MANILA, Philippines — A private think tank on Sunday urged the government to accelerate energy projects under Japan-led Asia Zero Emission Community (Azec) instead of considering arrangements with other parties that may expose the Philippines to “geopolitical pressure.”
In a statement, Stratbase Institute president and CEO Victor Andres Manhit said the country must be unequivocal in its direction and choose arrangements that deliver real, sustainable prosperity.
“It must build its energy future with partners that respect its sovereignty and share its support for a rules-based order. More importantly, it must choose a path where it can strengthen its own capabilities without compromising on its national interests,” Manhit added.
According to him, any energy arrangement that comes with “implicit or explicit concessions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), or that turns a blind eye on the ongoing coercion there, directly undermines the country’s sovereign and national interests.”
READ: Red flags raised as fuel crisis revives PH-China oil talks
The Philippine government is currently discussing possible joint energy exploration activities with China in the West Philippine Sea, which the latter continues to claim as part of its territory despite a 2016 arbitral award invalidating its sweeping claims over the South China Sea.
Azec refers to the initiative launched by Tokyo in 2023 that promotes cooperation among 11 Asian partner-countries on clean energy transition, energy security and decarbonization.
Aside from Japan and the Philippines, the other members are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Critical time
Manhit noted that the country’s participation in Azec comes at a critical time as the world grapples with a global energy crisis triggered by the Middle East conflict.
He said Azec offers the Philippines a “credible and forward-looking framework that advances three essential goals simultaneously: energy security, economic growth and decarbonization.”
“At the same time, the framework creates opportunities for the Philippines to access reliable technology, attract quality investments, and accelerate the development of resilient domestic energy capacity,” Manhit said.
Kishida visit
The Philippines is hosting the 4th Azec Leaders’ Meeting in November. On April 30, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. received at Malacañang former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who proposed Azec in 2022 and is now Supreme Adviser to the Parliamentary Association of Azec.
During his visit to Manila from April 30 to May 2 as special envoy of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Kishida participated in a series of high-level engagements focused on advancing Azec initiatives and strengthening Philippine-Japan bilateral relations.
During their meeting at Malacañang, Marcos underscored the importance of sustained cooperation with Japan amid global energy uncertainty driven by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
“I understand that you are here to promote Azec [as] a very important initiative, especially in this time. It was already very important before, but it has become especially pressing and critical with all of the events that are transpiring in the Middle East and the effects that it has had on the entire energy system of the world,” Marcos said.
“We hope that we can continue our work in moving our countries away from fossil fuels and absorb more of the renewables technology that we have been trying to shift to,” he added.
Cooperation on energy
Kishida reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to advancing the initiative of Azec as he also thanked the President for participating in the Azec Plus online summit on April 15.
“We would like to promote cooperation with the Philippines on economic and energy resilience,” he said.
Japan earlier announced $10 billion (about P602 billion) in financial support for Southeast Asian nations under the initiative dubbed the Partnership on Wide Energy and Resources Resilience (Power Asia).
It seeks to help countries manage energy disruptions by supporting fuel procurement, strengthening supply chains and expanding energy security cooperation in the region.
Diversifying supply
Japan, however, is also keeping its supply options open, as it has procured crude oil from Russia for the first time since the Iran war has led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
A tanker is due to return to Japan, carrying oil from the Sakhalin-2 project in the Russian Far East, a trade ministry official said on Saturday.
The shipment purchased by wholesaler Taiyo Oil Co. comes as resource-poor Japan, heavily reliant on crude imports from the Middle East, steps up efforts to diversify supply.
The oil will not be subject to US and European sanctions imposed on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The United States has waived sanctions on Russian oil since the fuel crisis wrought by the Iran war.
Japanese partners
The Sakhalin-2 oil and natural gas development project is led by Russia’s state-controlled energy giant Gazprom, with Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsui & Co. major stakeholders.
Year-round crude production began in 2008 and exports of liquefied natural gas started the next year.
Global ship-tracking website Marine Traffic showed the tanker left Sakhalin in late April.
It is expected to arrive in Ehime Prefecture, western Japan, the official of the Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry said. —WITH A REPORT FROM KYODO NEWS
The post Stratbase to gov’t: Avoid risky energy deals appeared first on Inquirer.net.
