Five weeks of the Hormuz crisis have exposed a truth that Asia’s energy regulators have been reluctant to confront: the region’s energy security regulatory architecture is designed for a world that assumed the Strait of Hormuz would always remain open. Japan’s emergency reserve framework, Korea’s petroleum business regulations, India’s strategic reserve management, and the IEA’s…
Brent crude closed at $103.14 per barrel on Friday, its highest settlement since 2022, as the Strait of Hormuz remained effectively shut to commercial shipping for a fourth consecutive week. The oil price trajectory has accelerated in the final days of March, driven by Iran’s March 18 strike on Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG complex, which…
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s meeting with President Trump at the White House on Wednesday produced a framework for expanded bilateral trade and deepened defense cooperation, though the full details of any trade agreement remain subject to further negotiation. The summit, which marked Takaichi’s first official visit to Washington since securing her historic supermajority in February,…
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, now entering its second week following the onset of U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran on February 28, is producing the most significant global energy disruption since the 1970s oil crises. Commercial shipping through the strait, which normally carries approximately 20% of the world’s crude oil and a…
