China offers to help Southeast Asia counter impact of Middle East war on energy supplies

2026.03.19 12:50 The conflict has taken a heavy toll on global energy prices. Photo: Reuters China has pledged to work with Southeast Asian countries on energy security as the war in the Middle East continued to take its toll on global oil and gas supplies. “China stands ready to strengthen cooperation and coordination with Southeast Asian countries and jointly address energy security issues,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a regular press conference on Thursday. Lin also called for an end to the conflict, saying: “Relevant countries need to stop military operations at once, and prevent regional turmoil from impacting global growth.” As well as energy supplies, the escalating US-Israeli war with Iran has threatened to disrupt the Gulf’s critical fertiliser production and shipping hubs, where some of the world’s largest manufacturing plants are located. The Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran says is closed to the US and its allies, accounts for almost a third of the global fertiliser trade. The Philippines said on Wednesday that China had given assurances that it would keep up fertiliser shipments following media reports Beijing was strengthening export restrictions and had asked exporters to halt outbound shipments of certain crop nutrients. The country also has a history of controlling fertiliser exports to keep prices low for farmers. China, supplier of 18 per cent of Manila’s fertiliser imports and one of the biggest exporters in the world, has become a critical supply buffer for the Philippines after supplies from the Gulf were cut. Speaking after a meeting with Chinese ambassador Jing Quan, Philippine Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jnr said: “We had information that China will freeze the exportation of fertilisers because they also need fertilisers. The Chinese ambassador said it’s not true.” In response to a question about export curbs, Lin said on Thursday that Beijing would continue to sell some domestically produced fertiliser “to

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