A closer look at how the coronavirus could affect opportunities and challenges in the region’s energy sector in the coming years.
While the global coronavirus pandemic continues to have significant macro-level political and economic impacts on the Asia-Pacific and the world more generally, it is also likely to affect key industries in profound ways. Among the most notable sectors to watch is the energy realm, where COVID-19 could reshape interactions between various actors across several levels in the region with ripple effects for geopolitics more generally.
Over the past few years, Asia’s energy future has been driven by a series of broader, long-term trends. This is an especially prevalent concern in densely populated or extremely rural parts of developing countries in South and Southeast Asia where responses to COVID-19 such as social distancing and teleworking can be difficult to practice. Asia’s overall prosperity can at times blind observers to the inequalities and inadequacies that remain within countries, with a case in point being the lack of electricity that affects more than 300 million people across Asia per the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific .
But it will be important to pay attention to COVID-19’s effect on competitive dynamics as well. For instance, the coronavirus and its fallout could increase the salience of regional flashpoints such as in the East and South China Sea, where we have already seen some saber-rattling tied to energy exploration involving China, Japan, Malaysia, and Vietnam in particular. COVID-19 could also indirectly influence regional competitive dynamics, as evidenced by the effects it is already having on the defense budgets, procurements, alignments, engagements, and priorities of key Asian countries for 2020 and beyond.
This article was written by Prashanth Parameswaran
To read the full article, please click on the following link: https://thediplomat.com/2020/05/how-will-covid-19-reshape-asias-energy-future/
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