Japan to Assist Philippines in Strengthening Oil Reserve System, Launching Series of Surveys

(Central News Agency, Tokyo, 7th - Combined Foreign News) The Japanese government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) plan to embark on strengthening the energy supply network of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states, and will prioritize supporting the Philippines in evaluating its oil reserve system. They plan to begin research on public and private sector oil reserves this summer.

According to a report by the Nikkei today, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand have been listed by Japan as target countries for this initiative, with the Philippines designated as the "highest priority support country" and Vietnam as a "priority support country."

JICA is under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Philippines relies almost entirely on the Middle East for its crude oil supply. Following a joint attack on Iran by the United States and Israel in February this year, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a "national energy emergency" at the end of March. Furthermore, the Philippines' oil reserve system is incomplete, with only one refinery operating in the country.

Regarding Vietnam, the report indicates that Japan also considers Vietnam's oil reserve system to be insufficient. Vietnam is a key hub for supplying medical materials to Japan, and related support is indispensable to ensure stable medical services.

Other ASEAN member states, such as Cambodia and Laos, rely on oil from Vietnam and Thailand and lack oil reserve infrastructure. Japanese authorities plan to assist Thailand and Vietnam in clarifying related issues.

The Nikkei analyzed that the background to Japan's support is the increasingly close economic ties between ASEAN countries and China, and Japan's intention to demonstrate "value different from China" in the field of energy security.

The report states that Japan does not envision directly supplying crude oil or petroleum energy. Instead, it will conduct surveys of local oil reserve systems, analyze the locations of refineries, their processing capacities, and equipment aging conditions, confirm the capacity and status of storage tanks and the possibility of expanding related land, and also investigate the size of tankers that can enter ports.

These surveys will cover the supply chain from crude oil procurement to the distribution of petroleum products, as well as assess the availability of alternative shipping routes and their costs. These surveys will also clarify the impact on medical gloves, hemodialysis catheters, and other materials shipped to Japan, affecting the medical and industrial sectors.

The surveys are expected to take approximately one year. The Japanese authorities will assess the publication of the survey results in a manner that does not affect diplomatic relations or private sector activities. (Editor: Yang Weijing) 1150607