energy Policy  
    

Since the initiation of economic and political reforms in 1978, China has produced an average annual growth rate of 10%. From 1978 to 2008, China has increased its GDP by 83 times (NBS, 2009) and lifted over two hundred million of its people out of poverty. However, China still faces enormous challenges, especially in the energy sector. (The Diplomatic Courier)

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Is it Time for a Ministry of Energy in Vietnam?   
  

Vietnam is Southeast Asia’s third largest country and fastest growing. It does not have a Ministry of Energy. Should it? A coherent and integrated energy policy is vital to Vietnam’s economic future and features prominently in its national security considerations, particularly those related to development of offshore oil and gas resources and conflicting claims with China in the South China Sea. (Cogitasia)

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China expanding nuclear planning but lacking emergency planning   
   

The Chinese government repeatedly offers assurances that the nuclear crisis in Japan poses no radiation risk in China. Officials monitor radiation levels in the air over coastal cities daily now. And planes and ships bringing cargo and passengers from Japan are closely scanned. But the Chinese government has not told citizens living near nuclear facilities what to do in case of a similar disaster here. (The Washington Post)

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Russia helps Bangladesh join the South Asian nuclear gold rush   
   

Bangladesh’s recent announcement of a deal with Russia to construct its first nuclear reactor marks a broadening of the nuclear gold rush in South Asia. The latest deal is part of a big expansion of nuclear generation throughout the region. India plans to build some 25,000 MW of nuclear generating capacity using Russian, French and perhaps US and Japanese technology; Pakistan is building a second nuclear plant with Chinese assistance; and Sri Lanka is reportedly in talks with China to build nuclear capacity. (East Asia Forum)

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Beijing’s struggle to achieve energy security   
   

Since China's surging demand for oil started to exceed domestic production in the early 1990s, Beijing has been preparing for a range of possible threats to its energy supply — including turmoil in the Middle East. (The Japan Times)

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Asia’s fragile oil dependence on the Mideast   

The prospect of continuing Mideast political instability is widely portrayed as a geostrategic problem for the West, particularly the United States. For years, the U.S. has worked with a de facto coalition of authoritarian Arab regimes to contain Iran and protect Israel. The "people power" protests in Tunisia, Egypt and other parts of the region challenge this arrangement. But the rippling unrest and uncertainty in the Middle East also expose the heavy dependence of China, Japan, India, South Korea and other leading Asian economies on the flow of oil from the volatile Persian Gulf.                            (The Japan Times)

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What is Beijing willing to do to secure oil and gas supplies?   

China's dependence on increasing amounts of oil imported from potentially unstable areas of the Middle East and Africa through vulnerable shipping channels has become an uncomfortable fact of life for the government in Beijing. (The Japan Times)

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