INTRODUCTION

Asia, which is understood to mean Central Asia, Northeast Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia, is as a whole, set for a period of economic, population and urban expansion and this will mean higher regional energy consumption in the years to come, especially in China and India. The International Energy Agency's World Energy Outlook for 2004 through to 2030, indicates that energy consumption in North East Asia is expected to amount to 3.5 billion tonnes of oil equivalent by 2030, a rise of around 1.5 billion tonnes over the next twenty-five years. China is mainly responsible for this projected increase in energy consumption. East Asia's consumption — excluding China, Japan and South Korea — is projected to increase to 1.4 billion tonnes in 2030. Over the same period, India's appetite for energy is also notably increasing. It is expected to consume as much energy as Japan and Korea combined by 2030. The following figure (Figure 15.1) shows the growing consumption of oil equivalent within Asia in comparison with North America, the European Union and Russia.

While the supply and demand of energy resources in Asia has a direct impact on the economic and political development of the region as a whole, energy cooperation among Asian countries has thus far been limited and far from ideal. Energy security is an issue of great importance in Asia and it is increasingly influencing the behaviour of Asian governments. In Asia, the role of the governments in addressing the energy issue is especially important since governments in the region retain considerable influence over their respective energy sectors through policies, regulation, ownership or investment. As a result, energy security decisions have not been left to market forces alone; instead, it requires a high and concerted level of political engagement by the respective governments. Energy security is in fact lodged within a larger framework of inter-state relations.